What do the next 4 or 5 top ranked teams need to do

[Joshyjess]

in order to dethrone Boston. Now, don't get me wrong, I am in no way saying that Boston is guaranteed to win anything next year. I know winning back-to-back championships is much harder than winning your first championship in a long time. However, Vegas is all ready putting odds out that Boston is favored to repeat next year.
So, if another team wants to beat Boston, what do you think they need to do this off-season. First of all, who do you think are the top 4 or 5 teams after Boston, and then what changes (if any) do you think they need to make in order to come out on top next year.

[bledredwine]

Jokic - give him more reliable defenders/shooters and try to find a number 2 if at all possible.
Jokic, go actually condition and care again now that you're facing adversity.

Luka - same as Jokic.... get conditioned. Mavs, same advice. Mavs are in a tricky situation
because what the hell is up with Kyrie's consistency? You just never know.

Wolves - Everyone drill shooting like a madman this summer and you have a chance to win it all.
Unfortunately, they're in a tricky situation where they're likely too loyal
to get rid of any of their players (ahem, KAT). But if they want to take the risk
to get over the hump, they need a big trade to support ANT's continual development.

KAT is talented, but they need a more well-rounded center. Is one even available? I don't know.
KAT is far too inconsistent to be legit against a defensive-minded team like Boston IMO, so you trade
if you can find something quite nice in return. That said, he's close with ANT, so it's a tough situation.

Basically, everyone needs to care about defense again (except Wolves who already have it)
and I'm hoping that
this year really brought back the truth; that defense matters as much as ever.
The regular season lack of defensive intensity is fools' gold.

[blueberrysticky]

Watching the playoffs as a mavs fan the gap between the top western conf teams and the Celtics 2024 version is quite significant.

You aren’t having 2-star showdowns with some role players you try to mismatch. I felt confident watching Luka/Kyrie versus western conf teams because it was similar constructs and I had faith in Luka.

The Celtics spread your team out, go 6 deep of great players and come at you in waves so it doesn’t matter who is taking a breather you never feel safe. There’s always multiple stars scoring. Brad Stevens pulled a fast one on the rest of the league

You need to find a way to equal their number of quality 2 way players. And with the CBA coming who knows

[GiannisAnte34]

Giannis and Dame being available would be a great start for the Bucks

[JustBuzzin]

Bucks win a championship they are the next dynasty.

Nuggets win a championship they are the next dynasty.

Celtics on the other hand have something those other 2 teams didn't have. 2 superstars just entering their prime. If I had to bet on one team making a dynasty run this Celtics team has that feel. Jrue/KP/White is just a trio you can't match as far as role players. This Celtics team is stacked!

[Joshyjess]

Giannis and Dame being available would be a great start for the Bucks

I know after the trade, many people consider the Bucks as the best team. Do you think a healthy Giannis and Dame is enough to beat Boston as things stand right now, or are there any other changes you see necessary?

[GiannisAnte34]

Giannis and Dame being available would be a great start for the Bucks

I know after the trade, many people consider the Bucks as the best team. Do you think a healthy Giannis and Dame is enough to beat Boston as things stand right now, or are there any other changes you see necessary?

swap Beasley for a defensive specialist at the 2. trade Lopez to some team that overrates him, keep Bobby. get rid of Pat C and Crowder for players with more quickness

stacking Rivers with an elite assistant coach squad is very welcomed. it was a very bad omen the moment Stotts walked out on Grief

[Lalouie]

the celts are seasoned

only the bucks and denver can say the same. i think den doesnt have the proper mindset. i think they took things for granted. i think mpj can be taken out in the playoffs. he's weak. they cant rely on murray.
khris is fragile now.
the bar in the league is low. i think help can be found anywhere,,,as the celts and mavs have shown

so all three have pedigree and experience

but the celts have youth over the other two. if kp is healthy and thats a big if,,,,forget it.

i think minnie and okc are there because gsw, lal, and lac dropped off the map - they're done
but its a young league now and okc/minnie are the best of the young

i think the rules are still in play, ie there's a ritual in place that young teams have to go through,,,even in parity. okc and minnie and orl and indy are miles away. nyk and miami need a star with brunson. if dal youth follows through for tgem they're the new player in town

so lets assume everything goes right for everybody
bos has 4 or 5 more years, mil has 2 or 3, den has 5,,,,,then it's okc/etc etc's turn

[AleksandarN]

Jokic - give him more reliable defenders/shooters and try to find a number 2 if at all possible.
Jokic, go actually condition and care again now that you're facing adversity.

