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

[PierceFan4ever]

If the Sixers are as good as their fans hype them up to be, this should be a sweep. The Celtics with Hayward and Kyrie would sweep a Sixers team without Embiid and Simmons.

It would be an embarrassment of epic proportions if the team with two “generational” talents couldn’t dispatch the hobbled Celtics in 5 games or less.

Let’s see what happens...

This. It would be extremely embarrassing if they lose to the Celtics. I made a bias prediction in favor of the Celtics but Philly with their talent and being healthy should beat the Celtics. If I see this series going 6 or more then you can forget about the Sixers challenging the Celtics in the next 2 years minimum unless Lebron joins because the Celtics would do a number on the Sixers if they aren’t injured next season. If Embiid is the next Kareem and Simmons is the next Magic and Saric being only a little worse than Hayward and Covington being better than both Tatum and Brown then the Sixers should sweep the Celtics if the hype is that big.

Lol. This is the angle that Celtics fans are taking? Pathetic and sad. If you're expecting to lose I don't want to read any trash talk towards this 76ers and their fans. Series hasn't even started and you guys don't believe in your team. Let me guess, when the Sixers win the new argument will be, "but they didn't beat us in 4-5 games" Lmao, doubt Sixers fans care how they beat you, they're not even supposed to be here. Sixers are the team playing with house money and nothing to lose. They are far ahead of schedule

I have belief in my team to make it a series. But don’t be stupid the Celtics are without their 2 best players. I even thought the Bucks had a good chance to beat the Celtics. How good would the Sixers be without Simmons and Embiid going up against a healthy Celtics team? It’s not excuses it’s facts because no team missing their best players in this league would go very far. Celtics are the injured team you guys have all the hype in the world, if anything it’s the Celtics playing with house money. And yes Celtics fans have it both ways. You lose to us, you guys would get laughed at. You win, oh well you guys have magic, Kareem and a player near Hayward’s level so it’s expected. I can sit back and relax and not care if we lose. Said the same with Milwaukee. If we win I’ll be ecstatic. And yes you guys will get trashed if you guys need 6 games or more to win or lose because the hype not only your fanbase created but the media as well. You’re the healthy bunch here not the Celtics. The Sixers without Embiid and Simmons would lose in 3 to the Celtics with a healthy Kyrie and Hayward. Stop ignoring that.

Yes I’ll laugh if it takes 6 games not because of you guys advancing but laugh because you guys aren’t much competition next year if you don’t land Lebron. I’ll congratulate you guys on your success this season and advancing to the conference finals but it’s more of what’s to come next season bud.

[KHRICH]

So did Miami. And Simmons averaged a triple double for the series.

I know, hard to argue with facts.

If you wanna compare the wings of Miami to Boston I dont think anything can be explained to you.

[kuclas]

Embiid is 100% healthy. Us philly fans still have that excuse if sixers loss

[jfs1000d]

This thread is funny. 76ers fans want to be the underdog, and their butts kissed, and for us to acknowledge future greatness.

This is the first salvo in a rivalry renewed. But, this is by no means what the Celtics will be trotting out in the future.

I don’t think it means anything about who has brighter future.


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[hickfromfrenchlick]

:evil:

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.

Ehm, we're excited about a lot more, tbh. Tatum, Brown. Potentially Grayson Allen from our duke farm.

I cannot imagine anybody getting excited about Allen except Allen himself.

Maybe a ref who's got an urge to T somebody up?

[Hipster Doofus]

If you wanna compare the wings of Miami to Boston I dont think anything can be explained to you.

Again, easy way out through the usage of a GIF. No explanation whatsoever.

[hickfromfrenchlick]

I’m not pulling any card. The reason why Stevens is held in high regard as a basketball coach is he’s been able to win games with what has been thought as marginal talent. Sixer fans have reminded us that the Celtics have no superstars like they do yet the Celtics still manage to win ballgames somehow.

I hold Brad in high regard! I'm just saying that we should hold Brett in equally high regard! Two great young coaches getting a chance to match up. I'm sure both guys are jacked up to test their mettle.

I think - and like most people don't like to admit that I'm wrong - that Brett Brown has blossomed in the last two to three months. He's not the same coach as when the C's beat us in October, November and January. Nor are the Sixers the same team. I believe Brown's emergence into a top-tier coach happened with additions of a bench - namely, Ilyasova and Belinelli. Also with the continued growth of Embiid, Simmons and Saric. I suspect that these two big-picture issues are related. Nevertheless, he's making better coaching decisions - X's and O's - and it is undeniable that the team is playing solid defense.

