6/14 - Finals Game 4 @ DAL – Only Championship Banners

[RSN Diaspora]

Ever since I’ve been in the NBA, especially with the Celtics, everybody knows we only hang up championship banners.

Here we are, on the precipice of a historic Celtics' championship. If When they win tonight, the Celtics will have the second-greatest record of any Celtics playoff team (only the '86 Celtics had fewer regular season plus postseason losses at 18), will have won eleven straight, and will silence any doubters worth paying even a nanosecond of attention to. Do we hope to see some KP? Absolutely. But if there's one thing this series has exposed it's the need for role players to step up when the stars are either out or just don't have the shooting touch. Jrue is more than a role player, but he's also not one of the Jays and he has been a monster--his 26 points and 11 rebounds in game two helped us overcome a KP injury and a mediocre Tatum shooting night. No KP at all for game three? Helllooo Xavier Tillman, thought to be a stiff of an acquisition who most of us wanted to ride pine the entire Finals, the X Man played 11 quality minutes in relief of Horford and not only stymied Dallas' offense, but landed a corner three-pointer that had to have been a gut shot to the Mavs. When we needed to improve our substandard three-point shooting, here comes Sam Hauser, deadweight for most of the playoffs nailing three of four from beyond the arc.

Tatum finally gave us a Tatum game in a lot of ways on Wednesday, but he hasn't had a supernova game all playoffs. Tonight is the night. It's also the night where JB cements his MVP trophy and warmly invites all who doubted the wisdom of his supermax deal to tell him how his ass tastes. DWhite and Jrue--a lethal combination of suffocating defense and soul-crushing three-pointers. Perhaps above all else, it's the game in which Al Horford finally gets what he deserves: an NBA title.

Dallas will not go gently into that good night. They showed life at both the beginning of the game and in that nerve-wracking 22-2 run. They'll have the home crowd behind them and nothing to lose. We love to dog Luka for his effort (or lack thereof), but he has a lot to prove tonight and you have to believe he feels it. However, the Celtics have proven all series long that Dallas is a very good basketball team but they simply aren't at the Celtics' level. I could easily see a game six in 2008-style drubbing as we blow the barn doors off and add #18 to the rafters, because everybody knows we only hang up championship banners.

So one last time, here's what we're looking at:

Injuries
BOS - Kristaps Porziņģis (QUESTIONABLE - ankle)
DAL - Luka Dončić (PROBABLE - thoracic)

Logistics
8:30p EDT tip at the American Airlines Center. ABC/ESPN Radio/98.5 FM/SiriusXM 212 (Celtics), 86 (Mavericks), 80 (National).

WIN.

 

[jose melendez]

Today is my friend Chris's birthday. He is Malawi's biggest Celtics fan in all of Malawi. Chris became a Cs fan watching KG in 2008 and thinking "that guy is amazing." He loves the Cs so much that when he was visiting DC and I took him to a Wizards game, all he could talk about was seeing former Celtic Nate Robinson play. His love of the Cs made him into a Sox and Pats fan too, though no one in Malawi knows anything about baseball or football.

He would like a ring for his birthday.

 

[bluefenderstrat]

I want them to finish it tonight because 80 and 20 is easy to calculate, with 11 straight playoff wins and a perfect 8-0 on the road in the playoffs to cement their ranking as a historically great team. For whatever reason the national media doesn’t want to believe it, but with time their absolute crushing consistency will be properly evaluated.

 

[Preacher]

I’m on a plane to Laos shortly after tipoff. I hope to be landing with good news.

 

[Batman Likes The Sox]

I walked around NOLA early this morning with my Celtics gear on. Amazingly, I passed a dude in a Lakers jersey (6).

He broke eye contact and just looked down at his feet as he shuffled by.

18.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Hats and tshirts. And I don’t want the Kyrie winning streak broken.

Come out firing and break their will early and then go full 2008 G6 on these punks.

 

[Ale Xander]

Broom the Bastards

 

[RSN Diaspora]

I’m on a plane to Laos shortly after tipoff. I hope to be landing with good news.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

One.

