Celtics vs. Warriors, NBA Finals

Who you got?

  • Celtics in 4

    Votes: 6 1.5%
  • Celtics in 5

    Votes: 18 4.6%
  • Celtics in 6

    Votes: 146 37.2%
  • Celtics in 7

    Votes: 127 32.4%
  • Warriors in 4

    Votes: 1 0.3%
  • Warriors in 5

    Votes: 23 5.9%
  • Warriors in 6

    Votes: 56 14.3%
  • Warriors in 7

    Votes: 15 3.8%

  • Total voters
    392
  • Poll closed .

Auger34

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johnmd20

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Those Durant stats would be what you would expect, no? Does anyone not consider Durant one of the best players of all time? Obviously him being on your team, especially a juggernaut like those Warriors teams, is going to improve the win percentage.

This doesn't mean Steph isn't also one of the best players of all time. What is Lebron's record in the NBA finals?

edit - looked it up. Lebron is 22-33 in the NBA finals.
 

lexrageorge

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The Steph w/ and w/o KD record in the NBA Finals is interesting, but just should note that 8 Finals wins in his first 2 Finals appearances still puts Steph in some elite company.
 

RedOctober3829

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Those Durant stats would be what you would expect, no? Does anyone not consider Durant one of the best players of all time? Obviously him being on your team, especially a juggernaut like those Warriors teams, is going to improve the win percentage.

This doesn't mean Steph isn't also one of the best players of all time. What is Lebron's record in the NBA finals?
LBJ's Finals record makes Steph's look good. 22-33. That is with a 4-2 record in the bubble. Non bubble, it's 18-31.
 

johnmd20

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LBJ's Finals record makes Steph's look good. 22-33. That is with a 4-2 record in the bubble. Non bubble, it's 18-31.
Yeah, I looked it up too. Turns out, games in the NBA finals are tough.

I don't get the need to cut down Steph because of this stat. Durant is a premiere NBA talent, defender, and scorer. Having him on your team is going to make your team significantly better. Crazy stuff. Steph still has made the finals a lot of times without KD.

How many finals has KD played in without Steph?
 

Ed Hillel

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Does Ime look to start Grant instead of Rob on Sunday? The success of the 4 out 1 in lineup with Horford as the big was so successful at the end of the game. You could go Smart/Brown/Tatum/Grant/Al and Rob could come in the game in spurts and be the 1 big. Another option is to start White but I don't want to interrupt the flow of what he brings off the bench.
It was partially successful because the corpse of Iggy was out there, but if Looney is out there, so too should be Williams and Williams should stick to him. A lot was very confusing about the first quarter defense of the Celtics, some was probably confusion/nerves, but the thing that stood out to me was there seemed to be an effort to have Williams line up with Wiggins and Brown with Looney. What? Why?
I mentioned his maturity last series especially in G7 when he ran our offense and calmly facilitated open looks down the stretch for Smart and Horford. Results be damned on those looks he made the correct reads under pressure and made these same reads last night…..the shots just happened to go down.
Especially when the shot is off like last night, I think teams really need to go man against Tatum and make him prove he has it going before collapsing the D on him every possession.
 

Auger34

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Yeah, I looked it up too. Turns out, games in the NBA finals are tough.

I don't get the need to cut down Steph because of this stat. Durant is a premiere NBA talent, defender, and scorer. Having him on your team is going to make your team significantly better. Crazy stuff. Steph still has made the finals a lot of times without KD.

How many finals has KD played in without Steph?
1. And it’s looking like it will probably stay that way.

it’s pretty much impossible to discuss the legacy of both KD and Curry. Durant going there in the 1st place ruined that. Those teams were so goddamn good that everyone knew they were going to run roughshod over the league. It was also during both players primes.
 

RedOctober3829

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It was partially successful because the corpse of Iggy was out there, but if Looney is out there, so too should be Williams and Williams should stick to him. A lot was very confusing about the first quarter defense of the Celtics, some was probably confusion/nerves, but the thing that stood out to me was there seemed to be an effort to have Williams line up with Wiggins and Brown with Looney. What? Why?
The confusing thing to me is why was Tatum on Draymond? Was it because Udoka didn't want Tatum to get in early foul trouble? It made no sense.

Smart--Curry
Brown--Thompson
Tatum--Wiggins
Horford--Green
Rob--Looney

That is what it should've been from the start. There was no way Rob can stay with Wiggins.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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A lot was very confusing about the first quarter defense of the Celtics, some was probably confusion/nerves, but the thing that stood out to me was there seemed to be an effort to have Williams line up with Wiggins and Brown with Looney. What? Why?
Are you talking about TL or GW?

