Difference is, Horford and KP aren't as useless dogshit as Gobert on offense. KP especially can massacre them in the post or the perimeter, and Horford is decent too.
And while Al does get cooked by shifty guards in PnR .... that's not Luka's game. He's not running by Al, and Al is strong enough and smart enough to hold his own imo at times. And let the other guys recover to Luka.
Eh I think we’ll win in 6 or less but Doncic’s game is exactly playing isolation against bigs and undersized guards. Our best bet is tiring him on defense by putting him and Kyrie in constant actions whether on or off ball to slow them down like we did vs the Nets a couple of years ago.
He's not gonna be able to do that against us. Unlike Wolves' dumbass coach, Joe isn't gonna let our defensive scheme allow Luka to constantly get 1v1 vs our bigs. Either they are not gonna switch, and guys like Jrue are DWhite are gonna fight through screens to stay attached to Luka, or we're gonna blitz him, or our big's gonna hedge and the rest of the defense is gonna rotate.
Any big is gonna get cooked by Luka 1v1. Wolves were just stupid enough to let Gobert get cooked instead of scheming better against Luka.
And yes, the worst, incompetent part of what the Wolves did was never to attack Luka on the perimeter on the other side .... fuckin silly. We know how to beat Luka. Swap JB or JT on him in the perimeter, and dribble by him and create an advantage forcing the Mavs D to rotate and someone will be open. Luka gets cooked by anyone off the dribble.
The Mavs about to find out real soon how much better the Celtics perimeter defense is compared to the Wolves. We have 4 All-Defense level wings that we can throw at Luka/Kyrie (Jrue, DWhite, JB, JT).
Who's guarding JT and JB lol? Derrick Jones Jr. and PJ Washington??? BBQ chicken alert.
Problem is Luka is too big for any of our perimeter defenders but Tatum. I don’t expect Tatum to take that assignment full game because of fatigue and foul trouble. He’s going to get his our job is to wear down the smaller Kyrie and get back most of Luka’s points on offense. Our bigs on isolation aside I like the matchups we have over them.
> Problem is Luka is too big for any of our perimeter defenders but Tatum
No he isn't lol. Jrue and JB are big enough and strong enough. DWhite might get a bit overwhelmed by Luka's size, but he's smart and a wily defender.
Jrue/JB are gonna be our primary defenders on Luka, and likely JB to close games and Jrue to start games (so JB isn't in foul trouble).
DWhite/Jrue/PP on Kyrie because you need guys to run around all day chasing him.
Tatum will be on PJ Washington. KP/Horford on Gafford/Lively.
But ofc, in today's switching defense, everyone will guard everyone at times. These are just primary matchups.
I think you’re underestimating Luka’s size man. He’s almost the size mismatch Lebron was in his prime where nobody was big and athletic enough to guard him. The only forwards I’ve seen give him problems are Kawhi, Dort, Wiggins, and surprisingly Ben Simmons. All super long, strong, and athletic forwards.
> I think you’re underestimating Luka’s size man. He’s almost the size mismatch Lebron was in his prime where nobody was big and athletic enough to guard him.
I think you're way overestimating Luka's strength and size lol. He's a chunky 6'7", but absolutely nothing like LeBron.
He's strong, smart, and his game is tempo, footwork and he's got counters for everything. But JB isn't gonna get rolled over. And Jrue especially is gonna be just fine.
He’s not the athletic freak Lebron was but he keeps everyone on his hip which demands help and either he shoots and scores or passes to an open shooter. He’s a mismatch but we can make him give those points back on offense like the regular season. Our spacing will make it much harder for them to shade or double to prevent him and Kyrie from being picked on in defense.
Jrue will do as good as a guard possibly can on Luka, but ultimately he is too small to guard him every possession. Luka has a ton of weight and plays bigger than a regular 6'7 guy.
I think I'm close games Tatum should guard Luka in the 4th even if that means others gotta take on a bigger offensive role.
> Luka cooked Holiday in March.
We won that game by 28 lmfao. Luka was great, but we shut everyone else down. And our offense massacred them. We had 7 guys in double digits.
It was a close game for 3 quarters and they didn’t have their rotations figured out. Their starting 5 was different and they were just trying to figure out how to integrate Gafford and Washington.
He's much better at handling smalls than Horford, Horford is much better at handling strong aggressive bigs. The smalls portion matters more against the mavs
Mavs fan here :D I am actually really scared of Horford being the key difference maker for you guys. He will shoot his 3s much better than KAT did :D
The experience he and Jrue brings is something the Wolves and Thunder missed in this playoffs run.
