Are the Celtics now legit title contenders?

[AirBonner]

11-2 streak heading into the ASB, including wins over:

Lakers
Heat
76ers
Thunder
Clippers

:confusedshrug:

[MrFonzworth]

Nah, won't make it out vs the 76ers or the Bucks.

[Wally450]

They've got a better chance than they have the last few years. Tatum taking the next step forward is great to see.

[Manny98]

Nope

[fourkicks44]

Maybe.

Depth and center is still a concern.

Theis has been good but dunno if he will be enough in the playoffs.

[SouBeachTalents]

They're definitely not a tier 1 contender like the Clips, Lakers, & Bucks, can they contend for a title? Yes. Do I expect them to legitimately have a chance? No

[Turbo Slayer]

Don't sleep on them.

[Real Men Wear Green]

They're definitely not a tier 1 contender like the Clips, Lakers, & Bucks, can they contend for a title? Yes. Do I expect them to legitimately have a chance? No They're 3-2 vs those teams have a better record than the Clippers and beat the snot out of the Lakers. I wouldn't bet the house on the Celtics yet either but they have the best group of wings in the league and have a sneaky amount of playoff experience.

[Manny98]

Nah, won't make it out vs the 76ers or the Bucks.

Boston would destroy Philly in the playoffs

[AirBonner]

Boston would destroy Philly in the playoffs

Agree. Just based off chemistry Boston is better. I could see Kanter outplaying Embiid for a game

[Wally450]

Agree. Just based off chemistry Boston is better. I could see Kanter outplaying Embiid for a game

Series*

I trust Brad to put Enes into a better position to succeed more than I would Brett Brown for Embiid.

[MrFonzworth]

Series*

I trust Brad to put Enes into a better position to succeed more than I would Brett Brown for Embiid.

Oh God:facepalm

[MrFonzworth]

I hope the Sixers get to play Boston. This is getting out of hand.

[BarberSchool]

They've got a better chance than they have the last few years. Tatum taking the next step forward is great to see.Kemba is more of a leader for young players on his worst day, than Kyrie ever was on his best day.

Celtics got a good thing going.

Kanter And Kemba, for different reasons, and many of them not quantifiable on the court, were great additions for this squad.

[BarberSchool]

I hope the Sixers get to play Boston. This is getting out of hand.Me too.
So I can watch Embiid barely twist his ankle a tiny bit and do the opposite of Willis Reed, while his squad gets knocked out in game 6 by these Celtics.
Trust the force, Luke.

[scuzzy]

I hope the Sixers get to play Boston. This is getting out of hand.
https://media.giphy.com/media/10Jpr9KSaXLchW/giphy.gif

[BarberSchool]

Nah, won't make it out vs a fully healthy Bucks squad, hitting 42% of their 3's.Fixed.

[MrFonzworth]

I hate this time of the year, Boston fans always bring the smugness up another level. Get the barking in while you can before Embiid starts another Boston massacre.

[fourkicks44]

I hope the Sixers get to play Boston. This is getting out of hand.

Hell yes

Should almost be mandatory every year.

[red1]

I voted yes. they play good basketball and have an unselfish team that defends.


I put the clippers lakers and bucks above them in that order because those teams have an advantage over nearly every team (clippers best perimeters players in the league lakers huge frontcourt bucks can spam giannis drive and kick hard to beat if they hit threes)

[fourkicks44]

I voted yes. they play good basketball and have an unselfish team that defends.


I put the clippers lakers and bucks above them in that order because those teams have an advantage over nearly every team (clippers best perimeters players in the league lakers huge frontcourt bucks can spam giannis drive and kick hard to beat if they hit threes)

You know the thing is if those teams lost Kawhi, LeBron, or Giannis they wouldn't have a chance.

When you look at it closely they are all on a knifes edge with one injury away disaster.

Their hopes all virtually depend on one player.

[AirBonner]

You know the thing is if those teams lost Kawhi, LeBron, or Giannis they wouldn't have a chance.

When you look at it closely they are all on a knifes edge with one injury away disaster.

Their hopes all virtually depend on one player.

Agree. Celtics have 4 players that are essentially equal to each other.

[red1]

You know the thing is if those teams lost Kawhi, LeBron, or Giannis they wouldn't have a chance.

When you look at it closely they are all on a knifes edge with one injury away disaster.

