NBA Finals Discussion

[WaltFrazier]

Definitely won fair and square, but you gotta wonder if the Boston media that were labeling our chip with an asterisk will do the same considering they had the easiest path to the finals in many years.

It is good to see that you can still win without a true superstar though.

They have a unique team structure. Two very high tier stars that fall short of superstar status but produce enough to give you the output of a superstar. They are here due to that trade where they fleeced the Nets and were able to draft 2 excellent players who will keep them competitive for a decade when all is said and done. The Celtics also have the enviable position of being in a very weak conference that doesn't really have any prospects of getting much better. As the role players age Boston can always swap them out to complement their nucleus. I hate to say it but Boston is likely going to be in the mix for at least 5 more years.

I think Tatum might end up a HOFer, primarily because he's a star player from Boston. But yeah Al, Porzingis are former All-stars, Jrue is an all-defensive player borderline all-star player. I say our championship team was better though and would beat both teams but for now Boston will be competitive for a few more years.

If Horford and Jrue fall off a cliff as guys their age sometimes do, that's what could stop them. Especially if Porzingas misses a lot of games, forcing Horford to play more.

[Gant]

They have a unique team structure. Two very high tier stars that fall short of superstar status but produce enough to give you the output of a superstar. They are here due to that trade where they fleeced the Nets and were able to draft 2 excellent players who will keep them competitive for a decade when all is said and done. The Celtics also have the enviable position of being in a very weak conference that doesn't really have any prospects of getting much better. As the role players age Boston can always swap them out to complement their nucleus. I hate to say it but Boston is likely going to be in the mix for at least 5 more years.

I think Tatum might end up a HOFer, primarily because he's a star player from Boston. But yeah Al, Porzingis are former All-stars, Jrue is an all-defensive player borderline all-star player. I say our championship team was better though and would beat both teams but for now Boston will be competitive for a few more years.

If Horford and Jrue fall off a cliff as guys their age sometimes do, that's what could stop them. Especially if Porzingas misses a lot of games, forcing Horford to play more.

They can't play Horford any more than they have been, and Porzingis is getting surgery this summer, so those are serious concerns. Many people don't share my opinion, but I think big Neemias Queta has a decent chance of being a player in this league. He needs more refinement but there's something-there there.

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[GP2]

Front offices are going to be banging their heads against a wall for letting Stevens get Jrue, White, and Porzingis for so cheap.

[fbalmeida]

Charting back my reaction to the Smart for Porzingus trade, I thought the Celtics were doomed once they traded Smart for Porzingus. Mainly because a Brogdon and White backcourt was not going to suffice to withstand a playoff run.

Even after they got Jrue, I kind of preferred their setup with a younger and cheaper Smart and healthy Timelord than with Jrue and Porzingus. But they pulled it off. The pieces came together.

This is Brad Stevens' championship, however boring and dull it may be. I envy his acumen to the point of hatred. He outcoached Nurse in the bubble and he out-GM'd Masai.

[MiamiSPX]

The salt in here is strong. Don't get me wrong, I despise the Cs infinitely more than the next guy, but objectively speaking, they are not going anywhere. They have 2 top 20 players that are 26 and 27 years old, respectively. Their owners are willing to spend, and their FO is willing to make whatever trades they can to surround those 2 with a contender. There isn't a single team in the East as well positioned IMO.

[Los_29]

The salt in here is strong. Don't get me wrong, I despise the Cs infinitely more than the next guy, but objectively speaking, they are not going anywhere. They have 2 top 20 players that are 26 and 27 years old, respectively. Their owners are willing to spend, and their FO is willing to make whatever trades they can to surround those 2 with a contender. There isn't a single team in the East as well positioned IMO.

I agree but I also don’t think they are some dynasty either. Jrue is 34 and Horford is 38. Porzingis also has issues staying healthy. I don’t think anyone can rely on that guy to play an extended stretch of games. Brown and Tatum are an excellent duo but need a very good team around them to win. They are simply not good enough to carry a team. How likely is it that the Celtics can surround those guys with the same kind of team in the future? Their team was stacked this year. That will be very hard to replicate.

[Scase]

The salt in here is strong. Don't get me wrong, I despise the Cs infinitely more than the next guy, but objectively speaking, they are not going anywhere. They have 2 top 20 players that are 26 and 27 years old, respectively. Their owners are willing to spend, and their FO is willing to make whatever trades they can to surround those 2 with a contender. There isn't a single team in the East as well positioned IMO.