TL on Wiggins instead of Looney would make more sense because when TL helps off Wiggins, other guys can rotate to get to his shot; if TL helps off Looney, Looney is just going to gobble up offensive rebounds. Having JB on Looney helps to get a body on Looney.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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FWIW (which is not much), KD is 1-4 in the Finals without Steph.
Why is everyone so quick to Van out data that tries to minimize Steph Curry's greatness? He won a championship without Durant.

More to the point, it means almost nothing in terms of how this series will play out.
 

ifmanis5

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Playing GS feels like a vacation since we don't have to....

... watch Kyle Lowry complain for 48 minutes
... have the opposing team playing 6th man defense from the bench
... watching Butler take 10 Fts in a qtr
... having Giannis elbow you in the face and get the call each time
... Kyrie post-game hugs
 

Jakarta

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The confusing thing to me is why was Tatum on Draymond? Was it because Udoka didn't want Tatum to get in early foul trouble? It made no sense.

Smart--Curry
Brown--Thompson
Tatum--Wiggins
Horford--Green
Rob--Looney

That is what it should've been from the start. There was no way Rob can stay with Wiggins.
I suspect they want Tatum to be able to switch onto Steph when Draymond screens for him.
 

Jimbodandy

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Yeah, PP competes hard on defense despite his limitations, which is more than Kemba did. Kemba saved all his energy for the offensive end. In some senses, just competing is important to keep the defense cohesive.

BTW, I personally find that to be annoying when I play with guys like that so maybe I'm biased against it.
I'll be an early adopter in admitting that I was wrong on Pritchard's defense. Now, I'll also caveat that by saying that it has improved...a lot. His anticipation and confidence in getting and staying in front of people is wayy farther along than it was a year ago. There were a lot of times that he was kind of unplayable even in the first half of this year. Now, that's not the case. And GSW don't have someone that is going to bully him like Jimmy would have. He needs to get some floor for sure.

It was always an improvement having a guy who at least tried to defend, as opposed to Kemba and Kyrie. It matters. But now that guy isn't even a liability most of the time. He's not a strength, but he's not a liability either. He legitimately bothered Steph Curry at times yesterday, which is not nothing.


Why is everyone so quick to Van out data that tries to minimize Steph Curry's greatness? He won a championship without Durant.

More to the point, it means almost nothing in terms of how this series will play out.
Agreed. This talk is stupid.

Every time someone brings up Manning or Rodgers' playoff records in comparison to the GOAT, I cringe. Almost everyone has a crappy playoff record in football. It's the playoffs. The GOAT is sui generis.

To put it another way, what's Durant's finals record without Curry? ....exactly.
 

mikeford

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Actually 9-1. Durant played one game in the 2019 Finals in which the Warriors won by 1. They were down 1-3 and trying to stave off elimination. He played 12 minutes and scored 11 points, and I guess he was too hurt to play any mow than that.
He ruptured his achilles tendon, man.
 

coremiller

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Actually 9-1. Durant played one game in the 2019 Finals in which the Warriors won by 1. They were down 1-3 and trying to stave off elimination. He played 12 minutes and scored 11 points, and I guess he was too hurt to play any mow than that.
This was the game where Durant blew out his Achilles in the 2nd quarter.
 

Batman Likes The Sox

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This might be discussed in this thread, or elsewhere, and I'm really a lurker in this forum, but what do folks make of Tatum's airballs and other way-off shots? Not just in game one but at various points in the playoffs. Nerves? Defensive pressure? The shoulder?

I can't recall seeing him so off on any shot like he has been on certain nights in these playoffs.

And I want to emphasize - I'm as high on these Celtics as anyone, so it's no knock. Tatum has also been amazing and clearly the MVP. Just hadn't seen this anomaly discussed.
 

Salem's Lot

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This might be discussed in this thread, or elsewhere, and I'm really a lurker in this forum, but what do folks make of Tatum's airballs and other way-off shots? Not just in game one but at various points in the playoffs. Nerves? Defensive pressure? The shoulder?

I can't recall seeing him so off on any shot like he has been on certain nights in these playoffs.

And I want to emphasize - I'm as high on these Celtics as anyone, so it's no knock. Tatum has also been amazing and clearly the MVP. Just hadn't seen this anomaly discussed.
Shoulder injury throwing his mechanics off a little bit.
 