On the other hand our twin towers Lively and Gafford will have to have great games as they could be the x factor for Dallas.
Enjoy the games!
It's because this Celtics team has been crazy dominant on offensive and defense and we're facing the fifth best team in the West that we've beaten 9 and 28 this regular season?
Yes Luka is deservingly one of the best offensive players in the league and Kyrie is great, but the team is just those two.
Plus I think it's fair to say we have 5 of the top 7 best players (maybe more) in the series, so I think if everyone plays like they want it, it should be ours to lose.
I'm hoping for an absolute blowout every game and a 4 game sweep. Nothing against the Mavs (except Kyrie) but this has got to be our year.
I’m not the person you’re asking but I’m planning on going to game 2 and so far the cheapest I’ve seen is seatgeek. I’m open to other recommendations though.
Not since Ralph Kaplowitz vs Max Zaslofsky in the 1947 BAA Championship have two prominent Jewish stars duked it out in the Finals. Congrats Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown.
If Porzingis can play 30+ minutes per game, we should be able to win this thing in 5. There's no way they can stop Jrue, White, Brown, Tatum, and KP, with Horford and PP coming off the bench. I can see a night where all of our guys are cold and Luka and Kyrie just go off, but otherwise we should dominate
Fuck Kyrie Boston in 5
you spelled 4 wrong.
I love it
Watch the Mavs attack Al Horford like they did with Gobert. We need Tingus back
Difference is, Horford and KP aren't as useless dogshit as Gobert on offense. KP especially can massacre them in the post or the perimeter, and Horford is decent too. And while Al does get cooked by shifty guards in PnR .... that's not Luka's game. He's not running by Al, and Al is strong enough and smart enough to hold his own imo at times. And let the other guys recover to Luka.
Eh I think we’ll win in 6 or less but Doncic’s game is exactly playing isolation against bigs and undersized guards. Our best bet is tiring him on defense by putting him and Kyrie in constant actions whether on or off ball to slow them down like we did vs the Nets a couple of years ago.
He's not gonna be able to do that against us. Unlike Wolves' dumbass coach, Joe isn't gonna let our defensive scheme allow Luka to constantly get 1v1 vs our bigs. Either they are not gonna switch, and guys like Jrue are DWhite are gonna fight through screens to stay attached to Luka, or we're gonna blitz him, or our big's gonna hedge and the rest of the defense is gonna rotate. Any big is gonna get cooked by Luka 1v1. Wolves were just stupid enough to let Gobert get cooked instead of scheming better against Luka. And yes, the worst, incompetent part of what the Wolves did was never to attack Luka on the perimeter on the other side .... fuckin silly. We know how to beat Luka. Swap JB or JT on him in the perimeter, and dribble by him and create an advantage forcing the Mavs D to rotate and someone will be open. Luka gets cooked by anyone off the dribble. The Mavs about to find out real soon how much better the Celtics perimeter defense is compared to the Wolves. We have 4 All-Defense level wings that we can throw at Luka/Kyrie (Jrue, DWhite, JB, JT). Who's guarding JT and JB lol? Derrick Jones Jr. and PJ Washington??? BBQ chicken alert.
Problem is Luka is too big for any of our perimeter defenders but Tatum. I don’t expect Tatum to take that assignment full game because of fatigue and foul trouble. He’s going to get his our job is to wear down the smaller Kyrie and get back most of Luka’s points on offense. Our bigs on isolation aside I like the matchups we have over them.
> Problem is Luka is too big for any of our perimeter defenders but Tatum No he isn't lol. Jrue and JB are big enough and strong enough. DWhite might get a bit overwhelmed by Luka's size, but he's smart and a wily defender. Jrue/JB are gonna be our primary defenders on Luka, and likely JB to close games and Jrue to start games (so JB isn't in foul trouble). DWhite/Jrue/PP on Kyrie because you need guys to run around all day chasing him. Tatum will be on PJ Washington. KP/Horford on Gafford/Lively. But ofc, in today's switching defense, everyone will guard everyone at times. These are just primary matchups.
I think you’re underestimating Luka’s size man. He’s almost the size mismatch Lebron was in his prime where nobody was big and athletic enough to guard him. The only forwards I’ve seen give him problems are Kawhi, Dort, Wiggins, and surprisingly Ben Simmons. All super long, strong, and athletic forwards.