Their hopes all virtually depend on one player.
yeah man. the NBA is the most consistent league out there its a star driven league. play 7-game series with 5-players on the court the better team will nearly always win in that format. unlike football and hockey where you get upsets.

[r0drig0lac]

I hope the Sixers get to play Boston. This is getting out of hand.
this

[JohnnySic]

You know the thing is if those teams lost Kawhi, LeBron, or Giannis they wouldn't have a chance.

When you look at it closely they are all on a knifes edge with one injury away disaster.

Their hopes all virtually depend on one player.

No shit. Every championship team ever would not have won if they lost their best player.

[SouBeachTalents]

No shit. Every championship team ever would not have won if they lost their best player.
The '17/'18 Warriors could've, that is if you consider Durant their best player

[JohnnySic]

The '17/'18 Warriors could've, that is if you consider Durant their best player

Possibly,; I thought of that after posting.

[ImKobe]

Not convinced they'll show up in big Playoff series. I feel like their ceiling is the ECF this year. No way they'll be able to stop the Bucks from dominating inside & on the boards. They really needed that mid-season trade for a big like the Raptors did last season in order to stop Giannis.


Agree. Celtics have 4 players that are essentially equal to each other.

Tatum's clearly emerged as the best player on the Cs with him being able to finish at the rim at an elite level. He's by far your best 2-way player. You could still make a run if one of the 3 other guys wasn't there like when Kyrie went out in 2018. No chance without Jayson.

[DoctorP]

Celtics are on the third tier of favorites. Right up there with the Sixers and the Rockets.

[Akeem34TheDream]

The '17/'18 Warriors could've, that is if you consider Durant their best player

You think they would beat Houston without Durant that year? So Durant made them worse? Come on now.

[SouBeachTalents]

You think they would beat Houston without Durant that year? So Durant made them worse? Come on now.
Huh? Who the hell said he made them worse. All I said was the Warriors were capable of winning a title without Durant, shit they could've last year if Klay didn't get hurt

[Akeem34TheDream]

Huh? Who the hell said he made them worse. All I said was the Warriors were capable of winning a title without Durant
They barely won in 7. So he either made no impact or he made them worse. Simple logic. Also they werent winning anyway without Klays injury. He missed 1 game and the two games they won were VERY close.

they could've last year if Klay didn't get hurt
No team in history benefited from opponents injuries like Warriors so claims like that don't make sense.

[SouBeachTalents]

They barely won in 7. So he either made no impact or he made them worse. Simple logic. Also they werent winning anyway without Klays injury. He missed 1 game and the two games they won were VERY close.

No team in history benefited from opponents injuries like Warriors so claims like that don't make sense.
You're clinging to 1 series in a 3 year span, making absolutely no mention of 2017 or last year. I mean we literally just saw them, without even a replacement for Durant, win a crucial Game 6 in Houston and sweep the WCF, and people wanna act like it's outlandish to say they're capable of winning a title without him :lol

I can't believe how underrated the pre Durant Warriors are now. They win 140 regular season games and a title over a two year span, then lose Game 7 of the Finals by 4 points and people suddenly believe they're not championship contenders

[Akeem34TheDream]

You're clinging to 1 series in a 3 year span, making absolutely no mention of 2017 or last year. I mean we literally just saw them, without even a replacement for Durant, win a crucial Game 6 in Houston and sweep the WCF, and people wanna act like it's outlandish to say they're capable of winning a title without him :lol

I can't believe how underrated the pre Durant Warriors are now. They win 140 regular season games and a title over a two year span, then lose Game 7 of the Finals by 4 points and people suddenly believe they're not championship contenders
They werent underrated. They were good, just not dynasty(not in the playoffs anyway). Yeah those cavs series was very close but so was the wcf. One of those 3 teams was going to win the title that year. And about "clinging to a series in 3 years" ofc I am going to mention Rockets series in 2018 because that was the team that pushed them. And Spurs with Kawhi could easily won in 2017.

[Whoah10115]

Goes to show how unfortunate the Durant move was. The only two reasons Golden State State don't have b2b titles before Durant are Draymond's suspension (leading to Bogut's injury - and yeah he was important) and Warriors smelling themselves. Of course LeBron was incredible, but even that wouldn't have beaten Golden State without Draymond's suspension.