My biggest complaint isn't about the C's, they built an incredible team they get their flowers.

My issue is with how god damn boring the finals were lol.

[Brinbe]

The salt in here is strong. Don't get me wrong, I despise the Cs infinitely more than the next guy, but objectively speaking, they are not going anywhere. They have 2 top 20 players that are 26 and 27 years old, respectively. Their owners are willing to spend, and their FO is willing to make whatever trades they can to surround those 2 with a contender. There isn't a single team in the East as well positioned IMO.

My biggest complaint isn't about the C's, they built an incredible team they get their flowers.

My issue is with how god damn boring the finals were lol.

That's on ESPN 100% for their flat presentation. NBC and Turner would've done it right.

There were so many storylines in this series. Luka, the franchise's cornerstone successor to Dirk, an ascending top 5 player in his first finals. That Mavs team as a whole as a bunch of roleplayers going through the buzzsaw of that western conference. And the Celtics themselves are a foundational franchise in the league with roots going back to the 60s. It's not hard to make it interesting even if there were blowouts and the outcome was what it was. Al Horford, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, KP, Tatum/Brown and Mazzulla, all those guys have had compelling career arcs up to this point.

Other sports use the big stage to tell the stories of the players/coaches and introduce them to a wider audience. ESPN did none of that and just crammed a bunch of ads into it.

[ATLTimekeeper]

The salt in here is strong. Don't get me wrong, I despise the Cs infinitely more than the next guy, but objectively speaking, they are not going anywhere. They have 2 top 20 players that are 26 and 27 years old, respectively. Their owners are willing to spend, and their FO is willing to make whatever trades they can to surround those 2 with a contender. There isn't a single team in the East as well positioned IMO.

My biggest complaint isn't about the C's, they built an incredible team they get their flowers.

My issue is with how god damn boring the finals were lol.

That's on ESPN 100% for their flat presentation. NBC and Turner would've done it right.

There were so many storylines in this series. Luka, the franchise's cornerstone successor to Dirk, an ascending top 5 player in his first finals. That Mavs team as a whole as a bunch of roleplayers going through the buzzsaw of that western conference. And the Celtics themselves are a foundational franchise in the league with roots going back to the 60s. It's not hard to make it interesting even if there were blowouts and the outcome was what it was. Al Horford, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, KP, Tatum/Brown and Mazzulla, all those guys have had compelling career arcs up to this point.

Other sports use the big stage to tell the stories of the players/coaches and introduce them to a wider audience. ESPN did none of that and just crammed a bunch of ads into it.

NBC sports can't do much about every game being a blowout. This was one the least competitive Finals I can remember. The Mavs were like the Iverson 76ers.

[Brinbe]

My biggest complaint isn't about the C's, they built an incredible team they get their flowers.

My issue is with how god damn boring the finals were lol.

That's on ESPN 100% for their flat presentation. NBC and Turner would've done it right.

There were so many storylines in this series. Luka, the franchise's cornerstone successor to Dirk, an ascending top 5 player in his first finals. That Mavs team as a whole as a bunch of roleplayers going through the buzzsaw of that western conference. And the Celtics themselves are a foundational franchise in the league with roots going back to the 60s. It's not hard to make it interesting even if there were blowouts and the outcome was what it was. Al Horford, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, KP, Tatum/Brown and Mazzulla, all those guys have had compelling career arcs up to this point.

Other sports use the big stage to tell the stories of the players/coaches and introduce them to a wider audience. ESPN did none of that and just crammed a bunch of ads into it.

NBC sports can't do much about every game being a blowout. This was one the least competitive Finals I can remember. The Mavs were like the Iverson 76ers.

It's not about competition, it's about presentation. You can celebrate a dominant team win. That Sixers series had the same result as this did but was infinitely more memorable. The one thing people most remember about that is Al stepping over Ty Lue after hitting a jumper.

Read on Twitter

ESPN did a disservice to what the Celtics accomplished and did a piss-poor job all-around.

[DelAbbot]

The salt in here is strong. Don't get me wrong, I despise the Cs infinitely more than the next guy, but objectively speaking, they are not going anywhere. They have 2 top 20 players that are 26 and 27 years old, respectively. Their owners are willing to spend, and their FO is willing to make whatever trades they can to surround those 2 with a contender. There isn't a single team in the East as well positioned IMO.

My biggest complaint isn't about the C's, they built an incredible team they get their flowers.

My issue is with how god damn boring the finals were lol.