 

[nolasoxfan]

Finish the job. Celebrate.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

I'm sure I'll rescind this in 11 hours but I am feeling pretty zen right now. I think the 4th quarter push was the last gasp. I think the role players who have struggled all series for Dallas are thinking about Cabo. I think Kyrie gave his best shot and has already written his post-game speech about how he shaped Jayson and Jaylen into the players they have become. I think Luka is going to be moping around the court and calling his beer guy at halftime to have some waiting for him on ice.

And most importantly I think the Celtics, having survived that last gasp, will be eager to make this a leave no doubt game and play G3 Q3 basketball for as much of the 48 minutes as they can. There's always the chance Luka and Kyrie do their shotmaking thing again and the Cs have to weather an early storm, but if they don't, and the Celtics get out in the open court and start running early and hitting shots, watch out.

 

[Mooch]

Tatum going nuclear, shutting up all the doubters, celebrating with Deuce to kick off Father’s Day weekend?

I’d like that with a side of Kyrie suckage to go, please.

 

[tims4wins]

AA knows.

View: https://twitter.com/celticsgrd/status/1801560663392678160?s=46

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

I want to believe — I do believe — that this year is different and that while last year the team might have come out tight and "wanting it too much," this year they come into game four brimming with confidence, loose, easy, and determined to get things done and leave nothing to doubt.

As much as I love Marcus, I think his brand of energy just wasn't the right mix for the Jays and the team as a whole. It was a frenetic, manic energy that's great in a role player you throw in for 15 minutes to change the game's energy, but too chaotic for someone in a leadership position over the long haul. Swapping his mania out for Jrue's even keel is just what the team needed, someone who could take the temperature down, know what it's like to have been there and done that, and remind everyone that everything is going to be fine.

But don't discount the addition of KP's pure joy. I think he has done amazing work with Jaylen, especially, but the whole team in reminding everyone that playing basketball with this kind of skill and execution is really fucking fun, and they should enjoy it, and put a smile on their faces and let their talent show out.

I think the Cs win tonight for all the reasons I thought they'd win the series — they're deeper, more focused, more flexible, more battle-tested, etc. — but I also think they win tonight because (and I laugh at commentators who say shit like this all the time) they just want it way more. I think that might result in some back iron and early turnovers as the adrenaline runs through them, but I think their defense will be absolutely lights out tonight because there's no way they let it slip out of their hands now that they're so close to the goal.

I think the Mavs have pride, and I think they have a lot of talent bottled up in Luka and Kyrie, so I'm not saying it's impossible they defend their court and bring it back to Boston, but I'd be awfully surprised.

 

[Ale Xander]

AA knows.

View: https://twitter.com/celticsgrd/status/1801560663392678160?s=46

You're tempting me . ..

 

[jsinger121]

Foster the referee tonight with Tony brothers doing the replay center.

 

[Ale Xander]

Foster the referee tonight

Uggggh, the EXTENDER

 

[RedOctober3829]

We’re not just on the brink of a culmination of a season-long journey, but a culmination of an 11-year- long journey. This journey goes back to the summer of 2013. Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens had a vision for how the next great Celtics team would look and I don’t think Danny gets enough credit for the foundation he laid that Brad took and ran with. It feels so good that he and now Brad have built this team organically and not just threw a super team together.

Brad Stevens literally hasn’t missed since he took over for Danny. The trade of Kemba Walker-for-Al Horford. The Derrick White trade. The Porzingis trade. The Jrue Holiday trade. Sam Hauser. Payton Pritchard. He was a great coach, but an even better executive.

We’ve seen the maturation of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown right in front of our eyes. They had to grow up together in the league with big expectations on their shoulders, go through the struggles of losing multiple playoff series, and come back each year with improvements in their games and in their leadership qualities.

