Celtics 2023 - 2024 Discussion

[RobertWeathers]

Am I the only one who doesn't really care about Kyrie at all? He didn't really have any impact here, he just seems a little soft in the head, just doesn't inspire any real emotion for me

Do I care? No because the team was/is better off without him. That was proven during the 2018 playoffs.

Hes just an unlikeable, weird-ass, me-first, primadonna.

 

[Kdo5]

Seems like the Mavericks had to fight thru a much tougher Western Conference.
Can the Celtics stop the best player left in the playoffs? They got beat by Curry last time.

A First Look at the NBA Finals Matchup Between the Celtics and Mavericks

Can Boston slow down the Luka Doncic–Kyrie Irving duo? Who has the advantage in crunch time? We tackled the crucial questions that will determine who ends the 2023-24 NBA season as champs.

www.theringer.com

What matters is not that they’ve had to fight through a tougher conference. What matters if they haven’t fought through a team as good as the Celtics.

Celtics have a ton of fire power and have good to great defenders across the board. This is as much a challenge for Dallas as it is for us, if not significantly more.

 

[ausbacker]

Seems like the Mavericks had to fight thru a much tougher Western Conference.
Can the Celtics stop the best player left in the playoffs? They got beat by Curry last time.

A First Look at the NBA Finals Matchup Between the Celtics and Mavericks

Can Boston slow down the Luka Doncic–Kyrie Irving duo? Who has the advantage in crunch time? We tackled the crucial questions that will determine who ends the 2023-24 NBA season as champs.

www.theringer.com

They were beaten by Curry because they fell into the trap of trying to outshoot him rather than taking advantage of their obvious size mismatch in the paint. In these playoffs, Boston has at least shown they will try some things rather than just jacking threes all game.

 

[aluminum seats]

Still almost a week away, yikes

 

[Keep Up With The Joneses]

All signs point to the Celtics winning this series. I don't believe it will be as easy as some think. Some things to ponder:

Dallas runs deep into their bench. I think most of us agree this has been an issue for Boston. If the series goes long, it could become a factor, especially if KP doesn't play or is ineffective.

Dallas became a much better defensive team in the second part of the season and are very active in the paint. If the 3s aren't dropping for Boston it could become an issue.

I've loved the way the Celtics have approached these playoffs offensively. They've attacked the rim consistently, drawing fouls and creating wide open 3s. If things start to go badly, will they revert to old bad habits and start jacking up bad 3s and driving into triple teams?

The most interesting part of this series to me is neither team has been in trouble in any of their playoff series. After a few games, one of them will be. It will be interesting to see how that team responds to that adversity.

 

[Keep Up With The Joneses]

Still almost a week away, yikes

Yep, watching hockey and spending more time outside...

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Hauser needs to get de-shellshocked. The Celtics are quite thin now. When he’s playing at his normal level, he’s an overall average player coming off the bench. His 3 point threat is a problem for defenses already trying to shut down the star players. If he can get his mind back, and Porzingis plays, I think the Celtics bench is fine, 8 quality players there.

 

[aluminum seats]

Hauser needs to get de-shellshocked. The Celtics are quite thin now. When he’s playing at his normal level, he’s an overall average player coming off the bench. His 3 point threat is a problem for defenses already trying to shut down the star players. If he can get his mind back, and Porzingis plays, I think the Celtics bench is fine, 8 quality players there.

I think they've got to work to get him going with his shot at his favorite spot, which is the corner three. Get him going with a couple and he'll be fine

 

[Kdo5]

Hauser needs to get de-shellshocked. The Celtics are quite thin now. When he’s playing at his normal level, he’s an overall average player coming off the bench. His 3 point threat is a problem for defenses already trying to shut down the star players. If he can get his mind back, and Porzingis plays, I think the Celtics bench is fine, 8 quality players there.

I was glad to see him hit that one shot in Game 4. Even though he missed the others it is a small building block to see one go through. I want to attribute it to a cold streak and not a “lights are bright and I’m screwing up” mind ****. Who knows. I just hope he comes out of it because he is a very valuable piece when he is shooting his normal percentages.

Hopefully his defense is a little better. The quickness of the Pacers had him on his heels although he definitely wasn’t the only one who struggled with it. He should be better off against the Mavs. Fingers crossed.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

This is fun to watch

 

[Keep Up With The Joneses]

This is fun to watch

The amazing thing is he does this without fouling, and his technique is so clean the refs don't even think about calling it. He needs to run a clinic.

My favorite is that block of Turner. Turner couldn't believe it.

 

[Real fan 02]

Bingo.

