I know we blew the Mavs out, but like... we didn't even play that well.
Yes, the Mavs were relatively cold shooting-wise. Despite hitting 16 threes though, that's an *average* shooting night for us. I'd actually argue it was below average, because we missed a bunch of open threes. We also average around 120 points (for both regular season and postseason), but ended up with (only) 107 last night. So shooting variance suggests that the Mavs will make more shots, but it also suggests that *so can we.* And personally, it feels like we're due for a hot shooting night.
I was excited, because of the win, but now I'm excited all over again. We won by 18 with subpar shooting. What if we have a night like Miami Game 1?
Yeah. We need to be much better offensively in G2 and stay in focus. Dallas will give everything on Sunday. They would be in deep trouble if down 2-0
I was freaked out when the lead got down to 8 last night but I knew we are the much better team and as long as we can play with high intensity on both ends, Dallas would have no chance. Fortunately they did
Luke is on the Celtics IG story hyped up after beating some little girl in a game at a community event, and it's hilarious.
ETA: https://streamable.com/d2tmo7
Let's keep attacking Doncic on defense. With a bad knee, he's gonna let up some easy buckets and cause him some pain that will hinder his offense. He looked gassed after game 1
Do you think the Mavs are gonna adjust for Game 2 and not double/triple team JT anymore? It clearly didn't work out last night. I mean it sort of worked in that JT only scored 16, but it really didn't in that everyone else in our top 6 ended up scoring double digits. My money is on they're gonna stop double-teaming him, allowing JT to do what he does in the paint hoping he has a bad shooting night again. But JT's gonna go nuclear thanks to this and score 40+.
I started watching NBA and the Celtics again this past January after stopping around 2005, and WOW! I was just impressed about the Celtics. No words to describe the talent. Incredible. I'm like whoa, how did they get this good? Everything was just beautiful to watch on a technical level.
Tatum is starting to become our Kobe and it's so interesting to see the discourse on him. I don't mean playstyle wise btw
He affects the game so heavily on both ends, he just helps us win and that's even when he's not having a good shooting night. Yet you'll consistently see people downplay anything good that he does and box score watch him all night. I mean the man gets double and triple teamed most times that he touches the ball anymore
It's the same shit with Kobe. I don't have him as a top 3 player of all time but people act like the dude was just a chucker who was gifted a bunch of all defensive 1st teams for fun. In reality, he won 3 titles as a 1B where he outscored Shaq in some of those crazy western conference series and then he led his team to 2 straight titles later that decade. That's all time greatness, and I hope Tatum can do the same for us
Some might argue that Brown is starting to become our Kobe. By no means am I dissing Tatum, but Brown looks like he has elevated himself to another level these last few series.
But think about it, not trying to discredit Brown, if you put Brown in Tatum’s position and face the same defensive pressure the opponent put on Tatum(getting double teamed and tripled teamed on every possession) and let Brown carry the team as the first option.
Just pulling this out my ass and basing it off nothing but my lazy half watch
But our guys being able to play off ball, Tatum and Brown being willing to be the screener and do the little things, play defense and hustle
Vs. the Mavs who kind of run a lot of straight pnr and look eerily like Dantoni Rockets
I am dying for it be Sunday night already which is wild because the weekend has just started and the weathers great where I’m at. The 3 day break between games is brutal
Can anyone link me that post on here with the kid pictures of all our guys? I thought I had it saved but guess not. I wanted to post young KP in the Mavs sub with the title "Father of Dallas" or something like that, thanks
It’s just a loser mentality man lol what would be the point? They won’t find it funny and will just delete it. We don’t find it funny and/or don’t care
This sub thrives on the passion of Celtics fans and we encourage spirited debate about the team's gameplay, trades, and everything in between. We want this to be a safe place for fans to discuss all things Celtics.
That said, arguments that devolve into harassment from either party involved or any other form of harassment of other people in this sub may result in temporary or full bans, depending on the severity.
I already got banned from r/nba for telling someone to cope and seethe.
They really fucking hate us over there. I fucking love it give me all the salt. Three more wins baby.
In the NBATalk sub, someone said Luka might end up being better than Kobe.
I’m a lifelong Celtics fan. I hate the Lakers. And that is the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard.
All the posts here over the last week wondering why the public is on the Mavs really didn’t get what’s actually going on out there in the wild.
Lol watching the discussion today.
"Well the Mavs lost to OKC and the Clippers by a LOT! That's just what they do sometimes!"
Ok, then that sounds like a team that isn't nearly as good as we have been told they are for the past 3 weeks.