Jayson Tatum gets so much shit from the local and national media, but he’s doing right now and really this whole season something that a top 5 player very rarely does. He has prioritized winning over individual stats and awards. It is so refreshing to see that in today’s world of individualism and me-first athletes. Sure, his shot has not fallen in this series but what is he doing? He’s making his teammates BETTER by setting them up with his passing. He’s rebounding well. He’s playing defense. Oh and by the way, despite the narratives out there about his point production he’s leading the team in the playoffs in points, rebounds, and assists. You know who’s done that since 1980 on a title-winning team? Bird, Hakeem, Duncan, LeBron 3 times, and Jokic. That’s it. Pretty good company to be in.

Jaylen Brown has taken his game to another level since being snubbed for All-NBA. He has worked his ass off over the past few offseasons to become a complete player. Him hitting clutch jump shots with the game on the line is so gratifying to see. If you told me this back in his rookie year, I wouldn't have believed you. You can tell that he took his performance in Game 7 last year really hard and has been a man on a mission this year. He has tuned out the noise of being in constant trade rumors for this player or that player and just blossomed into what I consider a top 15 player in this league if not better than that.

Jrue Holiday has been the consummate professional all season. He could have taken this a different way and wanted to be a bigger focal point offensively. He does whatever the team needs on a given night and makes everyone a better player. I think his presence on the team has made a major difference. He is exactly what we envisioned Marcus Smart should be, but what he never really could be.

Kristaps Porzingis has been the ultimate cheat code. He took this team to a completely different level with the mismatches he creates on the offensive end and has been one of the best rim protectors in the league at the same time. What a luxury to have someone like KP to be the 3rd or 4th option on any given night.

I want this title for Al Horford just as much as anybody else in the organization. He signed with the Celtics on my wedding day(7/2/16) so my wife was not exactly happy with me yelling this to everybody at our reception! But he’s the consummate professional. He has as much to do with the maturation of Tatum and Brown as anyone. Him coming back to the franchise was IMO the biggest move of the Stevens era. It brought back someone who Tatum and Brown looked up to and got the team on the right path again after Kyrie set this team back a couple years.

Joe Mazzulla has been maligned, but this year I feel like he’s got a great feel for when this team needs encouraging and when they need a kick in the ass. Schematically, he’s been awesome this playoffs especially this series in how they’re defending Luka. He deserves a ton of credit for how the guys respond to him.

Get this done tonight. A win would get us an 80-20 season, a sweep of the ECF and Finals, 16-2 in the playoffs overall, and start the conversation of this team being among the great teams in the history of the league. It cements Tatum and Brown as the best duo in the league, it gives Horford a long-coveted ring, and most of all it gives this team the fucking respect it deserves nationally.

 

[mikeford]

My buddy Jimmy Flynn was probably the biggest Celtics fan I know. He passed away on Xmas 2023 in the middle of this great season. Bring home banner 18 for Jimmy Flynn.

 

[BigSoxFan]

We’re not just on the brink of a culmination of a season-long journey, but a culmination of an 11-year- long journey. This journey goes back to the summer of 2013. Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens had a vision for how the next great Celtics team would look and I don’t think Danny gets enough credit for the foundation he laid that Brad took and ran with. It feels so good that he and now Brad have built this team organically and not just threw a super team together.

Brad Stevens literally hasn’t missed since he took over for Danny. The trade of Kemba Walker-for-Al Horford. The Derrick White trade. The Porzingis trade. The Jrue Holiday trade. Sam Hauser. Payton Pritchard. He was a great coach, but an even better executive.

We’ve seen the maturation of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown right in front of our eyes. They had to grow up together in the league with big expectations on their shoulders, go through the struggles of losing multiple playoff series, and come back each year with improvements in their games and in their leadership qualities.

Jayson Tatum gets so much shit from the local and national media, but he’s doing right now and really this whole season something that a top 5 player very rarely does. He has prioritized winning over individual stats and awards. It is so refreshing to see that in today’s world of individualism and me-first athletes. Sure, his shot has not fallen in this series but what is he doing? He’s making his teammates BETTER by setting them up with his passing. He’s rebounding well. He’s playing defense. Oh and by the way, despite the narratives out there about his point production he’s leading the team in the playoffs in points, rebounds, and assists. You know who’s done that since 1980 on a title-winning team? Bird, Hakeem, Duncan, LeBron 3 times, and Jokic. That’s it. Pretty good company to be in.

