Eastern Conference | Round 1 | (2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Brooklyn Nets

[Blaze4G]

I see the Celtics fans are already overly defensive…and the series hasn’t even started yet

Love it. Kyrie is still in their heads.

I wasn't feeling defensive at all when I wrote that but I know it can be hard to read that kind of thing over the Internet.

I was legitimately thinking that if you watch the series you'll get a better understanding of how good Tatum is and perhaps even become a fan. Which makes me happy, not defensive.

Aa fan of neither team, so no real dog in this fight, but as an NBA fan for 40+ years…it’s cute that you think I don’t know the ins and outs of both players games. But I’m glad you are happy.

He didn't say you didn't know the ins and out of both player games. He was explaining that he wasn't being defensive when he replied to the other person, he was saying the other person would better understand how good Tatum is, not you wouldn't understand.

Seems like you're the one being defensive and looking for an argument when there wasn't any which is cute.

[ajones9219]

Yeah I don’t know that that is true. And Kyrie is the more efficient scorer. And Im fairly certain he’s going to have a chip on his shoulder about taking it to Boston.

Well I hope you watch and enjoy the series so you'll find out it is in fact true.

I see the Celtics fans are already overly defensive…and the series hasn’t even started yet

Love it. Kyrie is still in their heads.

Hombre. Kyrie is generally regarded as ranked somewhere 15-25. Tatum is generally ranked at lowest 13

[greekbuck34]

Well I hope you watch and enjoy the series so you'll find out it is in fact true.

I see the Celtics fans are already overly defensive…and the series hasn’t even started yet

Love it. Kyrie is still in their heads.

Hombre. Kyrie is generally regarded as ranked somewhere 15-25. Tatum is generally ranked at lowest 13

When Kyrie was completely shut down by the Bucks defense a couple of years ago he was considered a failure without Lebron carrying his ass in the finals. A cancer in the locker room, unable to play team ball etc.
After the last play in game the media heads were debating who's the best offensive player in the league. KD or Kyrie?

Watch on YouTube

[bisme37]

I see the Celtics fans are already overly defensive…and the series hasn’t even started yet

Love it. Kyrie is still in their heads.

Hombre. Kyrie is generally regarded as ranked somewhere 15-25. Tatum is generally ranked at lowest 13

When Kyrie was completely shut down by the Bucks defense a couple of years ago he was considered a failure without Lebron carrying his ass in the finals. A cancer in the locker room, unable to play team ball etc.
After the last play in game the media heads were debating who's the best offensive player in the league. KD or Kyrie?

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

Yeah I mean Tatum is 6 years younger and has already led his team to two conference finals as the #1 option.

Kyrie tried being the #1 option and had the most inefficient playoff series on high volume shooting of any NBA player since the 1960s.

Ky is great as a #2 though and I'm sure he'll have some big games in this series.

But that doesn't make him better than Tatum who carries much more of a load, is in the top tier of NBA players according to advanced stats, led his team to the #2 seed and is a top 4-6 on various MVP ladders this season. Not to mention the massive gap on the defensive end. JT is at a different level now than he's ever been. He's truly elite.

It's well established that Tatum is the better player than Ky at this point. And if some folks don't know that I'm genuinely excited for them to find out.

[greekbuck34]

I agree. Since it's almost certain Kyrie is not good enough as a No1 option(mainly because of his personality/leadership issues and his style of game) he cant be a better player than a franchise player like Tatum. Tatum though still has to prove himself that he is good enough as a No1 option on a contender. Kyrie has already proved many times that he can be a great Robin on a contender.

I concider those young Celtic teams a Brad Stevens team and not Tatum's team. All of their success and failures were because of their defense, team play etc. This is the first season he actually has the burden of a No1 option. Last season his team was too injured against a superteam so he had nothing to lose. This season he has to go against KD and Giannis and prove that he is close enough to their level.

[Jaqua92]

Ditto

Tatum is unquestionably better at this point. The slight advantage Kyrie has in playmaking is more than made up for by Tatum's height and defense.

All advanced metrics point to it as well.

Kyrie may be a more skillful scorer, but Tatum is the better overall player. There's no actual evidence to suggest otherwise.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Tatum is a better cornerstone given his age and room for improvement. But he's very predictable (in a bad way) in big moments... Needs to become a more willing passer instead of following on Jaylen Brown's footsteps as a pass last player.

What??

Tatum's passing, and quicker decision making has unlocked the ball movement. He's made a legitimate jump as a playmaker and is in the top 3 in hockey assist this year, I believe.

He's a willing passer and a very good playmaker right now.

The iso habits haven't been around for a while.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[California Gold]

Winner of this is likely going to ECF. I think this is more of a 2nd round matchup than a 1st but I do think whomever comes out of this will likely be heading to the ECF.

[Karate Diop]

Winner of this is likely going to ECF. I think this is more of a 2nd round matchup than a 1st but I do think whomever comes out of this will likely be heading to the ECF.