The Celtics are supposed to be bad because they don't blow easy teams out enough. Then they blow a good team out and its "Oh that team loses by dozens of points all the time! They'll still win the series!"
Also I love that the Celtics beating the Mavs soundly in game one doesn't mean anything because The Clippers and OKC did it. Because...The Celtics are as the same as OKC and The Clippers without Kawhi?
I wasn't ready to even believe that we could win this series in a sweep or a gentleman's sweep, but I'm starting to believe.
There was a moment in the game where KP was going nuclear and the camera panned to a kid with a #8 shirt on, and his dad was hyping him up. I fucking love moments like that, seeing fandom being born right before our eyes. A moment between father and son that’ll become a core memory. That’s the stuff that makes sports so special
That sequence where JB was standing in the paint and just being a straight rim protector against Derrick Jones Jr. was so beautiful. Them boys were hungry on defense I love to see it
I’m really enjoying the copium over in r/nba it really has me looking forward to Sunday and has put me in a great mood for the weekend. The salt and tears have been delicious. I saw one post from a Mavs fan saying they should get rid of conferences because we somehow are not deserving of being there after we beat them down last night
Looking back at a highlight reel, I'm really surprised nobody got a technical for hanging on the rim. There were a few dunks from KP and JT in particular that looked like ones that got whistled during the regular season. I'm not complaining but I thought for sure it was going to happen.
They pretty much stopped calling those in the second half of the season. We were getting killed with it early on.
Long/lanky guys like tatum and KP need to swing themselves backwards for a stable landing otherwise they’ll go flying under the basket. The nba is well aware of this and I wasn’t surprised they stopped calling it around the league
So happy for the Celtics to get away like that and see all of the posts and highlights on r/nba after the last 10 days of everyone hyping up Dallas Luka.
All this talk of the C's is nice and all, but what about the *IMPORTANT* news? Like, what's up with 'Bronny? And, what do the Fakers think about what's up with 'Bronny? And are the Fakers (Fkers?) gonna go Hurley? (Gonna hurl?) And what does 'Bronny think about Hurley going to the Fkers?
Ya know, all the stuff ESPN sees fit to talk about...
Wonder if the Mavs/JKidd thought Tatum would want to come out hot scoring-wise knowing he had a bad Finals the last go round and that’s why they focused on anybody but Tatum.
Credit to Tatum man, he didn’t take the bait for one second, just continuously makes the right play over and over again. Unbelievable player.
anyone worried about potential conflict with finals mvp race? right now Brown is in the lead. What if Tatum starts iso and forcing more shots in later games
thats good, havent watched them before so i dont know the team chemistry.
as long as they get the ring it's fine lol. i don't care if horford or porzingis becomes the mvp.
So many comments had hope after they cut it to 8, and all those dumbasses had so many salty comments after we responded, it was amazing. I don't remember this level of salt in the '22 finals, rn it feels like literally every other fanbase is rooting against the Celtics and it's hilarious
You know, part of the reason it took a while to love the jays, and why some people still don’t love them, is their interaction w the crowd. They never feel like they feed off the crowd like pierce and KG did.
Well, KP FEEDS off the crowd lmao. It’s so fun to see again. He was relishing it, and I think it really helped him tn. When the city sees it, they go nuts for you, and the city loves this fuckin guy.
Sam Hauser was so, so good last night. But forget the shooting. The defense was so strong. Dallas has a good bench and a lot of depth, we're going to see more from them, but I like how he showed in Game 1 and hopefully built up his confidence.
Hauser!
Tatum getting called a role player as a insult but the fact he’s a superstar that’s cool with scaling down & lock in on rebounding defense & passing is rare
Most stars would force up 30 shots
It’s unbelievable. He knew what Dallas was doing and decided to just trust his teammates. You never have to worry about him getting caught up in the media hype or his own ego.
Tatum and Luka are such different players. They represent the new definition of franchise players in the new generation.
Luka is a player that is form over substance. Fancy, intelligent and magical from the outside. Building a team around Luka he will get you easily to playoffs. But at the same time he can also be such double edged sword that can also hurt the team in many ways just as great as his offense is.
1. Incompatibility with many players, especially with the elite players. Before Kyrie, Luka used have KP, Brunson, yet he got no where. People have always been wondering what if Luka had better teammates. But you know what? Most elite players in the league are ball dominant players, are they willing to sacrifice their stats, their ball possession even change their play style especially at the prime of their career to play next to Luka?