Toe Nash

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One thing I'm seeing people say the Warriors will do, or hope to do, is get transition buckets. But I thought the C's played great transition defense, particularly early on. There were a number of turnovers / misses that the Dubs tried to run off of, but the Cs recovered on and ended up stopping the break or forcing a bad shot / miss on transition. GS doesn't have bigs who are scary in transition like Milwaukee so I don't think this is really a place where they can get exposed. And as others have said they may not be able to push the ball all game given their ages.
 

Koufax

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It seems as though the 3-day interval between game 1 and game 2 should benefit the Cs more than GS. The Cs are coming off of two brutal, physical series. Last night was a relative walk in the park. The more time they have to recuperate from the muggings that they have sustained in the last month, the better. GS has some injuries to be sure, but they haven't been put through the wringer the way Boston has.
 

joe dokes

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It seems as though the 3-day interval between game 1 and game 2 should benefit the Cs more than GS. The Cs are coming off of two brutal, physical series. Last night was a relative walk in the park. The more time they have to recuperate from the muggings that they have sustained in the last month, the better. GS has some injuries to be sure, but they haven't been put through the wringer the way Boston has.
And no immediate travel. (maybe they'll join the 7 other people in attendance at the Sox game tonight).
 

DGreenwood

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It seems as though the 3-day interval between game 1 and game 2 should benefit the Cs more than GS. The Cs are coming off of two brutal, physical series. Last night was a relative walk in the park. The more time they have to recuperate from the muggings that they have sustained in the last month, the better. GS has some injuries to be sure, but they haven't been put through the wringer the way Boston has.
The counterargument to this would be that the extra rest benefits GS more because of the age of their players and the extra rest helps them play closer to 100% of their ability each game.
 

Jimbodandy

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We think Scott Foster for Game 2 or save him for 3?
Was just talking about this with my son last night. Traditionally, the play is to save him for game 3 in case it's 2-0 Celtics. Game 3 in Boston would be a GS lock with Foster. However, I'm feeling like it's a certainty that he gets game 2, probably with Brothers also. Seems obvious.
 

CaptainLaddie

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Playing GS feels like a vacation since we don't have to....

... watch Kyle Lowry complain for 48 minutes
... have the opposing team playing 6th man defense from the bench
... watching Butler take 10 Fts in a qtr
... having Giannis elbow you in the face and get the call each time
... Kyrie post-game hugs
Also, not for nothing, but the Warriors? They're fun to watch! They have Steph and Klay, two immensely likeable players. Poole is a great story. Even Draymond, who can be an ass, is still an incredibly smart player and is a joy to watch on defense. And Kerr is an awesome guy. I have zero hate for this Warriors team, which is very different than the last three rounds.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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This might be discussed in this thread, or elsewhere, and I'm really a lurker in this forum, but what do folks make of Tatum's airballs and other way-off shots? Not just in game one but at various points in the playoffs. Nerves? Defensive pressure? The shoulder?

I can't recall seeing him so off on any shot like he has been on certain nights in these playoffs.
JT has a funky shooting motion that has a lot of parts. They mentioned on the broadcast in one of these games that JT spends a lot of time in his hotel room form shooting to make sure that his mechanics stays clean. I think his mechanics were just off last night for whatever reason - could probably be adrenaline.

Someone noted (and I saw this too) that JT took a few shots after the whistle to get his touch back again. The two I saw were nothing but net.
One thing I'm seeing people say the Warriors will do, or hope to do, is get transition buckets. But I thought the C's played great transition defense, particularly early on. There were a number of turnovers / misses that the Dubs tried to run off of, but the Cs recovered on and ended up stopping the break or forcing a bad shot / miss on transition. GS doesn't have bigs who are scary in transition like Milwaukee so I don't think this is really a place where they can get exposed. And as others have said they may not be able to push the ball all game given their ages.
Agree that GSW is going to try to force more TOs. (BOS had 13 TOs which lead to something like 11 GSW points off TOs.) They are probably going to try to be way more physical with BOS. But if BOS can take care of the ball; GSW won't be getting transition points.
 

lars10

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Yup, the offense bogged down when they hunted Tatum on Curry on the block. They will just sag the help side down to Tatum. They just need to play with pace and work the ball around. They will eventually find a good matchup whether it is Tatum, Brown, or Horford, etc. The Celtics are at their best when everyone is getting theirs in the flow of the offense instead of ISO'ing players.
Tatum forcing Steph to guard him got him his third foul (I believe?) that forced him to the bench. I believe the last foul was on Tatum taking him to the post.
 

ifmanis5

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Also, not for nothing, but the Warriors? They're fun to watch! They have Steph and Klay, two immensely likeable players. Poole is a great story. Even Draymond, who can be an ass, is still an incredibly smart player and is a joy to watch on defense. And Kerr is an awesome guy. I have zero hate for this Warriors team, which is very different than the last three rounds.
Yeah for sure, great players & great coach. I rooted for them each time they were in the finals. Moving from Oakland was kind of a dick move but understandable I guess.
 

