Celtics 2023 - 2024 Discussion

[One-If-By-Sea]

Good god you freaking voices of doom

I say he's back by game 5!!! Sunshine lollipops baby!!

Did you listen to the ESPN broadcast tonight? Porzi is not practicing with the team but he is immersed in film study. Not practicing with the team but he will be back in 4 to 6 days based on film study? Good grief. Haha. I hope I am wrong, but all signs are he will not be back until the Finals, if at all.

We have 1. Film study, and 2. Sunshine lollipops. Great place to be. Pray that Dallas wins the series. Now Kornet is hurt too. Shrug.

 

[maust]

Sunshine lollipops. Great place to be. Pray that Dallas wins the series. Now Kornet is hurt too. Shrug.

C'mon man, there's no arguing with Sunshine Lollipops. It's like the triple dog dare level of rainbows and unicorn farts

 

[ausbacker]

C's are just a better team. Our offense is just as good as theirs but Indy doesn't have enough defense to be a legit title threat. C's win games with just their D.
Indy should take a page from Mavs- who've been an offense- only team for a while. Dallas quietly improved their D and that's a lot of the reason they beat Minny on the road. Luka in particular.
Wolves should still win that series but I wouldn't be shocked if Mavs win it.
Indy may win a game or 2, but they have no shot at winning the series.

Minny were constructed to beat Denver. Dallas' backcourt looked like a bad match up for them yesterday.

 

[Keep Up With The Joneses]

Couldn't have asked for much more last night. Turner went silent which really hurt them. That was the most surprising development. The Celtics continue to get tough points inside, which is when they're playing their best IMO.

Brown is playing at another level. I hope it continues. Anyone else notice after he ran into Brissett in the 2nd he was wincing and shaking out his left shoulder for a long time after that (also missed a FT)? It went unnoticed by the announcers, and he seemed more than fine the rest of the game. Hopefully nothing.

They also didn't notice the Kornet wrist injury (nor did the Celtics staff until later) even though it was pretty obvious when it happened. You could see him shaking it out and opening and closing his fist on defense. Surprised they're missing these things as injuries have been the story in the playoffs this year more than most others.

I expect Indy to respond and win at least one game at home. That said, their defense is making the Celtics look even better than they are. It was great seeing Brissett in there (he was good enough to at least warrant some consideration in the rotation). ESPN said very clearly there is NO TIMETABLE for KP to return at this point. I think we need to go with that and hope for a pleasant surprise later.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Did you listen to the ESPN broadcast tonight? Porzi is not practicing with the team but he is immersed in film study. Not practicing with the team but he will be back in 4 to 6 days based on film study? Good grief. Haha. I hope I am wrong, but all signs are he will not be back until the Finals, if at all.

We have 1. Film study, and 2. Sunshine lollipops. Great place to be. Pray that Dallas wins the series. Now Kornet is hurt too. Shrug.

Yep. He ain't playing this series.

 

[1960Pats]

I still miss him and he's been off the air for over 30 years

Sorry about the delay getting back to you.

Thirteen nine o nine is also stuck in my head but he had an incredible BANG!

He might have been the first trash talking homer announcer ever. I can still hear him yelling "Wilt Chamberlain just reached out and pushed KC Jones, he just REACHED OUT AND PUSHED HIM!

 

[1960Pats]

Their defense just keeps filing motions-it never rests.

That's how they're going to win. Their defense can be stifling at times. I smile now when I think of how worried I was that they were losing Smart's defensive abilities.

 

[1960Pats]

In Celtics playoff lore in my lifetime that sequence at the end of the 4th (forcing the TO then hitting the shot) is right up there with Bird stealing the ball vs Detroit.

It felt like old times. It also reminded me of Havlicek stealing the ball and getting a nice thank you from Russell. Those were game-saving plays.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Just thinking, I get the Celtics are under the microscope because they haven't won it all yet, but definitely so far so good this year

I mean, the Celtics let a below .500 Houston team win two back in the day after all. Just get the banner

To be fair, that year ( 1981) Moses Malone, Calvin Murphy played out of their minds playoff time, beating the Lakers w Magic and Kareem in the first round... Celtics were fortunate to squeak by the Sixers after being down 3-1 and winning last three games by a basket or less...

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Did you listen to the ESPN broadcast tonight? Porzi is not practicing with the team but he is immersed in film study. Not practicing with the team but he will be back in 4 to 6 days based on film study? Good grief. Haha. I hope I am wrong, but all signs are he will not be back until the Finals, if at all.

We have 1. Film study, and 2. Sunshine lollipops. Great place to be. Pray that Dallas wins the series. Now Kornet is hurt too. Shrug.

Not sure I agree with you. Practicing with the team risks further aggravating his calf/soleus. I think the issue is his calf isn’t going to just get progressively better each day. Best thing he can do is avoid stressing it at all besides gametime.

That said, this team is definitely capable of winning it all without him. Minnesota is the tougher matchup with their 3 bigs, obviously, but the Celtics would still be moderately favored.

 

[raduray]

It may be that the All NBA snub is the best thing that could have happened for this Celtics playoff run. Beware Jaylen Brown with a chip on his shoulders.

 

[Kdo5]

It may be that the All NBA snub is the best thing that could have happened for this Celtics playoff run. Beware Jaylen Brown with a chip on his shoulders.