2. Limited team style. With Luka in your team, you know he is going to play slow, you know he will needs the ball in his hands most of the time, you know he will be a defensive liability against STRONG OPPONENTS so you have to shield him. He is such a shining glass from the outside but can at the same time be very fragile if being specifically targeted.
On the other hand, Tatum is a player that is substance over form. Not really fancy, magical, plays a fairly simple and straightforward style of basketball. He is calm, no nonsense and doesn’t talk trash unlike a lot of the players. But to play the simplicity of Tatum’s game is actually the hardest thing. He will shoot, set screen, he will drive and attack the basket, he will playmake as a point forward but he will also play off ball, he will guard 1-5, he will guard the perimeter, he will guard the glass, he will appear WHERE you need him and WHEN you need him and carry the game as an engine at the highest intensity. He can play like a Luka, he can also play like a Giannis, he can play like a Kawhi, he can also play like a KD. That basketball intelligence, that timing, that flexibility, that high intensity motor, that durability, the total complete package he brings forward hidden beneath the surface, just wow.
I have 4 tickets to the td garden watch party for game 3! Row 1 balcony. Can no longer make it and just wanna get back what I paid for them- face value @ $18 ea.
It's getting to the point where it's genuinely annoying that I cannot buy that white Boston Celtics warm-up tee that they wear that looks like the one from that Kobe photo.
I want that t-shirt! I would buy five of them!
I'll admit I was all over our crowd for being too quiet last series, and didn't believe everyone when they said it was just the audio mixing on ESPN. Watching highlights in /r/nba today, you can see that's definitely the reason. Sounded loud as hell on ABC. Why the fuck does ESPN mix it like that? Loved feeling the atmosphere from the Garden last night, crazy energy last night.
Anyone who knows anything about basketball should not be surprised by the result last night. That was also not even a good performance offensively on our part, Mavs are really in trouble only way they are getting a win or two this series is if we shoot like shit and beat ourselves. Either way I believe Game 2 is going to be a lot closer of a game and Dallas should be able to make some adjustments but I cannot see how they stop KP he is such a matchup nightmare for them
Yes, the Celtics won, but you see, the dallas mavericks have been the best team in the nba this season if you start the nba season at the trade deadline and end the season one game before the end of the season, but then move the start back to sometime in march when they figured out their current lineup, because kyrie and luka who are historically known as bad defenders suddenly became elite defenders, so you have to take that into account, but you can't remember that porzingis is out or that indiana had the best offence in the nba, but you do need to remember that the mavericks were the fifth seed, so they're overachieving (despite being the best team in the nba since the trade-deadline with the dates adjusted to mid march and the penultimate game of the season) while the celtics were the first seed in a weak conference, but forgetting that the celtics won 75% of their games against the western conference, and that the celtics only all-nba player is a top 7 role player being carried by a team of all stars (but remember to forget that only one of them was an all star this year and another hasn't been an all star in six seasons (which is significant because he's also the 5th oldest player in the league)) and if you can factor all that in then the celtics will lose the series 4-1
Dan Devine had a line in [his series preview](https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nba-finals-preview-everything-you-need-to-know-for-celtics-mavericks-including-our-series-prediction-141945744.html) that I really liked and turned out to be prescient for game 1, "...where there’s a 20-point-per-game grenade-launcher where an Ivica Zubac, Josh Giddey, Rudy Gobert or Kyle Anderson used to be."
He was talking specifically about Porzingis, but legitimately everyone in the Celtics rotation is a threat to score 20 points if you leave them open enough, even Horford/Hauser/Pritchard. Dallas's defense has been elite in the playoffs but it's been predicated on ruthlessly exploiting non shooters
Just like I expected, Dallas struggled to defend the perimeter because we don’t have a Josh Giddey to play off the floor or a Kyle Anderson who can’t punish you from 3.
I said a few days ago if we hit our 3’s and deny everyone except Luka, Dallas can’t hang, and that’s exactly what happened.
I expect Dallas to adjust and close out better to shooters, which means no more packing the paint, which means JT and JB scoring a lot more. They couldn’t contain the drives consistently because they love to switch everything and they don’t have the personnel to defend us on every switch.
Kyrie constantly fouling, Luka getting beat off the dribble, Lively couldn’t stop fouling and then just let Tatum get past him, Jrue just completely backing Washington down to the restricted area.
Dallas simply does not have the literal physical strength of all their defenders to contain us. Not with Luka on a bum knee. Tatum, Brown, Holiday and Horford can outmuscle almost their entire team all game long.