JCizzle

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I would feel very confident betting that Scott Foster and Tony Brothers will get the game 2 assignment.
Which is unfortunate because the officiating in game 1 was largely a breath of fresh air. The pace and flow of the game was incredible.
 

InstaFace

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The clip of Marcus Smart on the sideline talking about how this isn't the Heat series, and the bigs need to pick Steph up higher on the pick and roll was awesome. Once they started getting out to the line to bother Steph's shot a bit, then retreating, the Warriors had no choice but to play the mismatch game, which is exactly what the Celtics want. They're counting on being able to withstand some possessions with Steph going one on one against Grant or Rob, and I think they're right.
I recall a sequence where Rob was switched onto Steph and dropped off a few steps, probably expecting a switch-back. Steph rose up and drained a bucket over him, one of the few he had in the second half. Then, a few minutes later, there he was again on Steph, but only one step apart, and when Steph went up, he did his Time Lordly thing and blocked the shot. Not even Steph Curry and his lightning-quick release can shoot over a prepared Rob Williams.

I'm sure TL must've stuck in the minds of a couple of them. I mean, nobody blocks a Steph Curry outside shot. I literally cannot recall it ever happening, although some of the less-casual fans (or Sam Ray Not) might know another time or two. And the rest of the game, the once or twice I saw the two of them matched up, Steph just drove it (finished one, I think).

Speaking of Steph being shook, I also think Marcus Smart shook him a little bit too. I saw a lot of "you gotta be kidding me" frustrated gesturing out there from Curry to the officials. There was the offensive foul Smart drew by exaggerating a bit of (real) contact, but he also did a few other things that got a reaction out of Curry. Dude was mad when he sat down at the end of 2Q. Given that he usually carries himself with the confidence and composure of a runway model, that was quite a different look.

(Draymond, oddly, seemed the picture of zen most of the game, but maybe I just missed a subtle nut punch or something.)
 

gammoseditor

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One thing that’s very noticeable now that we aren’t playing the heat was how good the heat were at pushing the ball after our makes when we had a guy down. I have developed a habit to yell “get up” when our guys go down after a shot but noticed yesterday it didn’t come back to bite them because golden state didn’t push the ball.

The other noticeable thIng to me is golden state actually makes their open looks.
 

Ed Hillel

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Are you talking about TL or GW?

TL on Wiggins instead of Looney would make more sense because when TL helps off Wiggins, other guys can rotate to get to his shot; if TL helps off Looney, Looney is just going to gobble up offensive rebounds. Having JB on Looney helps to get a body on Looney.
Timelord, but the problem was that Brown could do nothing to stop Looney from crashing the glass, so they were probably better off just sticking Timelord to Looney and not having him switch.
 

djbayko

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The counterargument to this would be that the extra rest benefits GS more because of the age of their players and the extra rest helps them play closer to 100% of their ability each game.
Given TL's knee and Smart's ankle, I welcome the rest. Sure, they seemed to be in much better shape Game 1, but let's keep it that way. I know Smart wasn't even listed on the injury report, but there has to be some lingering effects.
 

nighthob

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This is something I've been on about with PP for awhile. He's not Kemba/IT -- he is only really a liability against very strong guys who can take him deep in the post and shoot over, or Durant types who just shoot over if you're too small. His lateral quickness is very good, and he's not easy to blow by. Poole and Curry are great assignments for him -- not that he's a Steph-stopper, just that the matchup plays to his strengths.
Yes, where Pritchard becomes a liability is against teams with multiple shot creators that hunt mismatches. Golden State doesn't really fit that mold as their alpha scorer is another short guy like Pritchard. Unfortunately for Pritchard (and Boston) there are a lot of teams that can hunt mismatches, which is why he's more a situational player than a rotational one.
 

radsoxfan

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I expect this to be a very tough series and the Warriors can definitely win.

Having said that, I think people in the media (and the betting public) are perhaps a little too high on this Warriors roster. Steph is still elite on O, Draymond is still elite on D, and that has carried them a long way. But the rest of the Wiggins, Klay, Poole, Looney, etc minutes are pretty mediocre.