Depends on whether the Bucks pull out some of their Mortal Kombat moves again...

[ajones9219]

ok then, i look forward you celtics giving their star players rest days in the play-offs.

Tatum averaged 36 minutes this year and sat several fourth quarters. Nobody is talking about resting stars.

Tatum and Brown are also not injury prone. Durant and Irving have had several very serious injuries. Nets fans should know better than anyone.

it's the play-offs, wave up. every player worth a damn will be playing 40 min. i don't know what you're even trying to say here, injury prone, blah, blaah.

That KD and Kyrie can't stay healthy when playing 40+ minutes a game for a whole playoff run. That's what I'm trying to say.

[sam_I_am]

Tatum averaged 36 minutes this year and sat several fourth quarters. Nobody is talking about resting stars.

Tatum and Brown are also not injury prone. Durant and Irving have had several very serious injuries. Nets fans should know better than anyone.

it's the play-offs, wave up. every player worth a damn will be playing 40 min. i don't know what you're even trying to say here, injury prone, blah, blaah.

That KD and Kyrie can't stay healthy when playing 40+ minutes a game for a whole playoff run. That's what I'm trying to say.

Also, Kyrie and KD have already been playing 40 min a game for weeks. They probably can’t increase their minutes any more. The Celtics starting 5 on the other hand are the best 5 man unit statistically but they only play about 32-35 min per game. When they bump up to 40 min - if they can do it - it will be a significant upgrade.

[danvato]

Tatum averaged 36 minutes this year and sat several fourth quarters. Nobody is talking about resting stars.

Tatum and Brown are also not injury prone. Durant and Irving have had several very serious injuries. Nets fans should know better than anyone.

it's the play-offs, wave up. every player worth a damn will be playing 40 min. i don't know what you're even trying to say here, injury prone, blah, blaah.

That KD and Kyrie can't stay healthy when playing 40+ minutes a game for a whole playoff run. That's what I'm trying to say.

but they would be fine if they played 36 minutes?

[Kalela]

Celtics will be humbled tomorrow.

[skones]

The Nets have the two best players in this series. It’s tough to pick against a team that has an advantage like that. Took Nets in 6.

Tatum is clearly better than Kyrie at this point

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Yeah I don’t know that that is true. And Kyrie is the more efficient scorer. And Im fairly certain he’s going to have a chip on his shoulder about taking it to Boston.

Tatum is comfortably better than Kyrie. You're very wrong here and you're oddly doubling down on it. As aesthetically pleasing as Kyrie's game is, it doesn't have the impact that Superstars traditionally have. Tatum is a superstar.

[skones]

Winner of this is likely going to ECF. I think this is more of a 2nd round matchup than a 1st but I do think whomever comes out of this will likely be heading to the ECF.

Depends on whether the Bucks pull out some of their Mortal Kombat moves again...

[ajones9219]

it's the play-offs, wave up. every player worth a damn will be playing 40 min. i don't know what you're even trying to say here, injury prone, blah, blaah.

That KD and Kyrie can't stay healthy when playing 40+ minutes a game for a whole playoff run. That's what I'm trying to say.

but they would be fine if they played 36 minutes?

Yeah it could be. This isn't ground breaking info. Injury-prone guys are less likely to be injured the less minutes they have to play.

[ajones9219]

Celtics will be humbled tomorrow.

Responding so I remember to lol this tomorrow.

[KIRAG]

Predict the scores for tomorrow/later's game:

110
117

Not gonna say which team coz I don't want to jinx anything. But that's my predicted scores for the game tomorrow.

[KIRAG]

My X factors for both teams for game 1 (should be a role player and not a star player)

1) Bruce Brown for the Nets

2) Payton Prtichard for the Celtics

[Triple7]

I agree. Since it's almost certain Kyrie is not good enough as a No1 option(mainly because of his personality/leadership issues and his style of game) he cant be a better player than a franchise player like Tatum. Tatum though still has to prove himself that he is good enough as a No1 option on a contender. Kyrie has already proved many times that he can be a great Robin on a contender.

I concider those young Celtic teams a Brad Stevens team and not Tatum's team. All of their success and failures were because of their defense, team play etc. This is the first season he actually has the burden of a No1 option. Last season his team was too injured against a superteam so he had nothing to lose. This season he has to go against KD and Giannis and prove that he is close enough to their level.

I agree that this series/playoffs in particular, would tell a lot about Tatum. It’s a tough matchup against an all time great in KD, and one of the better offensive talent we’ve seen in Kyrie. This is a great opportunity for Tatum actually to show he is in that convo with the KD’s and Giannis’. He showed he belongs in the regular season, now he needs to show he can deliver in the playoffs as a clear cut number 1 against the very best. Every all time greats started somewhere, this could be Tatums.

[Wolfgang630]

The big game today.