I was happy to hear that Brad Stevens had no intention of putting Jaylen Brown back in the game last night after he appears to have strained his hamstring. I was disappointed in him for not ordering Brown to stay off the bike until he's had an MRI rather than let the same trainers, I presume, who failed to diagnose IT correctly, clear him to play.

I think Stevens has done a marvelous job this season in getting the most out of players like Marcus Morris, Terry Rozier, Shane Larkin and Aaron Baynes. He has a system which made it possible for Tatum to make the transition from college to pro ball. And Jaylen Brown, if there were an award for the most improved second-year player, would be in the running.

So while I would give the C's the coaching edge, I believe the addition of shooters (Ilyasova and Belinelli to Redick) has allowed Brown to show what he can do. And so far, he's been getting A grades.

Your presumption regarding the Celtics training staff is incorrect. (Edit: Someone beat me to it.)

Props to Brown. The Sixers have been playing well. I'm happy with our guy and I'm glad you like your guy. It's good to have the Celts and Sixers battling it out. It'll be better when we're not hobbled.

[L3GEND4RY]

I know, hard to argue with facts.

If you wanna compare the wings of Miami to Boston I dont think anything can be explained to you.

[L3GEND4RY]

If you wanna compare the wings of Miami to Boston I dont think anything can be explained to you.

Again, easy way out through the usage of a GIF. No explanation whatsoever.

Wait.. do you really believe the wings of Miami = those of Boston? I'll be more than happy to "explain it" to you.

[Wolfgang630]

Will Embiid still wear the mask?

[Blaze4G]

If the Sixers are as good as their fans hype them up to be, this should be a sweep. The Celtics with Hayward and Kyrie would sweep a Sixers team without Embiid and Simmons.

It would be an embarrassment of epic proportions if the team with two “generational” talents couldn’t dispatch the hobbled Celtics in 5 games or less.

Let’s see what happens...

It's a good strategy to keep the expectations low.

As far as the two "generational" talents, one is a rookie and the other is in his second season. I don't think anyone was expecting LeBron to win it all with the Cavs as a rookie or a second year player back in 2004. Or Steph to win it all with the Warriors back in 2009 or 2010.

Things take time. However, the two "generational" talents are way ahead of the curve.

People were taking bets in the beginning of the season on whether the Sixers would even make the playoffs, let alone be a third seed looking to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. I haven't seen much of those people lately.

And people were saying Celtics is a lottery team when Hayward went down. I can just imagine what they said when Kyrie went down.

People need... Sixers fans need to stop trying to pretend they are the underdog in this series. I haven't seen the Vegas odds but in sure Philly is favorites. So just stop.

It's either embid and Simmons are generational talents and overwhelming favorites of they are just okay and the underdogs.

Make up your mind

[The-Power]

76ers in 6 Games. Stevens is a great coach and the Sixers key players are quite inexperienced, so I do believe the Celtics can make it tough on them and take a couple games. But the talent of the 76ers will prove to be too much, imo. The Celtics will go through long phases of scoring droughts and 76ers have plenty of guys to make a decisive offensive impact in any game, both among the starters and bench players.

[Roddy]

This thread is funny. 76ers fans want to be the underdog, and their butts kissed, and for us to acknowledge future greatness.

This is the first salvo in a rivalry renewed. But, this is by no means what the Celtics will be trotting out in the future.

I don’t think it means anything about who has brighter future.


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Dont be too harsh with them.

Their last championship was 35 years ago, their last playoffs appearance was in 2012 (they lost against the Celtics...).
Now they have a good team, ESPN is telling them that Embiid is already better than Olajuwon, Shaq and David Robinson, they beat the great Olynyk's team and Realgm experts are also telling them that Simmons is a Top 10 player...

[GeorgeMarcus]

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.

Nah I'm good with the tanking. That team was essentially stealing from fans by charging even a single dollar for a ticket.

And your own team didn't trust the process. The GM got canned...

Lol. That's not what happened at all.

[hookshot199]

I'm talking about one specific match up. It's not delusional at all to think that one of the best defensive big men in the league is a tough match up for Embiid.