The Warriors have their core intact but Klay isn't the same guy, Steph/Draymond are a bit older, and the other guys aren't as good as their reputations. The Celtics starting 5 + White all grade out well above average, with Tatum of course elite.

There's a reason a lot of the metrics had the Celtics as solid favorites despite public opinion.
 

wilked

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I expect this to be a very tough series and the Warriors can definitely win.

Having said that, I think people in the media (and the betting public) are perhaps a little too high on this Warriors roster. Steph is still elite on O, Draymond is still elite on D, and that has carried them a long way. But the rest of the Wiggins, Klay, Poole, Looney, etc minutes are pretty mediocre.

The Warriors have their core intact but Klay isn't the same guy, Steph/Draymond are a bit older, and the other guys aren't as good as their reputations. The Celtics starting 5 + White all grade out well above average, with Tatum of course elite.

There's a reason a lot of the metrics had the Celtics as solid favorites despite public opinion.
Agree w the exception of Wiggins. I think he’ll be a problem all series
 

nighthob

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It's one game. We asked in the Mil series what could Milwaukee possibly do to adjust given their limitations and the answers on this board were few. Yet they took it to seven games. We wondered what in the world Miami could do once Butler looked diminished and we had no good reasons why the Heat could win. Yet they took it to seven games and were one Butler three pointer away from winning the series.
What Milwaukee did was throw even more on Giannis's shoulders, and he responded until he ran out of gas in game 7. Similarly what Miami could do was get Jimmy Butler some special vitamins and have him play the best game of his career. Which combined with the wildly erratic officiating allowed them to force game 7.

Golden State will adjust and make a series of this. Their problem though is that the longer the series goes the worse it is for them. They just have too many older players that they need contributions from, and Boston's youth, length, and athleticism are going to be a real problem for them. If there was a game that Golden State should have won, it was last night's. They were rested, healthy, and ready to go. Whereas the Celtics were coming off of back to back seven game rock fights (I mean literally, Derrick White got clubbed with an elbow drop to the head by a 260lb player that the refs waved off as a foul) with only a couple of days to recover. But ultimately when Boston put the pedal to the metal in the fourth they blew the Warriors out of the arena. That shot of Steph sitting shell shocked on the bench after Kerr waved the white flag perfectly summed up the game.

I definitely expect the series to return to San Francisco tied 2-2. But the game 5 beatdown will break the Warriors. ;)
 

benhogan

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Why is everyone so quick to Van out data that tries to minimize Steph Curry's greatness? He won a championship without Durant.

More to the point, it means almost nothing in terms of how this series will play out.
Because Dray was getting dragged by KD on Twitter about Steph/Finals MVPs.

Everyone realizes Curry is a transformative player that changed the NBA. Steph will go down as one of the dozen greatest NBA players ever.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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I recall a sequence where Rob was switched onto Steph and dropped off a few steps, probably expecting a switch-back. Steph rose up and drained a bucket over him, one of the few he had in the second half. Then, a few minutes later, there he was again on Steph, but only one step apart, and when Steph went up, he did his Time Lordly thing and blocked the shot. Not even Steph Curry and his lightning-quick release can shoot over a prepared Rob Williams.

I'm sure TL must've stuck in the minds of a couple of them. I mean, nobody blocks a Steph Curry outside shot. I literally cannot recall it ever happening, although some of the less-casual fans (or Sam Ray Not) might know another time or two. And the rest of the game, the once or twice I saw the two of them matched up, Steph just drove it (finished one, I think).
Steve Jones Jr. have clips of the two sequences (part of 3 clip package). Top clip is Curry shooting over TL. Bottom clip has two videos: first is TL calling for Horford to pre-switch the PnR. second is the TL block after a double-screen set by GSW (to counter the pre-switch).

View: https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1532551301015404546?cxt=HHwWhICwkbvS28QqAAAA
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Timelord, but the problem was that Brown could do nothing to stop Looney from crashing the glass, so they were probably better off just sticking Timelord to Looney and not having him switch.
Having anyone not switching over a screen against GSW is going to create a ton of good looks. I'm okay with Looney getting a few ORebs if it means not giving open looks to shooters.
 

benhogan

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This might be discussed in this thread, or elsewhere, and I'm really a lurker in this forum, but what do folks make of Tatum's airballs and other way-off shots? Not just in game one but at various points in the playoffs. Nerves? Defensive pressure? The shoulder?