Luka - same as Jokic.... get conditioned. Mavs, same advice. Mavs are in a tricky situation
because what the hell is up with Kyrie's consistency? You just never know.

Wolves - Everyone drill shooting like a madman this summer and you have a chance to win it all.
Unfortunately, they're in a tricky situation where they're likely too loyal
to get rid of any of their players (ahem, KAT). But if they want to take the risk
to get over the hump, they need a big trade to support ANT's continual development.

KAT is talented, but they need a more well-rounded center. Is one even available? I don't know.
KAT is far too inconsistent to be legit against a defensive-minded team like Boston IMO, so you trade
if you can find something quite nice in return. That said, he's close with ANT, so it's a tough situation.

Basically, everyone needs to care about defense again (except Wolves who already have it)
and I'm hoping that
this year really brought back the truth; that defense matters as much as ever.
The regular season lack of defensive intensity is fools' gold.

Jokic is in great shape. So I don’t know what you are talking about. Denver needs a healthy Murray. They match up well with Boston. They need to upgrade their pg depth though. I believe in Braun and Watson improving next year

[Warriorfan]

IMO not much seperates all the contenders. Health most important thing.

[R-DAWG]

In the East - teams #2, 3, 4 in the regular season standings - New York, Milwaukee, and Cleveland - didn't have the benefit of being healthy during the playoffs.

In addition, the defending Eastern Conference championships - Miami Heat - were not healthy all year and arguably the best player in the conference - Joel Embiid - wasn't healthy either - which made both teams play-in teams.

I think having to play against healthy teams is a starting point to beating the Celtics. A few more games/miles on Al and a tweak injury on Brown or Tatum - like Luka had these finals - and the narrative is different.

Boston deserves credit for a great season, they won the championship fair and square, but there needs to be some context to how these playoffs played out.

[KingofTheClay]

The Bucks will just have to be healthy and I think it’s theres to lose.

They’ll be hungrier, and Dame will be getting desperate.

With Horford getting old, we hope Tillman will start filling his shoes and be the Giannis primary.

If Porzingis is healthy in the postseason (seems unlikely unfortunately, probably my favorite dude in the league) and Tillman becomes a respectable shooter, Boston is the favorite but these are big ifs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hugepatsfan]

If they’re healthy, I don’t really see how anyone is going to match their overall depth 1-6, even 1-8. It’s going to take teams where the top 1, 2, even 3 players are so much cumulatively better than Tatum and Brown (and possibly even whoever you consider #3) that it makes up for the rest.

[Joshyjess]

I see that a lot of people are saying what things are right now. I guess what I'm asking is what do teams more specifically need to do? Is getting healthy the only thing teams need to do to have a chance to take down Boston? Or do they need to look for certain trades to beef up certain positions or matchups. I'm just curious what fans of other teams see as the greatest need for their team to take that next step and beat the Celtics (who are favored right now).

[Slax]

I see that a lot of people are saying what things are right now. I guess what I'm asking is what do teams more specifically need to do? Is getting healthy the only thing teams need to do to have a chance to take down Boston? Or do they need to look for certain trades to beef up certain positions or matchups. I'm just curious what fans of other teams see as the greatest need for their team to take that next step and beat the Celtics (who are favored right now).

This might sound kind of dumb, but as a Celtics fan, I think the Pacers series shows a decent enough blueprint for maximizing success against the Celtics. Teams that use a lot of off-ball motion, passing, and balanced shot-taking on offense seem to break down the Celtics' perimeter defense much better compared to teams that try to hunt for isolation mismatches. We also saw moments where the Celtics have struggled with defensive rebounding especially when KP is off the floor or playing hurt, so maybe beef up the size and rebounding to try to get a lot of second chance opportunities.

