5/29 - The Last Of Us

[soxin6]

For a lot of them, it has nothing to do with one bad game, or frankly, his on court play at all.

They just don't want to say it, which would be much easier than having to read between the lines. Worst part is I, a huge Jaylen fan, have no issue with folks who hate him for cozying up to Kyrie and his anti-semitic bs, so it would be easier if they would just come out with it, instead of tossing horrible takes.

The idea that you don't give Jaylen the supermax is so stupid that anyone who says it should not be taken seriously for their basketball knowledge. You give it, you keep him for a year, and if it doesn't work out, that contract is awesomely valuable in trade after next season. Much more so than trying to get pennies on the dollar for his lesser, expiring deal to a team that doesn't know if he will walk at the end of the season.

If you give Jaylen and Jayson the supermax, then the team has no flexibility to do anything. Jaylen is a poor to terrible ball handler, he is a below average FT shooter, and he had a fantastic scoring regular season. I was thrilled when he was second team All NBA because it meant he would want to stay. The reality is he underperformed in this entire series and often looked listless while doing it. This has nothing to do with Kyrie, antisemitism, or any other excuse you are hinting at. It has to do with the fact that he thinks he is an alpha and hasn’t shown it on the court when it mattered in this series.

 

[bosockboy]

Smart is probably the one going. We desperately need an efficient, pass first PG.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Well….as shittty as that game was I still am glad they didn’t go out in game 4.

I also wish they showed in games 1, 2, and 7 which they did not.

Jaylen Brown….i just don’t know man, I love your intellect and perspective and a lot of times your game, but you absolutely honked it in an epic way when we needed you the most. And coming off last year’s finals, it just is tough

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Winning 4 elimination games in a row has never been done in the NBA. The team was just drained by it

Sucks to admit you’re human.

I have no problem with the Celtics. They didn’t “choke” or “come up small”. They played until there was nothing left.

I mean, they choked their way to the deficit that they were too tired to come back from, after choking their way to 7 games against an inferior team, after choking their way to 6 games against a VASTLY inferior team.

Maybe they should learn how to take care of business.

If you can’t play well unless the papers start writing that you’re shit, then you are at least a little bit shit.

 

[ifmanis5]

Truth.
View: https://twitter.com/NBCSCeltics/status/1663378123776204803

"At what point are you going to get tired of somebody celebrating on your home court?"

 

[DeadlySplitter]

I think running it back and hoping for good injury luck (please, for once) and perhaps one playoff run without facing an elite coach is the easiest way to go, at least for another year.

Taking too much from this game with Tatum's ankle is dangerous, IMO

 

[j-man]

i am sorry for u guys better luck next year

 

[jablo1312]

I shit on a guy that is ALWAYS fishing for calls, fishing for the camera to pick up on his boo boos, and seems to always have an excuse.

I'm fucking over it. I love the dude, I'm drunk and angry, but I'm sick of justifying the fucking no-shows.

might be time to log off for a bit chief

 

[Salem's Lot]

They don’t actually need equal value. Tatum is the key cog, the on/off numbers basically suggest you could put any combo of decent players around him and the result would be good. If you can bring back some shooting/passing/defense minus some of JB’s upside I don’t think you lose much from the team as a whole.

In a vacuum sure that could work, I just don’t see a deal out there like that that doesn’t involve a similar return to what the Bruins got for Joe Thornton. The three dimes for a quarter trades never work because those dimes end up turning into two nickels & a penny most of the time.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

I figured you had the Celts on the moneyline and took it out here.
We all know Tatum had a rough night. You seemed to enjoy it and playing the troll

No.

I watched Tatum grimace after every missed shot tonight. Not going down the court, but only when it was convenient. And maybe I'm just projecting my anger onto it, but I'm so fucking sick of seeing that shit.

Always throwing his arms up. Always a look of confusion when he misses. And after him consistently stretching his "shoulder injury" that disappeared after the playoffs last year, im just fucking over the grimaces and the act.

Maybe his ankle is hanging on by a thread. But I'm over the boy that cries wolf right now. Especially after an embarrassing game 7.

 

[bosockboy]

I mean, they choked their way to the deficit that they were too tired to come back from, after choking their way to 7 games against an inferior team, after choking their way to 6 games against a VASTLY inferior team.

