East Conference Playoffs Thread

[Coolbreeze44]

PEAK cinema, if you are a Jimmy Butler hater this is your magnum opus

Hahaha, I am, and it is

[BloopOracle]

Hahahaha Jimmy comes alive late only to lose on a game winner from the Celtics!!!

[Lipoli390]

Wow, that was quite a game 6. Amazing how the Celtics let Miami back in with less than 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter. It shouldn’t have been that close. Credit Miami for almost knocking the Celtics out tonight. I still think the Celtics are the most talented team in the NBA. But the talent level between the Celtics and Nuggets is very close. If the Celtics win game 7 I think they’ll end up losing to the Nuggets.

[Q-is-here]

Jaylen Brown with another stinker of a game.....1-9 from 3 and 8 turnovers!

Brown is the Celtics' version of KAT, at least in this series.

[Lipoli390]

Jaylen Brown with another stinker of a game.....1-9 from 3 and 8 turnovers!

Brown is the Celtics' version of KAT, at least in this series.

Q - Seriously, that’s not fair to KAT. Look back at how KAT performed in the playoffs last season. Jaylen Brown’s performance in this year’s series against the Heat is more comparable to DLO than KAT. And let’s also remember that KAT didn’t have anything close to the talent around him last season that Brown had around him this year. KAT has apparently become a punching bag for the frustrations of Wolves fans and it’s time dial it back a bit.

We can all agree that KAT is not a #1 on a championship contender. But I’ll note that Jokic is the only NBA center today who clearly fills that role. As we’ve seen over the past few years not even Embiid lives up to that role on his team. We all saw how he performed against the Celtics this year. Giannis is the only other “big” in today’s NBA who fits the bill as a #1 on a championship contender is Giannis, but he’s a forward and I would argue more of a SF than PF. Over the entire history of the NBA, the list of centers who could credibly be viewed as the best players on their respective championship finals team is really small.

KAT has plenty of flaws like all NBA players, even all-stars, but I’d take him in a nanosecond over Brown as my #2.

[Lipoli390]

What the Heat have done in the playoffs this season is extraordinary. It’s a credit to the League’s best head coach and to an organization that knows how to find under-the-radar players with talent and mental toughness. It’s also a credit to Jimmy Butler. More than any other current NBA player, Jimmy’s tenacity, willpower and ability to drive his team to victory far above what you’ll find in any other player except maybe Jokic. More than any current NBA player, Jimmy reminds me of MJ in that respect. I was pulling for the Celtics because I can’t stand the whole South Beach thing. But congrats to the Heat. They’re in the NBA finals and they earned it.

[Q-is-here]

Jaylen Brown with another stinker of a game.....1-9 from 3 and 8 turnovers!

Brown is the Celtics' version of KAT, at least in this series.

Q - Seriously, that’s not fair to KAT. Look back at how KAT performed in the playoffs last season. Jaylen Brown’s performance in this year’s series against the Heat is more comparable to DLO than KAT. And let’s also remember that KAT didn’t have anything close to the talent around him last season that Brown had around him this year. KAT has apparently become a punching bag for the frustrations of Wolves fans and it’s time dial it back a bit.

We can all agree that KAT is not a #1 on a championship contender. But I’ll note that Jokic is the only NBA center today who clearly fills that role. As we’ve seen over the past few years not even Embiid lives up to that role on his team. We all saw how he performed against the Celtics this year. Giannis is the only other “big” in today’s NBA who fits the bill as a #1 on a championship contender is Giannis, but he’s a forward and I would argue more of a SF than PF. Over the entire history of the NBA, the list of centers who could credibly be viewed as the best players on their respective championship finals team is really small.

KAT has plenty of flaws like all NBA players, even all-stars, but I’d take him in a nanosecond over Brown as my #2.

Well, I agree that Brown had a really bad Miami series, but I think if you look at their overall body of work as playoff players, Brown has had more success than KAT not just as a team, but as an individual. And he's still not a good enough #2.

Bottom line is if we keep KAT around, he simply has to do better in the playoffs.

[kekgeek]

I feel so bad for my buddy last night. Celtics win and my buddy would have been the favorite to win 100k in underdog fantasy nba playoff contest. He would have had 9 of his 10 guys he drafted in the finals now he only has 5. (He will still win good money but not life changing)

[Lipoli390]

Jaylen Brown with another stinker of a game.....1-9 from 3 and 8 turnovers!

Brown is the Celtics' version of KAT, at least in this series.

Q - Seriously, that’s not fair to KAT. Look back at how KAT performed in the playoffs last season. Jaylen Brown’s performance in this year’s series against the Heat is more comparable to DLO than KAT. And let’s also remember that KAT didn’t have anything close to the talent around him last season that Brown had around him this year. KAT has apparently become a punching bag for the frustrations of Wolves fans and it’s time dial it back a bit.

We can all agree that KAT is not a #1 on a championship contender. But I’ll note that Jokic is the only NBA center today who clearly fills that role. As we’ve seen over the past few years not even Embiid lives up to that role on his team. We all saw how he performed against the Celtics this year. Giannis is the only other “big” in today’s NBA who fits the bill as a #1 on a championship contender is Giannis, but he’s a forward and I would argue more of a SF than PF. Over the entire history of the NBA, the list of centers who could credibly be viewed as the best players on their respective championship finals team is really small.

KAT has plenty of flaws like all NBA players, even all-stars, but I’d take him in a nanosecond over Brown as my #2.

Well, I agree that Brown had a really bad Miami series, but I think if you look at their overall body of work as playoff players, Brown has had more success than KAT not just as a team, but as an individual. And he's still not a good enough #2.

Bottom line is if we keep KAT around, he simply has to do better in the playoffs.

KAT’s sample size is pretty small as you noted in another thread. But I have to agree with you that KAT has to do better in the playoffs if this team is going to advance. I’ll finish with a ray of hope by noting that he played better in last year’s playoffs than he did in his previous playoff stint. He’s amazingly consistent game to game in the regular season. He needs to extend that consistency to the playoffs. I think he can and will, but it’s fair to have doubts.

[Q-is-here]

I feel so bad for my buddy last night. Celtics win and my buddy would have been the favorite to win 100k in underdog fantasy nba playoff contest. He would have had 9 of his 10 guys he drafted in the finals now he only has 5. (He will still win good money but not life changing)

Whoa, that would have been some serious winnings!

I think a lot of folks thought last night's game was going to be a coronation of the Celtics becoming the first team to win a 7-game playoff series after being down 3-0. I mean, that loss the other night in Game 6 was an absolute back-breaker for the Heat. For those guys to waltz into the Garden and absolutely dominate the Celtics is about as impressive as it gets in terms of resiliency and having the will to win.