[165bows]

I see that a lot of people are saying what things are right now. I guess what I'm asking is what do teams more specifically need to do? Is getting healthy the only thing teams need to do to have a chance to take down Boston? Or do they need to look for certain trades to beef up certain positions or matchups. I'm just curious what fans of other teams see as the greatest need for their team to take that next step and beat the Celtics (who are favored right now).

This might sound kind of dumb, but as a Celtics fan, I think the Pacers series shows a decent enough blueprint for maximizing success against the Celtics. Teams that use a lot of off-ball motion, passing, and balanced shot-taking on offense seem to break down the Celtics' perimeter defense much better compared to teams that try to hunt for isolation mismatches. We also saw moments where the Celtics have struggled with defensive rebounding especially when KP is off the floor or playing hurt, so maybe beef up the size and rebounding to try to get a lot of second chance opportunities.

Agree I have come around on Indiana, who I didn't think were ready for prime time during the regular season. But they were a tough club and have as good a shot as anyone outside Denver and maybe 1-2 other teams.

[SuperDeluxe]

Boston deserves credit for a great season, they won the championship fair and square, but there needs to be some context to how these playoffs played out.

But this is what happens every season in the playoffs. Some players are sidelined, some play through injuries. So why is it that this Celtics championship needs context? For example, when Kevin Garnett got injured in 2009, did the Lakers' championship need some context?

[R-DAWG]

Boston deserves credit for a great season, they won the championship fair and square, but there needs to be some context to how these playoffs played out.

But this is what happens every season in the playoffs. Some players are sidelined, some play through injuries. So why is it that this Celtics championship needs context? For example, when Kevin Garnett got injured in 2009, did the Lakers' championship need some context?

Did the Lakers go up against other teams that were fully healthy during those playoffs?

Facts are facts, Boston played 3 teams in the eastern conference playoffs that were missing their best players.

[Fencer reregistered]

Boston deserves credit for a great season, they won the championship fair and square, but there needs to be some context to how these playoffs played out.

But this is what happens every season in the playoffs. Some players are sidelined, some play through injuries. So why is it that this Celtics championship needs context? For example, when Kevin Garnett got injured in 2009, did the Lakers' championship need some context?

Did the Lakers go up against other teams that were fully healthy during those playoffs?

Facts are facts, Boston played 3 teams in the eastern conference playoffs that were missing their best players.

Celtics dominated the Finals.

[SuperDeluxe]

Boston deserves credit for a great season, they won the championship fair and square, but there needs to be some context to how these playoffs played out.

But this is what happens every season in the playoffs. Some players are sidelined, some play through injuries. So why is it that this Celtics championship needs context? For example, when Kevin Garnett got injured in 2009, did the Lakers' championship need some context?

Did the Lakers go up against other teams that were fully healthy during those playoffs?

Facts are facts, Boston played 3 teams in the eastern conference playoffs that were missing their best players.

I don't really remember, but that Celtics team was the best in the league. For reference:

Feb. 19, 2009 -- The Celtics were the best team in the world. Period. Not only were they the defending Champions, they were on top of the standings with a gaudy 44-11 record. Earlier in the year they posted a 19 game winning streak. They were dominant on defense and efficient on offense. Everything was going according to plan and the word "dynasty" was starting to creep into people's minds.
(...)
That was a painful process for fans (not to mention Kevin himself) as the team kept hinting at a return before the playoffs. The team posted a very solid record down the stretch without him (finishing 62-20) but they were visibly undermanned in the playoffs.

Source: https://www.celticsblog.com/2013/8/21/4638636/what-if-kevin-garnett-doesnt-get-hurt-in-2009

In light of this, does it really matter of those Lakers went up against other teams that were fully healthy during those playoffs? The fact is, the absolute best team was missing its best player, yet no one called for asterisks or context for that Lakers' title. So I'm just wondering why in the Celtics case it's important to have "context."