Maybe they should learn how to take care of business.

Yep the Heat weren’t drained after their 3 losses.

 

[soxin6]

I’d rather do Jaylen plus 35 for Lillard

That money doesn’t work.

 

[Light-Tower-Power]

Tatum was only able to get up 13 shots in 42 minutes, and about half of them were either catch and shoot threes or midrange jumpers because he wasn’t physically able to drive into the paint. There is no chance they can win this game without Tatum having the ability to impact the game at both ends. It absolutely sucks and I’m bummed things didn’t go how we envisioned them but I’m at peace knowing it took a fluke injury.

Yes, there is no universe in which they should have lost the first three games of this series, but that was in the past. Tonight was just an unfortunate injury they were able to avoid all postseason long but it bit them at the worst time.

Credit to Miami too. They played well, but I’d love to see what a redo would look like if Al took the first shot of the game instead of handing to Tatum.

 

[ragnarok725]

Weird. There's dozens of posts over the last week+ about how the Celtics have an amazing opportunity to cash in on a broken playoff bracket.

Unless I imagine those posts.

My point isn't that top players lose. It's that top players shouldn't dissappear for the 6 most important quarters of the season

All those guys I listed disappeared in their series and their teams got eliminated. Were you watching?

 

[OneRedDred]

See this is where we part ways as fans. I want the sports without this drama. Perhaps you are correct and there are chemistry issues. But I sincerely hope there aren't any. This team just got beaten by a better team (in the now).

That ankle turn at the jump was devastating.

No, I hate the drama too. But I fear we will hear from far too many ‘anonymous sources’ in the next week

 

[soxin6]

Smart is probably the one going. We desperately need an efficient, pass first PG.

Does that exist anymore?

 

[inJacobyWeTrust]

Brown is not getting traded. It’s ludicrous to suggest. They would never get equal value.

Well he was a massive negative value tonight so that seems easy to match

 

[jablo1312]

Best player got hurt, couldn’t do shit, back-up plan was give 2nd best player the ball and there was nothing he could do. Defense once again allowed Miami to waltz into wide open, comfortable 3’s on a number of occasions. they should’ve just had smart and white run point once tatum got hurt. Bummer, missed opportunity this season but pretty proud of the fight they showed in coming back. I know no one wants to hear that right now.

 

[patinorange]

It's sad to say, but we've entered the "three steps back for one step forward" stage of this situation. To make progress, we have to admit the sad reality of where we are at. Mostly, this team isn't good enough in close games against good teams

Especially with some of the new CBA stuff, carrying two guys like Tatum and Brown that account for 100+ mil and it's super fucking suspect how good brown is. He's a scorer, but against stout defenses he can't handle the ball, is a mediocre passer and gets lost defensively. He's peaked and he's going to decline, because he's got nothing that's a lock. He's not a knockdown shooter. His game is going to age so poorly. And he's been MIA (lol) in big spots, usually in the playoffs.

I don't buy the whole "retain the asset" thing. It's going to get harder to build teams. Get a player or two and the three from Portland if you can..if not, you're going to have to get creative. But doubling down on this is going to so bad.

I think Brad and the gang really have to take a look at the closing issue in tight games. We are all disappointed, but the truth is, we were pretty lucky to be playing game seven. Save for White's great heads up play the series was over in Miami after having
a substantial late lead. Coaching? Chemistry? Intensity? Fatigue? (Williams and AL) Who knows? It will be an interesting off season for sure.

 

[redsoxcentury]

Winning 4 elimination games in a row has never been done in the NBA. The team was just drained by it

Sucks to admit you’re human.

I have no problem with the Celtics. They didn’t “choke” or “come up small”. They played until there was nothing left.

They gave effort. But they still played dumb and not hitting 3’s again was just embarrassing

 

[BaseballJones]

What's the alternative? Playoff purgatory for a decade? What's the difference?

I'm unclear. You're asking what's the difference between being a sucky team that needs 10-12 years to rebuild and a team that is in "playoff purgatory" by going to the ECF every year and making it to basically game 7?

Um......I'll bite.

In the first case, you're talking about a team that's unwatchable most nights, and that gives you no hope for the playoffs, and no playoff excitement, and probably no good players.