I’ve never questioned Jaylen’s motivation or energy he’ll bring. All-NBA snub maybe adds a little extra juice but he’s been playing the best ball of his career already.

 

[Kdo5]

Ant has faded the past few games in really big moments. I’m sure there will be excuses now “he’s only 22” after being compared to MJ not a week ago.

For the record I like him a lot but the hype has been way too much. Tatum would be bashed to no end for such a performance.

Mavs are a good matchup for us on paper and from what we saw in the regular season. The obvious trade off is that their superstars rise to the moment whereas we’ve seen the Wolves have shrunk.

 

[rochrist]

Ant has faded the past few games in really big moments. I’m sure there will be excuses now “he’s only 22” after being compared to MJ not a week ago.

For the record I like him a lot but the hype has been way too much. Tatum would be bashed to no end for such a performance.

Mavs are a good matchup for us on paper and from what we saw in the regular season. The obvious trade off is that their superstars rise to the moment whereas we’ve seen the Wolves have shrunk.

Let’s not wish TOO hard for Doncic.

 

[Brewskies]

Which team do you want I'm the finals assuming the Celtics are one of them and why.

I am thinking I would rather they play the Wolves. Dallas is a come back team and the Celtics struggle at the end of qtrs. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

 

[Brewskies]

I am concerned about KP. He needs to get into games to be playoff ready. I don't think from what I read he is ready to play in a game, maybe not ready this round. I think the Celtics will struggle in the finals without a ready to go KP for 7 games. Your thoughts.







YOUR THOUGHTS ON KP being ready and needed.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Which team do you want I'm the finals assuming the Celtics are one of them and why.

I am thinking I would rather they play the Wolves. Dallas is a come back team and the Celtics struggle at the end of qtrs. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Definitely want Dallas. I don’t think it will be a very competitive series.

 

[Keep Up With The Joneses]

Man, the Wolves are certainly spitting the bit. They were up 18 at one point last night.

I admittedly don't watch a lot of Western Conference ball. That said, I think we're looking at a bunch of different factors right now. One of them being Denver simply did not show up and MN played their best basketball. Things are simply regressing to the mean. The other is that Dallas, like Boston, is lifting their game to another level right now.

Neither series is over, but we always get on fanbases who say "We want Boston." Maybe we all need to be careful what we wish for saying we want Dallas. They are flying under the radar right now, but not for long.

Either way, Boston needs to take care of their business and get some rest.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Man, the Wolves are certainly spitting the bit. They were up 18 at one point last night.

I admittedly don't watch a lot of Western Conference ball. That said, I think we're looking at a bunch of different factors right now. One of them being Denver simply did not show up and MN played their best basketball. Things are simply regressing to the mean. The other is that Dallas, like Boston, is lifting their game to another level right now.

Neither series is over, but we always get on fanbases who say "We want Boston." Maybe we all need to be careful what we wish for saying we want Dallas. They are flying under the radar right now, but not for long.

Either way, Boston needs to take care of their business and get some rest.

It’s really about the matchups.

Minnesota’s strength is built on their on-ball defense. They have five outstanding defenders and they’re excellent at suffocating teams in man. They don’t need to play much zone and that’s not they’re built. Dallas is their worst matchup because they have two of the most talented improv playmakers in the NBA. They have McDaniel on Luka, and he’s a great defender, but it barely matters. Luka (and Kyrie) is just dribbling around in circles out there and negating the Wolves defense. Also Dallas doesn’t rely on a post game which again neutralizes the Wolves with Goebert. Luka absolutely humiliating him tonight on that last shot is a great microcosm of why this is a good matchup for Dallas…they have the Wolves playing outside their natural tendencies because of their unique offense.

Teams that move the ball a lot with quick passing (like the Celtics) will struggle more against the Wolves.

Celtics will struggle much less to contain Luka and Kyrie. They have two extremely quick defenders in White and Holiday who are outstanding at both on ball and off ball.

Also the Celtics will do much better against Dallas’s defense. Minnesota’s offense really isn’t very good and too reliant on Edwards.

 

[Brewskies]

Celtics are so lucky.

First Round: Jimmy Butler is out for the Heat. This makes it easy for Boston to win.

Second Round: Donovan Mitchell goes out making it an east win for Boston.

Third Round: Haliburton goes out with a hamstring thar he had previously injured. The Pacers had a chance to win with Haliburton and their aggressive style especially against Boston but without Haliburton at 80%. The Pacers don't have a chance regardless of how hard the Celtics try to lose without Porzingis. The round is not over but the Celtics will make it to the finals.

Now the problems start for the Celtics. It is the FINALS, the Jay's don't do well in the finals. TATUM is already struggling in the rounds prior to the finals. PORZINGIS is absolutely needed to win the Finals, he may not even be able to play and if he does it won't be at 90%. HORFORD hasn't been able to handle the Bigs, struggling TATUM is being asked to change his game to cover for HORFORD, he is struggling before this change, and we know what he does in the finals. KORNET has a hand injury and wasn't that great before the injury. HAUSER has played like **** in the playoffs this season. BRISSETT has offered some hope, maybe. The other Celtics BIG defenders haven't played before the finals. BROWN has been doing great but we know his Final history, will it change?


Against Dallas it will be tough they added some great player help.

Against the Wolves,
they are hungry, and Wolves love to eat and tear their food apart.

It should be interesting.