The Cavs weren't beating the Warriros the previous year, with Love. If you can't watch in context, then it's unfortunate to then speak. Just as with the Thunder, they go to sleep.

Had Green been suspended against the Thunder then he isn't against the Cavs. And they beat OKC anyway. They lost the game he should have been suspended for, and the Warriors showed that when it's time they play. But they took all of it for granted and choked in that Game 7.

And honestly, I don't think the Warriors were better with Durant. And that's in context of the moves they made to acquire him, and the constitution of the team once he joined. While there, of course they were better with him. But as a team were they really better after he joined, because he joined? They weakened the Thunder and gave themselves a greater margin for error.

[tpols]

yes.

as brilliant as kyrie was/is, kemba has much better intangible presence. He simply does his thing without stepping on toes or being wierd. And even motivates.You can see the difference in how tatum and brown play, where as they were dejected last year, this year they are invigorated.

I keep forgetting they even have kemba... mfer is on some lion king shit. I have a strong gut feeling they will beat mufasa this year aka the bucks.

[tpols]

Goes to show how unfortunate the Durant move was. The only two reasons Golden State State don't have b2b titles before Durant are Draymond's suspension (leading to Bogut's injury - and yeah he was important) and Warriors smelling themselves. Of course LeBron was incredible, but even that wouldn't have beaten Golden State without Draymond's suspension.

The Cavs weren't beating the Warriros the previous year, with Love. If you can't watch in context, then it's unfortunate to then speak. Just as with the Thunder, they go to sleep.

Had Green been suspended against the Thunder then he isn't against the Cavs. And they beat OKC anyway. They lost the game he should have been suspended for, and the Warriors showed that when it's time they play. But they took all of it for granted and choked in that Game 7.

And honestly, I don't think the Warriors were better with Durant. And that's in context of the moves they made to acquire him, and the constitution of the team once he joined. While there, of course they were better with him. But as a team were they really better after he joined, because he joined? They weakened the Thunder and gave themselves a greater margin for error.

great post.

they werent better with durant minus bogut and the depth. That 73 win team was on some true GOAT stuff... basketball peak. Silver ruined it how he does everything else to make money for his guy and the league. Not surprising considering his background.

Idiots saying they werent dynasty level... LOL. They broke the win record and won titles. They routed teams so often the starters barely ever played 4th quarters. It doesnt get anymore dynasty than that.

[AirBonner]

Goes to show how unfortunate the Durant move was. The only two reasons Golden State State don't have b2b titles before Durant are Draymond's suspension (leading to Bogut's injury - and yeah he was important) and Warriors smelling themselves. Of course LeBron was incredible, but even that wouldn't have beaten Golden State without Draymond's suspension.

The Cavs weren't beating the Warriros the previous year, with Love. If you can't watch in context, then it's unfortunate to then speak. Just as with the Thunder, they go to sleep.

Had Green been suspended against the Thunder then he isn't against the Cavs. And they beat OKC anyway. They lost the game he should have been suspended for, and the Warriors showed that when it's time they play. But they took all of it for granted and choked in that Game 7.

And honestly, I don't think the Warriors were better with Durant. And that's in context of the moves they made to acquire him, and the constitution of the team once he joined. While there, of course they were better with him. But as a team were they really better after he joined, because he joined? They weakened the Thunder and gave themselves a greater margin for error.

It could have swung the other way easily had Durant not joined. LeBron was a teammate injury away from B2B titles and possibly 3peating had Durant not joined

[SouBeachTalents]

Goes to show how unfortunate the Durant move was. The only two reasons Golden State State don't have b2b titles before Durant are Draymond's suspension (leading to Bogut's injury - and yeah he was important) and Warriors smelling themselves. Of course LeBron was incredible, but even that wouldn't have beaten Golden State without Draymond's suspension.

The Cavs weren't beating the Warriros the previous year, with Love. If you can't watch in context, then it's unfortunate to then speak. Just as with the Thunder, they go to sleep.

Had Green been suspended against the Thunder then he isn't against the Cavs. And they beat OKC anyway. They lost the game he should have been suspended for, and the Warriors showed that when it's time they play. But they took all of it for granted and choked in that Game 7.

