ECSF: P1 | (2) Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers (3) | BOS 1-0

[GeorgeMarcus]

Simmons / Reddick / Covington / Saric / Embiid = the best lineup in the NBA by net rating. And unlike the beginning of the season when we played the Celtics, now we have a bench.

That was the best starting line-up. The best 5 man line-up in the league was actually Simmons/Belinelli/Covington/Saric/Amir in 104 minutes played.

https://stats.nba.com/lineups/advanced/?Season=2017-18&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&sort=NET_RATING&dir=1

Correct, I used a minutes filter of 300 minutes to weed out the low-usage combinations. Meant to mention that.

[CoreyGallagher]

Man, you can tell Sixers fans haven't had a good team in a while reading this thread. Some of y'all really believe this team is a contender lol.

Vegas does too, we have the best odds in the East and the third best overall. Regardless, you're looking to the future the same as we are, lol... You're excited about Kyrie/Hayward, we're excited about Embiid/Simmons.

[76ciology]

Simmons / Reddick / Covington / Saric / Embiid = the best lineup in the NBA by net rating. And unlike the beginning of the season when we played the Celtics, now we have a bench.

That was the best starting line-up. The best 5 man line-up in the league was actually Simmons/Belinelli/Covington/Saric/Amir in 104 minutes played.

https://stats.nba.com/lineups/advanced/?Season=2017-18&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&sort=NET_RATING&dir=1

Thats why we need to trade Embiid and his albatross contract

[L3GEND4RY]

Like most Celtic fans posting in this thread.

And we all thought the fans from up North were insufferable. Here you come into the light. Good job.

Boston fans acting like others are the arrogant ones is hilarious.

??

You're being a tool. Plain and simple. Don't toss this onto us, mate.

This series can't start soon enough.

[Arsenal]

I do not like or respect the 76ers as an organization. I think their blatant tanking was shameful and should not be rewarded. It's going to feel really good watching a very injured Celtics team knock them out.

That said...this is a real rivalry. Just like the Celtics vs the Lakers. This one has meaning. This is not a fake Toronto rivalry. It's a damn shame the Celtics wont have Irving or Gordon

You're going to wish the Celtics decided to Trust The Process instead of prematurely trying to win now on the backs of inferior talent, and thereby capping the upside of their rebuild. You'll see the consequences of that over the next decade, starting with this series.

Right, because a series not featuring either of the Celtics stars will be indictitive of the teams prospects going forward.

Man, you can tell Sixers fans haven't had a good team in a while reading this thread. Some of y'all really believe this team is a contender lol. The C's will push the Sixers to the limit without their stars, then we'll wipe the floor with you when both teams are healthy next year.

No you won't. A team with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward as its best 2 players has NO CHANCE to win a title.

You need top 10 and preferably top 5 players to win chips. You don't have any even if Irving and Hayward come back at 100%.

We will probably have 2 top 10 players by next year. 3 if LeBron comes.

[Homerclease]

Simmons / Reddick / Covington / Saric / Embiid = the best lineup in the NBA by net rating. And unlike the beginning of the season when we played the Celtics, now we have a bench.

Playoffs are a different animal though

True, star power becomes a bit more pronounced. I think that works in our favor.

Your stars are young and relatively untested though as the pressure mounts. Wouldn’t shock me either way the series goes. Celtics were able to knock off Giannis and the budding superstar Khris Middleton who may or may not be the best player in the entire NBA, they can certainly do it again

[Homerclease]

You're going to wish the Celtics decided to Trust The Process instead of prematurely trying to win now on the backs of inferior talent, and thereby capping the upside of their rebuild. You'll see the consequences of that over the next decade, starting with this series.

Right, because a series not featuring either of the Celtics stars will be indictitive of the teams prospects going forward.

Man, you can tell Sixers fans haven't had a good team in a while reading this thread. Some of y'all really believe this team is a contender lol. The C's will push the Sixers to the limit without their stars, then we'll wipe the floor with you when both teams are healthy next year.

No you won't. A team with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward as its best 2 players has NO CHANCE to win a title.

You need top 10 and preferably top 5 players to win chips. You don't have any even if Irving and Hayward come back at 100%.