In the second case, you're talking about a team that wins a lot of games in the regular season, is probably fun to watch (winning is fun!), and gives you a lot of great playoff moments.

It's not remotely close.

 

[Bone for your jar]

Derrick White is still a playoff hero imo.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Remember when Hayward faked his bone going thru his skin? I’m still mad about that guy quitting on us in game 1.

I also trademarked the Hayward grimace.

 

[bankshot1]

Playoff Caleb got robbed. He was the MVP of this series.

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

I said Tatum sucked this game and people pooped their pants.

It's all Reggie Miller's fault for being a meanie during the broadcast.

You claimed he was faking an injury, you absolute fucking donut.

 

[jmcc5400]

I think running it back and hoping for good injury luck (please, for once) and perhaps one playoff run without facing an elite coach is the easiest way to go, at least for another year.

Taking too much from this game with Tatum's ankle is dangerous, IMO

Not going to be a popular opinion, but I’m 90% of the way there on that plan. Need to understand the CBA a little better. And they absolutely need to give Joe more help on the coaching staff.

 

[teddykgb]

He scored an NBA record 51 points to win a game 7 two weeks ago.

I get we have casual fans who show up for big games, but there’s a couple folks failing the Kitchkinet standard in this thread.

If we got 75% of game 7 Tatum most nights we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

He got hurt tonight, for sure. But this series was lost in games 1-3. He played well in game 1 but really struggled to shoot the 3 in games 2 and 3. Foenthe role that he plays, he needs to be the guy who can reliably stop the runs these other teams go on with consistent reliable shot making. As I said I don’t think he’s setup for success but we have seen multiple teams scheme him into some very tough shooting performances. I really like him and think he’s a fantastic player. But we need to understand if he’s truly capable of being the alpha dog every night as we make decisions about reshaping that roster. I’m not willing to say I’m sure he isn’t but I think there’s a red flag to explore there about whether he can be that guy.

The insinuation that I’m a casual fan for raising a thought is, of course, disappointing. I’ve been positing about the Celtics here for years and follow as passionately as many. I know it’s an angering day for both of us but I don’t think it’s warranted at all

 

[Just a bit outside]

That was a great comeback from down 0-3. Sucks they blew that first game and Tatum got hurt. I don’t want them to blow it up. They sucked shooting and lose focus but I still think that is their best chance to win.

 

[McBride11]

He didn't get it? That's a travesty. Superstar bias plain and simple.

Tony Brothers made the call…

 

[soxin6]

Playoff Caleb got robbed. He was the MVP of this series.

Not surprised. The Jimmy Butler narrative is nauseating

 

[BaseballJones]

Boston three point shooting the last two games:

Game 6: 7-35 (.200)
Game 7: 9-42 (.214)
TOT: 16-77 (.208)

Almost unfathomable.

To those posters who said before the game that Boston wouldn't shoot 7-35 from three again....you were right! They didn't! Unfortunately, they were just about as bad.

 

[inJacobyWeTrust]

Winning 4 elimination games in a row has never been done in the NBA. The team was just drained by it

Sucks to admit you’re human.

I have no problem with the Celtics. They didn’t “choke” or “come up small”. They played until there was nothing left.

No, they absolutely choked. And it’s ok to admit that 80 points or whatever in todays NBA is an absolute diaper filling effort, with the “2nd best player” having as many turnovers as made baskets

 

[djbayko]

No.

I watched Tatum grimace after every missed shot tonight. Not going down the court, but only when it was convenient. And maybe I'm just projecting my anger onto it, but I'm so fucking sick of seeing that shit.

Always throwing his arms up. Always a look of confusion when he misses. And after him consistently stretching his "shoulder injury" that disappeared after the playoffs last year, im just fucking over the grimaces and the act.

Maybe his ankle is hanging on by a thread. But I'm over the boy that cries wolf right now. Especially after an embarrassing game 7.

He grimaced after every good play / made shot too. He was grimacing within the first minutes of the game, before it was even possible for him to be covering for a bad one. I guess if you rolled an ankle in Game 7, you'd be right as rain?

Look, I'm with you on players making excuses. But all of the evidence points to that NOT happening here.