Broadcasters last night at end of game were talking about this. Surprisingly good analysis from the national guys. They pointed out the big difference between Celtics and Mavs are:

A. Holiday and White are quick while the Wolves don’t really have anyone like this. McDaniel is more of a brawler type.

B. The Celtics are excellent at switching on pick and rolls. The Wolves aren’t.

C. When switching, Brown and Tatum as wings are much better at defending the Mavs duo than the Wolves have with bigs.

D. And the key, I think, is that Luka and Kyrie will score plenty of points. But it’s going to be lower efficiency. The Celtics can let them take a million tough shots. They can’t allow them to dribble around and find easy assists.

Agree. McDaniels I was high on, But I've since changed my take. I believe he has to foul, grab and trip in order to play defense. Luka and kyrie were baking him.

This series has to be all about the Mavs as a team.. fans can't get to caught up in kyrie.. who really gives F.. what he said. Fans need to get over it. Play celtics ball and this can be a quick series.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Every Mavs player, org member, and fan after winning the WCF.

 

[Real fan 02]

What matters is not that they’ve had to fight through a tougher conference. What matters if they haven’t fought through a team as good as the Celtics.

Celtics have a ton of fire power and have good to great defenders across the board. This is as much a challenge for Dallas as it is for us, if not significantly more.

Agree. We have 5 guys that can get thier own shot any time.. I'd say force Luka To be a passer, and see if Washington or someone else can beat you. I like the white on kyrie match up..

 

[Real fan 02]

Still almost a week away, yikes

I know such a dead time in sports.. after the finals.. we have to wait another month for football..

 

[jimnance]

What matters is not that they’ve had to fight through a tougher conference. What matters if they haven’t fought through a team as good as the Celtics.

Celtics have a ton of fire power and have good to great defenders across the board. This is as much a challenge for Dallas as it is for us, if not significantly more.

Significantly more. I have great respect for Dallas. They have become one of the better defenses in the league. Yes,that's right. Not on our level, but better than any team we've played in the playoffs.
Throw out our games with them earlier in the season. Absolutely meaningless.
That was before they inserted Jones, one of the leagues best defenders in the starting lineup.
Since then, they're the #1 defense in the league regular season and #2 after C's in the playoffs
That's right their D is better than Minnesota's. Let that sink in.
Doncic is tge best offensive player in the league. Kyrie may be a weirdo but he's one of tge very best offensive guards in the nba.
But with KP, we will beat them to get #18.
This will not be a cakewalk.
Probably a 7 game series.
Some of y'all are underrating them. They are a much tougher matchup than Minnesota

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Significantly more. I have great respect for Dallas. They have become one of the better defenses in the league. Yes,that's right. Not on our level, but better than any team we've played in the playoffs.
Throw out our games with them earlier in the season. Absolutely meaningless.
That was before they inserted Jones, one of the leagues best defenders in the starting lineup.
Since then, they're the #1 defense in the league regular season and #2 after C's in the playoffs
That's right their D is better than Minnesota's. Let that sink in.
Doncic is tge best offensive player in the league. Kyrie may be a weirdo but he's one of tge very best offensive guards in the nba.
But with KP, we will beat them to get #18.
This will not be a cakewalk.
Probably a 7 game series.
Some of y'all are underrating them. They are a much tougher matchup than Minnesota

I believe it is strength on strength. The best defensive backcourt versus Doncic and Kyrie. The game within the game. I think we win that matchup and the Series..

 

[RobertWeathers]

I believe it is strength on strength. The best defensive backcourt versus Doncic and Kyrie. The game within the game. I think we win that matchup and the Series..

Even if we "slow down" those two it's a huge win.

Make Kyrie play defense and harass the hell out of Doncic who led the NBA in turnovers.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Significantly more. I have great respect for Dallas. They have become one of the better defenses in the league. Yes,that's right. Not on our level, but better than any team we've played in the playoffs.
Throw out our games with them earlier in the season. Absolutely meaningless.
That was before they inserted Jones, one of the leagues best defenders in the starting lineup.
Since then, they're the #1 defense in the league regular season and #2 after C's in the playoffs
That's right their D is better than Minnesota's. Let that sink in.
Doncic is tge best offensive player in the league. Kyrie may be a weirdo but he's one of tge very best offensive guards in the nba.
But with KP, we will beat them to get #18.
This will not be a cakewalk.
Probably a 7 game series.
Some of y'all are underrating them. They are a much tougher matchup than Minnesota

No question. It's going 6 at a minimum.

If our backcourt wasn't so good defensively and the Jays weren't also + defenders I wouldn't be as confident.

Plus with KP doing everything in practice yesterday is great news!

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Plus with KP doing everything in practice yesterday is great news!

This is great news. The Celtics have been smart with this injury.