I'm sure Embiid will get his. But I'm also sure that one of the defensive teams all year will be able to game plan

A year ago, Horford struggled in 30% of playoff games against two journey centers - Robin Lopez and Marcin Gortat, neither of whom is as strong, big or skilled as Embiid. Embiid require a lot of help defense, which the Celtics are very good at. I have no doubt that you will force him into making turnovers and drawing an occasional offensive foul. But when you double-team him, a) he's a good passer and b) the Sixers are not the same team they were back in October, November and January. We've got shooters off the bench and, whatever comparisons you wish to make between Simmons and Giannis, Simmons is a better ball-handler and passer. We have better passers throughout the lineup than Milwaukee.

http://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3213/year/2017/al-horford
http://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/2758/year/2017/marcin-gortat
http://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3447/year/2017/robin-lopez

Celts are going to go Baynes on Embiid with Monroe and Horford also.

Horford will play the PF, and maybe even Simmons.

If 76ers hitting 3s, they will be tough.

I am interested to see how Stevens devised a defense win Simmons. Heat have a fraction of the talent than even this depleted Celtics team.
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I like Baynes as a backup center, but are you suggesting that he's a match for Embiid? It could happen of course. But this would be like a Sixers fan saying that TJ McConnell can stop Kyrie. Don't you think? We're talking about journeymen players defending all stars.

[GeorgeMarcus]

This thread is funny. 76ers fans want to be the underdog, and their butts kissed, and for us to acknowledge future greatness.

This is the first salvo in a rivalry renewed. But, this is by no means what the Celtics will be trotting out in the future.

I don’t think it means anything about who has brighter future.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Dont be too harsh with them.

Their last championship was 35 years ago, their last playoffs appearance was in 2012 (they lost against the Celtics...).
Now they have a good team, ESPN is telling them that Embiid is already better than Olajuwon, Shaq and David Robinson, they beat the great Olynyk's team and Realgm experts are also telling them that Simmons is a Top 10 player...

Oh so we're talking about history now? Still milking that ring from a decade ago? OK then. The 67 Sixers and 83 Sixers are better than any Boston team ever assembled Perhaps some day you will mirror the greatness of those teams.

[jfs1000d]

This thread is funny. 76ers fans want to be the underdog, and their butts kissed, and for us to acknowledge future greatness.

This is the first salvo in a rivalry renewed. But, this is by no means what the Celtics will be trotting out in the future.

I don’t think it means anything about who has brighter future.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Dont be too harsh with them.

Their last championship was 35 years ago, their last playoffs appearance was in 2012 (they lost against the Celtics...).
Now they have a good team, ESPN is telling them that Embiid is already better than Olajuwon, Shaq and David Robinson, they beat the great Olynyk's team and Realgm experts are also telling them that Simmons is a Top 10 player...

Oh so we're talking about history now? Still milking that ring from a decade ago? OK then. The 67 Sixers and 83 Sixers are better than any Boston team ever assembled Perhaps some day you will mirror the greatness of those teams.

Lol. 86 Celtics say hello.


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[GeorgeMarcus]

Dont be too harsh with them.

Their last championship was 35 years ago, their last playoffs appearance was in 2012 (they lost against the Celtics...).
Now they have a good team, ESPN is telling them that Embiid is already better than Olajuwon, Shaq and David Robinson, they beat the great Olynyk's team and Realgm experts are also telling them that Simmons is a Top 10 player...

Oh so we're talking about history now? Still milking that ring from a decade ago? OK then. The 67 Sixers and 83 Sixers are better than any Boston team ever assembled Perhaps some day you will mirror the greatness of those teams.

Lol. 86 Celtics say hello.


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83 Sixers >>> 86 Celtics

[jfs1000d]

Oh so we're talking about history now? Still milking that ring from a decade ago? OK then. The 67 Sixers and 83 Sixers are better than any Boston team ever assembled Perhaps some day you will mirror the greatness of those teams.

Lol. 86 Celtics say hello.


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83 Sixers >>> 86 Celtics

Nope.


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[GeorgeMarcus]

Lol. 86 Celtics say hello.


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83 Sixers >>> 86 Celtics

Nope.


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Lol that Celtics team struggled to get past the Rockets in the Finals. The Sixers cruised the entire playoffs including a clean sweep over the Magic/Kareem led Lakers.

Anyway none of that pertains to this thread. I was making fun of the Dallas Cowboys "rings!" argument considering you guys haven't won in a decade.