We will probably have 2 by next year. 3 if LeBron comes.

I would say both Kyrie and Embiid are top 10 players while Hayward and Simmons are not.

[Bar Fight]

Man, you can tell Sixers fans haven't had a good team in a while reading this thread. Some of y'all really believe this team is a contender lol.

Vegas does too. Regardless, you're looking to the future the same as we are, lol... You're excited about Kyrie/Hayward, we're excited about Embiid/Simmons.

The Sixers have no chance at a title. I don't view that as a contender. They'll be tough down the line, but they're not there yet. If they were a true contender, I would say the C's have no shot without their two stars, but the fact that they aren't, and lack experience, and are at a coaching disadvantage gives the C's a shot

[L3GEND4RY]

You're going to wish the Celtics decided to Trust The Process instead of prematurely trying to win now on the backs of inferior talent, and thereby capping the upside of their rebuild. You'll see the consequences of that over the next decade, starting with this series.

Right, because a series not featuring either of the Celtics stars will be indictitive of the teams prospects going forward.

Man, you can tell Sixers fans haven't had a good team in a while reading this thread. Some of y'all really believe this team is a contender lol. The C's will push the Sixers to the limit without their stars, then we'll wipe the floor with you when both teams are healthy next year.

No you won't. A team with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward as its best 2 players has NO CHANCE to win a title.

You need top 10 and preferably top 5 players to win chips. You don't have any even if Irving and Hayward come back at 100%.

We will probably have 2 by next year. 3 if LeBron comes.

Yeah, this is absolutely is not the be all, end all. This has been the formula for the last few title teams, but there is nothing that says a well rounded, well coached team cannot win.

Oh and,

Lebron
Durant
AD
Curry
Kawhi(if fully healthy)

Are all better than Simmons and Embiid. Come back into reality, will you? ps.. maybe you should watch some highlights of Irving. Seems like you've never seen him play, either.

[AlCelticFan]

The Celtics are at a talent disadvantage but the Sixers aren't close to a championship level team so anything can happen. Brad will steal a game or two with the coaching advantage alone.

Coaching advantage

We saw how elite his coaching was in last year's playoffs.

When they made the conference finals starting a midget, and guy slightly taller than a midget, a backup 3, a backup 4 and Horford. Lol.

[Madhouse]

I do not like or respect the 76ers as an organization. I think their blatant tanking was shameful and should not be rewarded. It's going to feel really good watching a very injured Celtics team knock them out.

That said...this is a real rivalry. Just like the Celtics vs the Lakers. This one has meaning. This is not a fake Toronto rivalry. It's a damn shame the Celtics wont have Irving or Gordon

You're going to wish the Celtics decided to Trust The Process instead of prematurely trying to win now on the backs of inferior talent, and thereby capping the upside of their rebuild. You'll see the consequences of that over the next decade, starting with this series.

Right, because a series not featuring either of the Celtics stars will be indicative of the teams prospects going forward.

Man, you can tell Sixers fans haven't had a good team in a while reading this thread. Some of y'all really believe this team is a contender lol. The C's will push the Sixers to the limit without their stars, then we'll wipe the floor with you when both teams are healthy next year.

lulz

[Bar Fight]

You're going to wish the Celtics decided to Trust The Process instead of prematurely trying to win now on the backs of inferior talent, and thereby capping the upside of their rebuild. You'll see the consequences of that over the next decade, starting with this series.

Right, because a series not featuring either of the Celtics stars will be indictitive of the teams prospects going forward.

Man, you can tell Sixers fans haven't had a good team in a while reading this thread. Some of y'all really believe this team is a contender lol. The C's will push the Sixers to the limit without their stars, then we'll wipe the floor with you when both teams are healthy next year.

No you won't. A team with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward as its best 2 players has NO CHANCE to win a title.

You need top 10 and preferably top 5 players to win chips. You don't have any even if Irving and Hayward come back at 100%.

We will probably have 2 top 10 players by next year. 3 if LeBron comes.

Well it should be fun to see how it plays out then. I'll be sure to mock the hell out of you when you're wrong. That's if I remember you by this time next year.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Playoffs are a different animal though

True, star power becomes a bit more pronounced. I think that works in our favor.