And honestly, I don't think the Warriors were better with Durant. And that's in context of the moves they made to acquire him, and the constitution of the team once he joined. While there, of course they were better with him. But as a team were they really better after he joined, because he joined? They weakened the Thunder and gave themselves a greater margin for error.
The Durant move sucked for everybody involved

Durant's titles hold such little significance, and he's become inarguably less respected than he was on OKC, even without the rings

Same goes for Curry, whose two titles hold much less significance than they would had he won them without Durant

And as you can see, the core of Curry/Klay/Dray/Iggy are legitimately second guessed now after having a two year run of ridiculous success. It still blows my mind people actually believe this team couldn't win without Durant :lol

[warriorfan]

The Durant move sucked for everybody involved

Durant's titles hold such little significance, and he's become inarguably less respected than he was on OKC, even without the rings

Same goes for Curry, whose two titles hold much less significance than they would had he won them without Durant

And as you can see, the core of Curry/Klay/Dray/Iggy are legitimately second guessed now after having a two year run of ridiculous success. It still blows my mind people actually believe this team couldn't win without Durant :lol

If you don’t count KD’s rings then LeBron James literally has zero legit rings. Lol.

[warriorfan]

Goes to show how unfortunate the Durant move was. The only two reasons Golden State State don't have b2b titles before Durant are Draymond's suspension (leading to Bogut's injury - and yeah he was important) and Warriors smelling themselves. Of course LeBron was incredible, but even that wouldn't have beaten Golden State without Draymond's suspension.

The Cavs weren't beating the Warriros the previous year, with Love. If you can't watch in context, then it's unfortunate to then speak. Just as with the Thunder, they go to sleep.

Had Green been suspended against the Thunder then he isn't against the Cavs. And they beat OKC anyway. They lost the game he should have been suspended for, and the Warriors showed that when it's time they play. But they took all of it for granted and choked in that Game 7.

And honestly, I don't think the Warriors were better with Durant. And that's in context of the moves they made to acquire him, and the constitution of the team once he joined. While there, of course they were better with him. But as a team were they really better after he joined, because he joined? They weakened the Thunder and gave themselves a greater margin for error.

This is true, they had to gut the team to make room for KD and ended up a very top heavy team instead of the very deep team with a great second unit and bench. The whole “KD joined a 73 win team” is such nonsense. It’s extremely disingenuous considering that if you took all the players who were removed from the team to make way for KD, and replayed the season, they were not going to win 73 games. (Harrison Barnes, Bogut, Rush, Barbosa, Speights. )

[Wally450]

If you don’t count KD’s rings then LeBron James literally has zero legit rings. Lol.

Wrong. Those Heat teams needed LeBron to win. The Warriors didn't need KD.

[warriorfan]

Wrong. Those Heat teams needed LeBron to win. The Warriors didn't need KD.

Even if that was true which is not. It’s indicative on how shitty lebron was against golden state :lol

[red1]

Even if that was true which is not. It’s indicative on how shitty lebron was against golden state :lol

you're lucky kd rigged the deck for your team. curry still doesnt have a finals MVP after all your dingo talk. :oldlol:

[Wally450]

Even if that was true which is not. It’s indicative on how shitty lebron was against golden state :lol

Post LeBron's numbers against GS in the Finals then.

[tpols]

Wrong. Those Heat teams needed LeBron to win. The Warriors didn't need KD.

no evidence to support this claim.

Wade was a champion before Lebron. The heat won a title a couple years prior. You guys are clowns with your revisionist history.

The heat were already a playoff team before the collusion, and wade already proved he could win with less than all NBA bosh. (when he won with a washed up shaq)

[warriorfan]

you're lucky kd rigged the deck for your team. curry still doesnt have a finals MVP after all your dingo talk. :oldlol:

Post LeBron's numbers against GS in the Finals then.

Thanks guys for showing your extremely low iq. My work here is done.

[Wally450]

Thanks for showing your extremely low iq guys. My work here is done.

aka I've got nothing. Thanks for playing.

[warriorfan]

aka I've got nothing. Thanks for playing.

Keep telling yourself that :lol

[red1]

Thanks guys for showing your extremely low iq. My work here is done.




Keep telling yourself that :lol

lebron already has three finals MVPs. thats all-time GOAT shit. curry may never even sniff one. kd and kawhi are the players of this generation. :oldlol:



and if lebron can turn it up in the playoffs one more time and manage to make it out of the west... with a healthy AD...