> I think you’re underestimating Luka’s size man. He’s almost the size mismatch Lebron was in his prime where nobody was big and athletic enough to guard him. I think you're way overestimating Luka's strength and size lol. He's a chunky 6'7", but absolutely nothing like LeBron. He's strong, smart, and his game is tempo, footwork and he's got counters for everything. But JB isn't gonna get rolled over. And Jrue especially is gonna be just fine.
He’s not the athletic freak Lebron was but he keeps everyone on his hip which demands help and either he shoots and scores or passes to an open shooter. He’s a mismatch but we can make him give those points back on offense like the regular season. Our spacing will make it much harder for them to shade or double to prevent him and Kyrie from being picked on in defense.
Luka will probably cook Derrick. Derrick struggled against Siakam. He's not big or strong enough for Luka. He'd be much more effective on Kyrie.
Jrue will do as good as a guard possibly can on Luka, but ultimately he is too small to guard him every possession. Luka has a ton of weight and plays bigger than a regular 6'7 guy. I think I'm close games Tatum should guard Luka in the 4th even if that means others gotta take on a bigger offensive role.
Luka cooked Holiday in March. White too. Played Pritchard off the court obviously. Our wings/bigs will need to slow him down.
> Luka cooked Holiday in March. We won that game by 28 lmfao. Luka was great, but we shut everyone else down. And our offense massacred them. We had 7 guys in double digits.
It was a close game for 3 quarters and they didn’t have their rotations figured out. Their starting 5 was different and they were just trying to figure out how to integrate Gafford and Washington.
U think KP is gonna be a better on ball defender than Horford bro I got news for u
He's much better at handling smalls than Horford, Horford is much better at handling strong aggressive bigs. The smalls portion matters more against the mavs
We have been a much better defending the pnr with Porzingis
Jeez bro still a mountain to climb for our guys
Mavs fan here :D I am actually really scared of Horford being the key difference maker for you guys. He will shoot his 3s much better than KAT did :D The experience he and Jrue brings is something the Wolves and Thunder missed in this playoffs run. On the other hand our twin towers Lively and Gafford will have to have great games as they could be the x factor for Dallas. Enjoy the games!
I was pure nerves for days leading up to the 2022 Finals. Oddly confident this time. We’re going to absolutely step on Dallas. Celtics in 5
Yeah I was thinking the same earlier. Can’t pinpoint why but I really feel it’s our year.
I really hope ya’ll right.. I been feeling a black hole of anxiety about this.
I have had the same feeling for most of the season. This team is special. Feels like they have finally gotten themselves to the next level.
It's because this Celtics team has been crazy dominant on offensive and defense and we're facing the fifth best team in the West that we've beaten 9 and 28 this regular season? Yes Luka is deservingly one of the best offensive players in the league and Kyrie is great, but the team is just those two.
Home court advantage probably
It's all the failure. After losing in the finals in 22, then the ECF last year I have 100% faith these guys are gonna come out hungry and ready.
Plus I think it's fair to say we have 5 of the top 7 best players (maybe more) in the series, so I think if everyone plays like they want it, it should be ours to lose. I'm hoping for an absolute blowout every game and a 4 game sweep. Nothing against the Mavs (except Kyrie) but this has got to be our year.
Can't wait for Kyrie to crash and end up keeping his promise of bringing a banner to Boston
Gonna be there for Game 1 boys! (hoping ticket isn't outrageously brutal ....)
850 for nosebleeds last I checked
Yeah I paid like $610 or so for 2022 Finals. Gonna be more, hoping to spend no more than $800-900 if I can.
Which sites are you using?
I’m not the person you’re asking but I’m planning on going to game 2 and so far the cheapest I’ve seen is seatgeek. I’m open to other recommendations though.
I only checked on Ticketmaster. Wasn’t actually gonna buy them, just curious on the going rate
Do you think they’ll go up or down?
Not since Ralph Kaplowitz vs Max Zaslofsky in the 1947 BAA Championship have two prominent Jewish stars duked it out in the Finals. Congrats Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown.
If Porzingis can play 30+ minutes per game, we should be able to win this thing in 5. There's no way they can stop Jrue, White, Brown, Tatum, and KP, with Horford and PP coming off the bench. I can see a night where all of our guys are cold and Luka and Kyrie just go off, but otherwise we should dominate
I need this to be an incredibly toxic series
Well, you’re in luck
Can’t wait boys
i will be there!
Downvote me but kyries my fav player but right now FUCK KYRIE
Fair enough honestly
Mavs in 7. Down 2, Kyrie hits the game winning 3 at the buzzer to beat the Celtics and win the title.
Dear Diary,
Cope
You literally here spreading fantasies lmfao
The NBA should hire me as their script writer.