 

[Bergs]

I have seen nothing that makes me want to watch any more NBA games in 2023, that's for sure. I will say that personally attacking KFP for being drunk and pissed off is some bullshit, and the posters saying "fuck you" to him are violating board policy a hell of a lot more than he is, no matter how stupid his injury denial reads.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

In a vacuum sure that could work, I just don’t see a deal out there like that that doesn’t involve a similar return to what the Bruins got for Joe Thornton. The three dimes for a quarter trades never work because those dimes end up turning into two nickels & a penny most of the time.

I don’t think it will happen but a theoretical deal around Mikal Bridges with Brooklyn is one that makes the most sense of the possibilities I’ve seen.

JB is a weird guy to value.

 

[Ale Xander]

They actually shot better from 3 tonight?
Wow

didnt look like it

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Not going to be a popular opinion, but I’m 90% of the way there on that plan. Need to understand the CBA a little better. And they absolutely need to give Joe more help on the coaching staff.

Yup. All of this.

 

[Auger34]

If you give Jaylen and Jayson the supermax, then the team has no flexibility to do anything. Jaylen is a poor to terrible ball handler, he is a below average FT shooter, and he had a fantastic scoring regular season. I was thrilled when he was second team All NBA because it meant he would want to stay. The reality is he underperformed in this entire series and often looked listless while doing it. This has nothing to do with Kyrie, antisemitism, or any other excuse you are hinting at. It has to do with the fact that he thinks he is an alpha and hasn’t shown it on the court when it mattered in this series.

This is just not true. He was bad in 3 games this series (unfortunately, 1 of them was tonight and might have been the worst game of his career).

he was awesome in Game 6. good in games 1,4 and 5. I’m not going to touch the “listless” or “alpha” stuff….no idea what to even say to that

 

[Brand Name]

Well, indeed.

The Last of Us.

Us, the core that young Brad brought in. Smart, Brown, Tatum, as one. The city. The team. The US. To lose the S, notably the beginning and the end of the word and now the truth of the word SERIES. Then you only have a U. And that U, phonetically, and in its reality, is but only of one.

Think as we wanted, wanting as we thought...it did not make it real. Only when we eat while crying upon the game and opportunities lost can we taste what life is like. And what is life but its variations, no matter the further explanations, but a series of events that are absolutely, utterly, unequivocally, and inexplicably odd?

 

[PedroKsBambino]

For a lot of them, it has nothing to do with one bad game, or frankly, his on court play at all.

They just don't want to say it, which would be much easier than having to read between the lines. Worst part is I, a huge Jaylen fan, have no issue with folks who hate him for cozying up to Kyrie and his anti-semitic bs, so it would be easier if they would just come out with it, instead of tossing horrible takes.

The idea that you don't give Jaylen the supermax is so stupid that anyone who says it should not be taken seriously for their basketball knowledge. You give it, you keep him for a year, and if it doesn't work out, that contract is awesomely valuable in trade after next season. Much more so than trying to get pennies on the dollar for his lesser, expiring deal to a team that doesn't know if he will walk at the end of the season.

I absolutely agree there’s some posters who dislike him for having an opinion, and fuck that….i hate Kyrie, and also think Jaylen is a smart guy who is totally entitled to his opinion and a lot more thoughtful than most people around the NBA (or here, frankly).

I also think, for all the great in his game, it’s hard to deny that he has showed up small in a lot of big games, including tonight. I Just don’t know what you do—-I absolutely agree you offer him the super max, that is indeed a no-brainer. But I also don’t know that he’s wired to be what we need, especially since Tatum is not an alpha personality (though his game is alpha-level). It’s just a messy team-building situation——he and Tatum play pretty well together, have had a lot of success, and they also may not quite be what you want as two stars in an increasingly constrained league cap-wise. But you have to retain him and credit his great play as well as part of that—-we may simply need more years for them to get to where we want. T hey are still pretty young by NBA standards, and it is tough to watch the chances go by.

I dunno. Look forward to thinking all that through in offseason threads, I really like JB and rooting for him and just need more time to think about how to advance this team because right now, I do think it’s a little short/off.

 

[BaseballJones]

The path forward for this team is still Tatum + Brown + other stuff. They are better than almost every other team in the NBA. Maybe they'll never win it all, who knows. But there's no guarantee at ALL that by moving Brown they're going to get over the hump either.