Jaylen Brown has taken his game to another level since being snubbed for All-NBA. He has worked his ass off over the past few offseasons to become a complete player. Him hitting clutch jump shots with the game on the line is so gratifying to see. If you told me this back in his rookie year, I wouldn't have believed you. You can tell that he took his performance in Game 7 last year really hard and has been a man on a mission this year. He has tuned out the noise of being in constant trade rumors for this player or that player and just blossomed into what I consider a top 15 player in this league if not better than that.

Jrue Holiday has been the consummate professional all season. He could have taken this a different way and wanted to be a bigger focal point offensively. He does whatever the team needs on a given night and makes everyone a better player. I think his presence on the team has made a major difference. He is exactly what we envisioned Marcus Smart should be, but what he never really could be.

Kristaps Porzingis has been the ultimate cheat code. He took this team to a completely different level with the mismatches he creates on the offensive end and has been one of the best rim protectors in the league at the same time. What a luxury to have someone like KP to be the 3rd or 4th option on any given night.

I want this title for Al Horford just as much as anybody else in the organization. He signed with the Celtics on my wedding day(7/2/16) so my wife was not exactly happy with me yelling this to everybody at our reception! But he’s the consummate professional. He has as much to do with the maturation of Tatum and Brown as anyone. Him coming back to the franchise was IMO the biggest move of the Stevens era. It brought back someone who Tatum and Brown looked up to and got the team on the right path again after Kyrie set this team back a couple years.

Joe Mazzulla has been maligned, but this year I feel like he’s got a great feel for when this team needs encouraging and when they need a kick in the ass. Schematically, he’s been awesome this playoffs especially this series in how they’re defending Luka. He deserves a ton of credit for how the guys respond to him.

Get this done tonight. A win would get us an 80-20 season, a sweep of the ECF and Finals, 16-2 in the playoffs overall, and start the conversation of this team being among the great teams in the history of the league. It cements Tatum and Brown as the best duo in the league, it gives Horford a long-coveted ring, and most of all it gives this team the fucking respect it deserves nationally.

Quite simply, Brad Stevens deserves a ring. Dude took freaking Butler to B2B title games and lost to blue bloods like UConn and Duke in close games. His teams, either as coach or GM, have been to, what, 6 ECF and 2 NBA Finals now. He made a bunch of Auerbach-esque master stroke personnel moves. He had the guts to trade a fan favorite in Smart because he knew it was needed. He pounced on Holiday when the circumstances allowed him to and he made sure he had the assets to wait for the right opportunity.

The guy is just so impressive and beyond all the reasons above, I really want Brad to get the accolades that he truly deserves.

 

[88 MVP]

I love this team. The wait for Banner 18 ends tonight.

Bravo to RSN for leading off the game threads during this incredible streak, I look forward to seeing another thread with a JMU helmet next October.

 

[Al Zarilla]

Win it for the Cooz, and Sharm, Jungle Jim, Russ, Tommy Gun and all Celtics fans from 1 to 92.

 

[RedOctober3829]

View: https://twitter.com/adamhimmelsbach/status/1801593957379416360?s=46&t=IVL2VrlFgLlpc3mjGGto8Q

 

[Ale Xander]

Wow, didn't know that

They haven't even lost since then if my math is correct (yup, last loss was May 9)

 

[Light-Tower-Power]

Sweep. Celebrate.

Is it 8:30 yet?

 

[Scriblerus]

The BPD is putting up the metal barriers on Canal St and the surrounding area in anticipation of some celebration.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Uggggh, the EXTENDER

Hasn’t really borne out recently.

 

[Jim Ed Rice in HOF]

The BPD is putting up the metal barriers on Canal St and the surrounding area in anticipation of some celebration.

Sox/Yankees ending sometime in the first half combined with a Garden watch party - should be an interesting night if the C's sweep.

 

[TrapperAB]

Mike Tyson has punched Luka and Kyrie in the face. I don’t think they get back up. Luka is too petulant, Kyrie too mercurial.