Your stars are young and relatively untested though as the pressure mounts. Wouldn’t shock me either way the series goes. Celtics were able to knock off Giannis and the budding superstar Khris Middleton who may or may not be the best player in the entire NBA, they can certainly do it again

The Bucks aren't very good, there's a reason they fell to the 7 seed. Totally lacking in depth/a competent big man. It's not like Boston has more playoff experience than us anyway. But yeah, time will tell.

[Homerclease]

True, star power becomes a bit more pronounced. I think that works in our favor.

Your stars are young and relatively untested though as the pressure mounts. Wouldn’t shock me either way the series goes. Celtics were able to knock off Giannis and the budding superstar Khris Middleton who may or may not be the best player in the entire NBA, they can certainly do it again

The Bucks aren't very good, there's a reason they fell to the 7 seed. Totally lacking in depth/a competent big man. It's not like Boston has more playoff experience than us anyway. But yeah, time will tell.

Pretty much this. It’s a crapshoot. Philly has veteran talent that has played in plenty of postseason games but the guys that are winning you games are playoff rookies. It’s all about Embiid and Simmons going forward and if their games continue to rise as the playoffs go on. Celtics have been winning with smoke and mirrors and with Al Horford playing out of his tree. Philly wins because their stars are really good and carry them to wins.

[Arsenal]

Re: coaching

I agree that Brad Stevens is a tremendous coach. However his reputation is built on his regular season success. He has shown he can get what appears to be mediocre talent to overachieve and win more regular season games than they should.

However his playoff track record isn't as impressive. Like I showed in their performance last year, they beat the bad teams that they should, and promptly lose when they face a better team than them.

Elite star talent matters more in the playoffs, and getting mediocre players to give extra effort and play over their heads doesn't go as far when everyone else turns the intensity up a notch.

[76ciology]

Re: coaching

I agree that Brad Stevens is a tremendous coach. However his reputation is built on his regular season success. He has shown he can get what appears to be mediocre talent to overachieve and win more regular season games than they should.

However his playoff track record isn't as impressive. Like I showed in their performance last year, they beat the bad teams that they should, and promptly lose when they face a better team than them.

Elite star talent matters more in the playoffs, and getting mediocre players to give extra effort and play over their heads doesn't go as far when everyone else turns the intensity up a notch.

Celts: But still.. better coach

[Homerclease]

Re: coaching

I agree that Brad Stevens is a tremendous coach. However his reputation is built on his regular season success. He has shown he can get what appears to be mediocre talent to overachieve and win more regular season games than they should.

However his playoff track record isn't as impressive. Like I showed in their performance last year, they beat the bad teams that they should, and promptly lose when they face a better team than them.

Elite star talent matters more in the playoffs, and getting mediocre players to give extra effort and play over their heads doesn't go as far when everyone else turns the intensity up a notch.

You have one elite star talent and a very impressive rookie that might get there in the near future. Let’s not act like you’re some type of unbeatable juggernaut over there

[K For Three]

[Sixerscan]

Re: coaching

I agree that Brad Stevens is a tremendous coach. However his reputation is built on his regular season success. He has shown he can get what appears to be mediocre talent to overachieve and win more regular season games than they should.

However his playoff track record isn't as impressive. Like I showed in their performance last year, they beat the bad teams that they should, and promptly lose when they face a better team than them.

Elite star talent matters more in the playoffs, and getting mediocre players to give extra effort and play over their heads doesn't go as far when everyone else turns the intensity up a notch.

Brett Brown is an incredibly capable coach. I'm not sure what Stevens has done to deserve any benefit of the doubt over him. There's a lot of talk about all the young talent here but Stevens/Brown should be one of the great young/unproven coaching matchups in a while.

[CoreyGallagher]

The Sixers have no chance at a title. I don't view that as a contender. They'll be tough down the line, but they're not there yet. If they were a true contender, I would say the C's have no shot without their two stars, but the fact that they aren't, and lack experience, and are at a coaching disadvantage gives the C's a shot

If you believe that then it's fine, but these are currently the actual odds:

GSW 1/1
HOU 9/5
PHI 8/1

Is it a longshot? Sure, but there is at least a puncher's chance according to them.