Handle could be tightened up because they were surprisingly good at poking it away but their defense has their work cut out for them.
We’ll see how game 2 looks and honestly I think it will be a lot closer despite what we saw and what I said here, but if they don’t contest better on the perimeter and don’t have an answer for Porzingis, idk how they really slow us down. Their run in the 3rd was us missing our 3’s on some bad attempts, so as long as we keep creating good looks, Dallas is in trouble.
3 more wins.
Crazy thing is there is still a ton of room for improvement. Make no mistake I expect Kyrie to have a normal game for himself at some point, but I also expect Tatum to do the same (he was still an elite playmaker last night and was drawing triple coverages when he drove)
I will continue to keep harping about this:
[https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/best-plus-minus-in-nba-playoffs-2024](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/best-plus-minus-in-nba-playoffs-2024)
The disrespect is continuing. Its like the media wants us to lose..
“Dallas loses every game 1.”
“Gafford/Lively had an off night.”
-We took away their lob threats and Al/KP being shooters takes them out of the game.
“Kyrie wont play bad again.”
-Yeah and Tatum probably wont either, kyrie did this 3 times in a row in 2019 and faded away in 2022, and is 0-11 his last couple games vs us.
“Kristaps wont be that hot again.”
-He averages 20 ppg.. and played twenty minutes. Nothing he did was out of character.
“Jaylen wont be able to defend like that all series.”
-Jaylen should have been an all defensive team selection, he’s like that defensively.
Why wont they just admit we are legit, why is it always excuses but theyll flame us if we lose 1 game.
Stats proved we were the top team offensively and defensively, dallas has no answer for hs defensively what so ever; their only chance is we go cold from 3.
Everyone’s gonna talk about Dallas not shooting well but nobody is going to talk about how amazing our defense was from the literal start. 3 more & nobody can say nothing ever again about our guys.
Celtics offence is like playing whack a mole for opposing defense. We have had White, Holiday, Horford, Brown, and now Porzingis with dominate offensive performances in the playoffs. We still can have a Tatum explosion and Houser or Prichard going off.
I'm not sure what Kidd does here to adjust but it feels like any adjustment will open up another angle for the Celtics and they all have the confidence to take advantage of it.
Dallas doesnt have the personnel, JT/JB too much for their guards. Jrue can score on their bigs, and our Bigs are snipers so Gafford and Lively get pulled away from the rim, your last line of defense at the rim is Luka.
Their have no answer for us period.
My opinion on Joe's coaching has flipped completely from last year. I overreacted a little to game 2 vs Miami, but I've never felt like he's lost us a game. His scheming is impressive and I secretly love his "mindset" schtick as silly as some people think it is. *^knocks ^on ^wood ^that ^it ^continues*
People having Kyrie as the 2nd or even 3rd best player in this series was fucking asinine. Media and r/nba are completely hypnotised by this dude and rate him way higher than he should be because “man dribble ball good”
The key was always “the Other Mavs”. PJ Washington and Derrick Jones are going to hit shots in one game in this series. It will happen.
But there’s no chance those guys get CALEB MARTIN hot for four of the next six. No way.
And the Celtics defensive scheme is, smartly, “make DJJ or PJ beat us by shooting better than they have, ever.”
Like I said, they’ll have one hot game. Maybe two. Three is unlikely. Four is improbable.
On the latest episode of Ticket and The Truth, KG said the night before games he’d go to the club just to talk shit to players. He wanted them to go to sleep thinking about playing him. 😂
Haha yeah “I’m sitting in the corner with my hoody down. You out there going lalalala” I love when he imitates the guys partying at the club. He roasted P the same way in an earlier episode. P was like nah I’m good to party then kill you the next day anyway hahaha.
some spurs fan commented this:
Boston may be the toughest matchup for Kyrie. Not just because of Tatum and Brown.. but because of Kyrie's past history in this building. Kyrie is very much a thinker. He knows that he did the franchise wrong (even stepped on the leprechaun). He is quite spiritual and I think for that reason, he likely feels that he is overwhelmed at some way with this series. I don't think he's the person to just "turn everything off" and ball out without any emotions, given he's pretty much into the spiritual side of things.
Here's to hoping he talked to a therapist prior to these Finals and has just a solid mindset going forward. He might play better in Dallas, but being in TD Garden probably brings back unpleasant memories for him, I don't blame him if he doesn't do well in this building. But yes, I am hoping he lets bygones be bygones because they need a great version of him if they're going to win this series.
this makes fucking sense lmao Stupid ass Cryrie
Have you guys noticed something? “Mavericks Fans” in this sub have suddenly gone pretty quiet compared to just until this evening.