Celts win pulling away.

 

[Norm Siebern]

Celtics become legal tonight as they come of age and reach 18.

I'm Eighteen

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

My employer would really like it if we put DAL out of its suffering, so win please.

 

[RSN Diaspora]

My employer would really like it if we put DAL out of its suffering, so win please.

God knows, my firm's bean counters would love to see my billables reflect actual client work instead of refreshing Twitter for Porzingis news.

 

[Curt S Loew]

They haven't lost in over a month. Why start now?

It's interesting hearing JT refer to JB as his brother in his remarks referencing the postgame embrace after game 3.

I was remarking to my brother this postseason it's been like watching our kids grow up this season. Been through a lot together and grown at every step. Showing such poise late in games not seen at this level earlier in their postseason history.

18 incoming. Tonight.

 

[ifmanis5]

80-20 has such a great RING to it. Get it done.

 

[Reverend]

Foster the referee tonight with Tony brothers doing the replay center.

View: https://twitter.com/HaterReport_/status/1801635186909577223

Video surprisingly entertaining. In its way.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Foster worries me far less than Zarba and Brothers.

 

[The Social Chair]

Don't mess around. Stay focused and play Mazzulaball.

View: https://www.twitter.com/CelticsRiley/status/1793132318913094094

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

View attachment 84163

This is brilliant.

LFG

 

[Ale Xander]

Sox/Yankees ending sometime in the first half combined with a Garden watch party - should be an interesting night if the C's sweep.

if Sam Kennedy knew how to do marketing, he'd get NBA/Celtics permission to put the game on the CF scoreboard and have a watch party there too, after the Sawx Yanks game was over, and not force people to leave

 

[kfoss99]

Foster worries me far less than Zarba and Brothers.

I don't think Foster has been bad. He has an easy name to remember, so he gets crap. He's not as bad as Brothers and we won that game.

Play well enough to take it out of the refs' hands. I think we do.

I'm confident and nervous. Maybe, like, how Bill Russell said he threw up before every game.

 

[The Social Chair]

Foster is a good ref with a huge ego. He'll get into fights with the players, mess up the pace of the games, and call unnecessary technicals.

 

[osori]

Maybe the refs might be less forgiving on Luka fouling all the time, to teach him a lesson.

Anyway, send the designated eater and flat earther to Cancun where they both can enjoy all the alcohol and flat altitude, while the poor C's have to come back to Boston for a parade.

 

[RSN Diaspora]

Same, Janos. Same.

View: https://twitter.com/isjanosnba/status/1801661571627892986

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

View: https://twitter.com/adamhimmelsbach/status/1801593957379416360?s=46&t=IVL2VrlFgLlpc3mjGGto8Q

Wow.

Hoping for a blowout so Xavier can be on the floor when this ends.

 

[Ale Xander]

Last time I was this confident about a Boston sporting event was Game 4 of the 2007 WS

 

[Ale Xander]

Win it for Walton and Montross and Brandon Hunter too.

 

[DJnVa]

Just fucking win.

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Thinking about how the refs will treat Luka, it occurs to me that Tatum has been WAY better in his whining and moaning to the refs this playoff stretch. Seems like he's finally internalized it's not helping his cause.

 

[Just a bit outside]

if Sam Kennedy knew how to do marketing, he'd get NBA/Celtics permission to put the game on the CF scoreboard and have a watch party there too, after the Sawx Yanks game was over, and not force people to leave

They mentioned on the Sox radio broadcast that Cora wanted that to be the case.

 

[Al Zarilla]

I don't think Foster has been bad. He has an easy name to remember, so he gets crap. He's not as bad as Brothers and we won that game.

Play well enough to take it out of the refs' hands. I think we do.

I'm confident and nervous. Maybe, like, how Bill Russell said he threw up before every game.

From one of the Celtics books I read, forget the game but a big one, after warm-ups, Auerbach had the team around him, looked at Russell and said “did you throw up today?” Russell said no. Red said “go throw up.” He did. They won.