The fault is with Denver for not getting into the Finals like they should have.

[Scase]

My biggest complaint isn't about the C's, they built an incredible team they get their flowers.

My issue is with how god damn boring the finals were lol.

That's on ESPN 100% for their flat presentation. NBC and Turner would've done it right.

There were so many storylines in this series. Luka, the franchise's cornerstone successor to Dirk, an ascending top 5 player in his first finals. That Mavs team as a whole as a bunch of roleplayers going through the buzzsaw of that western conference. And the Celtics themselves are a foundational franchise in the league with roots going back to the 60s. It's not hard to make it interesting even if there were blowouts and the outcome was what it was. Al Horford, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, KP, Tatum/Brown and Mazzulla, all those guys have had compelling career arcs up to this point.

Other sports use the big stage to tell the stories of the players/coaches and introduce them to a wider audience. ESPN did none of that and just crammed a bunch of ads into it.

NBC sports can't do much about every game being a blowout. This was one the least competitive Finals I can remember. The Mavs were like the Iverson 76ers.

Yeah this is more what I was referring to. Craft all the stories you want, it doesn't change all the blowouts. Only a single game was really close. Hell, I checked out of yesterdays game with 3min in the 3rd. It was so boring lol.

[ATLTimekeeper]

That's on ESPN 100% for their flat presentation. NBC and Turner would've done it right.

There were so many storylines in this series. Luka, the franchise's cornerstone successor to Dirk, an ascending top 5 player in his first finals. That Mavs team as a whole as a bunch of roleplayers going through the buzzsaw of that western conference. And the Celtics themselves are a foundational franchise in the league with roots going back to the 60s. It's not hard to make it interesting even if there were blowouts and the outcome was what it was. Al Horford, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, KP, Tatum/Brown and Mazzulla, all those guys have had compelling career arcs up to this point.

Other sports use the big stage to tell the stories of the players/coaches and introduce them to a wider audience. ESPN did none of that and just crammed a bunch of ads into it.

NBC sports can't do much about every game being a blowout. This was one the least competitive Finals I can remember. The Mavs were like the Iverson 76ers.

It's not about competition, it's about presentation. You can celebrate a dominant team win. That Sixers series had the same result as this did but was infinitely more memorable. The one thing people most remember about that is Al stepping over Ty Lue after hitting a jumper.

Read on Twitter

ESPN did a disservice to what the Celtics accomplished and did a piss-poor job all-around.

Philly won game 1! The Mavs didn't put up a fight at all. The series was over by the time the Mavs showed up.

The external factors are like, no one outside of Boston giving a **** about the city of Boston celebrating another title.

[UnderdogRaptors]

It was a lucky ring they won't win another.

[microjacklin]

People here are just too salty
Celtics is just building with Horford and Jrue as "age concern" player and KP as their "injury risk" player
this is how you have a contender roster in todays NBA instead some fan here who always want all roster are young players
don't forget we also have this kind of construction before in 2019 for Gasol and Kawhi
high risk high reward

[JB7]

The Celtics got their one title with this team, and while it was built very well, it was also hugely risky, as they pretty much relied on 6 players, including a huge injury risk in KP, and a 38yr old Horford.

But they got lucky, and everyone generally held up. Had they had an injury to one of the other 4, they would have been done.

I don't expect them to repeat. Will be another team next year.

Luck with health is what the championship seems to be about these days.

Build a strong team, and hope no significant injuries.

[Prestige]

I see no reason why they can’t be a dynasty. As long as they have Tatum and Brown, with an aggressive front office and ownership willing to spend, they can keep finding players and ring chasers to surround those two.

[Pointgod]

I see no reason why they can’t be a dynasty. As long as they have Tatum and Brown, with an aggressive front office and ownership willing to spend, they can keep finding players and ring chasers to surround those two.

Brad Stevens is gonna cook and not sit on his ass. I expect him to find a backup for Porzingis/Horford.

[navyblue]

I see no reason why they can’t be a dynasty. As long as they have Tatum and Brown, with an aggressive front office and ownership willing to spend, they can keep finding players and ring chasers to surround those two.

The cba. Hollinger wrote a whole article about how they might have 1 more season left in them. Then the NBA starts to lock picks among other restrictions.

For example if the Celtics stay above second apron next season, both 2031 pick and 2032 get locked (cannot be traded) and if they stay in tax even longer those picks become 30th pick in draft. Plus repeat tax rates are higher.