 

[j-man]

tatum was not fakeing i just wish u guys wouild had took it to the hole more and seen what happens instead of shooting 3's all the time i know its a diff game now but shill

 

[Salem's Lot]

What's the alternative? Playoff purgatory for a decade? What's the difference?

I’d rather watch that and take a shot that two elite talents will figure it out then go back in the lottery to wait ten years and probably end up in the same place with probably less talented players.

Figure out the coach, get a couple guys that can rebound and play D and run it back.

 

[Mueller's Twin Grannies]

Boston is gonna be 5-6 at home in these playoffs.
Bruins were 1-3 at home.

Nice job going 6-9 at home by the Boston squads.

Protect the civic indeed.

I've said it jokingly elsewhere, but it's time for the Garden to go. It's not a good place for home teams in the playoffs. I can't recall seeing two teams lose so may big games in the same building the way the Bruins and Celtics have over the last few years.

 

[8slim]

For a lot of them, it has nothing to do with one bad game, or frankly, his on court play at all.

They just don't want to say it, which would be much easier than having to read between the lines. Worst part is I, a huge Jaylen fan, have no issue with folks who hate him for cozying up to Kyrie and his anti-semitic bs, so it would be easier if they would just come out with it, instead of tossing horrible takes.

The idea that you don't give Jaylen the supermax is so stupid that anyone who says it should not be taken seriously for their basketball knowledge. You give it, you keep him for a year, and if it doesn't work out, that contract is awesomely valuable in trade after next season. Much more so than trying to get pennies on the dollar for his lesser, expiring deal to a team that doesn't know if he will walk at the end of the season.

I’ll say it. He’s an anti-semite. And his game is infuriating.

 

[Auger34]

If we got 75% of game 7 Tatum most nights we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

He got hurt tonight, for sure. But this series was lost in games 1-3. He played well in game 1 but really struggled to shoot the 3 in games 2 and 3. Foenthe role that he plays, he needs to be the guy who can reliably stop the runs these other teams go on with consistent reliable shot making. As I said I don’t think he’s setup for success but we have seen multiple teams scheme him into some very tough shooting performances. I really like him and think he’s a fantastic player. But we need to understand if he’s truly capable of being the alpha dog every night as we make decisions about reshaping that roster. I’m not willing to say I’m sure he isn’t but I think there’s a red flag to explore there about whether he can be that guy.

The insinuation that I’m a casual fan for raising a thought is, of course, disappointing. I’ve been positing about the Celtics here for years and follow as passionately as many. I know it’s an angering day for both of us but I don’t think it’s warranted at all

Don’t want to speak for Pedro but I am betting he’s talking about KFP with the “casual fan” line

 

[serotonin]

Please bring in an assistant coach who can get these guys running an offense regularly.

 

[Ed Hillel]

I don’t think it will happen but a theoretical deal around Mikal Bridges with Brooklyn is one that makes the most sense of the possibilities I’ve seen.

JB is a weird guy to value.

Feel like Jaylen is superfluous to Brunson a bit in the same way he and Tatum are.

 

[Light-Tower-Power]

No.

I watched Tatum grimace after every missed shot tonight. Not going down the court, but only when it was convenient. And maybe I'm just projecting my anger onto it, but I'm so fucking sick of seeing that shit.

Always throwing his arms up. Always a look of confusion when he misses. And after him consistently stretching his "shoulder injury" that disappeared after the playoffs last year, im just fucking over the grimaces and the act.

Maybe his ankle is hanging on by a thread. But I'm over the boy that cries wolf right now. Especially after an embarrassing game 7.

Come on man. I’m upset too and there are a lot of negative things you can say about this Celtics team but this ain’t it. We all saw him roll it. He couldn’t even get up for a bunny dunk the first play of the fourth. Man couldn’t move.

 

[DeadlySplitter]

Not going to be a popular opinion, but I’m 90% of the way there on that plan. Need to understand the CBA a little better. And they absolutely need to give Joe more help on the coaching staff.

Yeah I'm talking to my Dad via text about the zone. Not solving it is very likely our shitty coaching (fuck you Ime). Brad now gets a full offseason to remake that after Ime fucked us there.