I can't recall seeing him so off on any shot like he has been on certain nights in these playoffs.

And I want to emphasize - I'm as high on these Celtics as anyone, so it's no knock. Tatum has also been amazing and clearly the MVP. Just hadn't seen this anomaly discussed.
Tatum had 3pt shooting issues all season and had by far his worst 3pt shooting % in his career. He has been consistently inconsistent. That was like his 5th bad shooting game in these playoffs

He has a few things to clean up this summer with Drew Hanlen/Pure Sweat in regards to his 3Pt shot
 

chilidawg

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Does Ime look to start Grant instead of Rob on Sunday? The success of the 4 out 1 in lineup with Horford as the big was so successful at the end of the game. You could go Smart/Brown/Tatum/Grant/Al and Rob could come in the game in spurts and be the 1 big. Another option is to start White but I don't want to interrupt the flow of what he brings off the bench.
Grant didn't play at all in the 4th, the lineup was Tatum/Brown/White for all of the competitive 11 minutes, Pritchard getting 8 and Smart 3, and Horford and TL splitting the C position. Horford and TL combined for 57 minutes with Theis adding 6. Green and Looney matched that almost exactly. So I think what we're seeing is that we play 2Bigz when Looney and Green are both on the court, and just one when GS has just one. Whether that's us matching up with them or vice versa is hard to say.

Long story short I doubt Ime changes the starting lineup unless GS does. Closing is a different story. Horford and Smart playing shorter minutes sure had them both looking good down the stretch, I'd like to see that continue.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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What Milwaukee did was throw even more on Giannis's shoulders, and he responded until he ran out of gas in game 7. Similarly what Miami could do was get Jimmy Butler some special vitamins and have him play the best game of his career. Which combined with the wildly erratic officiating allowed them to force game 7.

Golden State will adjust and make a series of this. Their problem though is that the longer the series goes the worse it is for them. They just have too many older players that they need contributions from, and Boston's youth, length, and athleticism are going to be a real problem for them. If there was a game that Golden State should have won, it was last night's. They were rested, healthy, and ready to go. Whereas the Celtics were coming off of back to back seven game rock fights (I mean literally, Derrick White got clubbed with an elbow drop to the head by a 260lb player that the refs waved off as a foul) with only a couple of days to recover. But ultimately when Boston put the pedal to the metal in the fourth they blew the Warriors out of the arena. That shot of Steph sitting shell shocked on the bench after Kerr waved the white flag perfectly summed up the game.

I definitely expect the series to return to San Francisco tied 2-2. But the game 5 beatdown will break the Warriors. ;)
I didn’t catch why Payton didn’t play last night (I thought he was cleared). But if he can play, then having him play the pressing pest role of Jrue Holiday is one thing GS could do to disrupt us offensively.
 

TFisNEXT

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
12,529
Grant didn't play at all in the 4th, the lineup was Tatum/Brown/White for all of the competitive 11 minutes, Pritchard getting 8 and Smart 3, and Horford and TL splitting the C position. Horford and TL combined for 57 minutes with Theis adding 6. Green and Looney matched that almost exactly. So I think what we're seeing is that we play 2Bigz when Looney and Green are both on the court, and just one when GS has just one. Whether that's us matching up with them or vice versa is hard to say.

Long story short I doubt Ime changes the starting lineup unless GS does. Closing is a different story. Horford and Smart playing shorter minutes sure had them both looking good down the stretch, I'd like to see that continue.
Being able to put a rested Smart out there in the close-out phase was a luxury. If White can keep playing effective minutes, that seems like it would be huge for Smart's effectiveness too late in the game.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
Tatum had 3pt shooting issues all season and had by far his worst 3pt shooting % in his career. He has been consistently inconsistent. That was like his 5th bad shooting game in these playoffs

He has a few things to clean up this summer with Drew Hanlen/Pure Sweat in regards to his 3Pt shot
Meh. I put a lot of this on him having additional ball handling/playmaking responsibilities and I’d like to see how much his misses up against the shot hs dragged down his overall avg this year. I know that data is somewhere I forget where though.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,112
Santa Monica
Meh. I put a lot of this on him having additional ball handling/playmaking responsibilities and I’d like to see how much his misses up against the shot hs dragged down his overall avg this year. I know that data is somewhere I forget where though.
I'd bet one of those Rocco logs you talk about that Tatum is back over 38% next season;)

No Olympics, just JT/Drew, and video work this summer.

If he gets over 40% from 3 then Giannis has some competition for #1