4 rings 4 MVPs 3 or 4 finals MVPs... plus all of those all-time records... will be hard to deny 2nd GOAT status unlike curry who may not even finish top 15. :oldlol:

[warriorfan]

lebron already has three finals MVPs. thats all-time GOAT shit. curry may never sniff one. kd and kawhi are the players of this generation. :oldlol:



and if lebron can turn it up in the playoffs one more time and manage to make it out of the west... with a healthy AD...


4 rings 4 MVPs 3 or 4 finals MVPs... plus all of those all-time records... will be hard to deny 2nd GOAT status unlike curry who may not even finish top 15. :oldlol:

Don’t take this the wrong way but your iq is so low it’s near impossible to communicate with you. Good luck.

[red1]

Don’t take this the wrong way but your iq is so low it’s near impossible to communicate with you. Good luck.

thats not very dingo of you. :no:



I expected more from the dingo. same with the snake. kd is an amazing player but he'll never stop getting trolled if he expects people to respect those warriors rings. :oldlol:

[warriorfan]

thats not very dingo of you. :no:



I expected more from the dingo. same with the snake. kd is an amazing player but he'll never stop getting trolled if he expects people to respect those warriors rings. :oldlol:

You have the same hang up as KD himself right now. Putting actual value on the opinion of butt hurt basement dwellers and their insane arbitrary criteria that is needed to gain their supposedly so sought after approval.

[red1]

You have the same hang up as KD himself right now. Putting actual value on the opinion of butt hurt basement dwellers and their insane arbitrary criteria that is needed to gain their supposedly so sought after approval.

fair enough. our opinions dont really matter. its just fun when your team is close by and you can catch the games occasionally. kd really did make the playoffs and finals boring for a couple of years. FYI unlike you Im not a virgin basement dweller but that's fine. do your thing. :oldlol:

[warriorfan]

fair enough. our opinions dont really matter. its just fun when your team is close by and you can catch the games occasionally. kd really did make the playoffs and finals boring for a couple of years. FYI unlike you Im not a virgin basement dweller but that's fine. do your thing. :oldlol:

I wasn’t implying you are a butthurt basement dweller. Relax.

[red1]

I wasn’t implying you are a butthurt basement dweller. Relax.

no worries buddy.


getting back to the subject at hand the eastern conference playoffs will be good this year. the top 6 seeds looking solid. only the lower two seeds looking weak the nets and magic. sixers will be a tough matchup for anyone at a lower seed.

bucks celtics
heat celtics
sixers celtics
raptors sixers
heat raptors


these are all good potential series when you add the pacers to the mix as well

[WolfGang]

I think they are. They have disciplined, athletic boys that wanna win. I like the Celtics.

I haven't watched enough games to say how Jaylen Brown has been doing. I feel like he is the x factor.

[Phoenix]

no evidence to support this claim.

Wade was a champion before Lebron. The heat won a title a couple years prior. You guys are clowns with your revisionist history.

The heat were already a playoff team before the collusion, and wade already proved he could win with less than all NBA bosh. (when he won with a washed up shaq)

The 2010 Heat were a completely different team outside of Wade and Haslem from the 2006 champions. The team Lebron and Bosh joined would have never gotten out of the eastern conference, let alone win a title.

[-Circa]

The Celtics are legit title contender!

I got Celtics - Bucks in the ECF and Celtics vs Lakers in the Finals.

[JohnnySic]

Of course they are. Bucks and Clippers may be too much but I'll take them over anyone else.

[SouBeachTalents]

no evidence to support this claim.

Wade was a champion before Lebron. The heat won a title a couple years prior. You guys are clowns with your revisionist history.

The heat were already a playoff team before the collusion, and wade already proved he could win with less than all NBA bosh. (when he won with a washed up shaq)
The bolded is completely irrelevant. The Heat were a completely different roster by then, Wade and Haslem were literally the only players remaining from '06

The irony of your last point is, "washed" Shaq actually made the All-NBA team in '06, something Bosh failed to do in 2010. Or '09. Or '08. Or literally all but one season of his career :oldlol: Acting like Bosh was some regular All-NBA player when he wasn't for 12 out of 13 years is totally disingenuous

Finally, and the point that people always, always ignore in this discussion. Wade is not leading anyone to a title post 2011. 2012 would be the only remote, albeit unlikely possibility. But 2013 and beyond, why are we even entertaining the idea that was remotely close to the prime version of Wade