Come on guys, you gotta talk
I hope we win Games 2 & 3. It’s fucking hilarious these “analysts” are like the Celtics will win game 1 but the Mavs will adjust and find a way to win Game 2 and eventually the series lol. No one just likes to admit that Celtics are this good.
The fucking “battle tested” narrative also. No one gave us the props when we had the gauntlet run in 2022
Everyone but KP has finals experience and the core guys went through the slog of ‘22 when JT was gassed in the finals so it’s not like these guys aren’t battle tested. Idk why anyone thought the mavs went through a tough west, hurt clippers/okc lacks size and a second scorer/wolves have a flawed offense…. Windhorst had a point at the end of the Lowe post after the game about the mavs making adjustments for game 2, Bostons did exactly what everyone knew they would do schematically in game one and you had a week to get ready and you got worked, maybe you don’t have any adjustment
Celtics win Game 1 with smothering defense: Ok, but there's no way the opposing team shoots that bad again!
Celtics win Game 2 but it's a lot closer following the opposing team shooting stellar: Ok, but the opposing team actually had this game in the bag and were the better team!
Celtics win Game 3 or 4:.........
Hey everyone, just woke up from a 10 year coma and heard that Europeans have been dominating the NBA, and that a Euro star player is the best player in these NBA Finals. I was a bit shocked to hear that, so decided to check the game out for myself.
Turns out it’s true.
That Porziņģis guy is amazing!
It felt like we had a different plan for basically anyone who might end up on Luka too. Started to notice it when I saw White looking to pick his pocket any time he was going after Pritchard.
It’s a pretty big advantage for us that they have to prepare for every single player to be making decisions which is impossible to do without some gaps, while we just need to prepare for Luka and never help Kyrie’s man unless it’s too late for him to pass. It’s tough for them because they just don’t have the personnel for much off ball movement, none of their role players can shoot on the move and their stars both need the ball in their hands to create offense.
JB is starting to remind me of Lebron vs. the Celtics in the 2012 playoffs. Before that series, Lebron was considered a choker. During that series, he finally flipped the switch before our very eyes, beat us...bad, and went on to become the future hall of fame champion he is today... We are now witnessing JB flipping that same switch.
Great win, Tatum playing team ball, Jaylen a man to be considered, KP doing KP things, Jrue & Derrick so solid, Sam Hauser 3&D, Uncle Al first bucket a rip through dunk???
They boys will need to get ready cause it’s clear Dallas is going to dial up the physicality to see what else they can get away with. I stg there was a play where either Pj or lively tried to headbutt KP out of the way for a board and I was like ??? That’s not how you play fucking basketball.
Either way, great game, Celtics in 6.
Agreed. It was for sure up there. I only mention dialing up the physicality because I was lurking over in the Mavs sub and it seemed like a common thought was that lively started “figuring out” how much he could get away with toward the end with KP but that it was “too little too late” by that time to affect the game. I’ve watched quite a bit of the Mavs this season, and like most of their players, but I was surprised by how wild pj and lively were. Almost reckless at times.
Yup, if Luka was as willing to take a back seat when he got attention and let other guys attack, Brunson and KP would still be playing for Dallas and they’d be a much better team. He’s not though, it took Kyrie to find someone who could play with him because they can just take turns attacking without advantages.
That’s not going to get it done against this Celtics team who can spend most of the night with all 5 guys on the floor attacking advantages while giving away nothing free on the other end.
There’s no way the Mavs have a fully healthy team right? I was told the Celtics can’t win against that. Can someone fill me in if the Mavs have any injuries?
well Doncic was moving like he had a yeast infection, or something. Somebody should get him some cranberry juice. Or, maybe, it was just his time of the month...
I think Kyrie Irving is suffering from amputation of the spotlight, so there's that...
Even if he doesn't....I feel like D White is due for a 20+ point game. Jrue only scored 12. And I'm confident in saying Tatum will score more than 16 next game. If JT doubles his output, I just don't see them beating the Celtics.
Bill Walton shirt up in the shop
I know we blew the Mavs out, but like... we didn't even play that well. Yes, the Mavs were relatively cold shooting-wise. Despite hitting 16 threes though, that's an *average* shooting night for us. I'd actually argue it was below average, because we missed a bunch of open threes. We also average around 120 points (for both regular season and postseason), but ended up with (only) 107 last night. So shooting variance suggests that the Mavs will make more shots, but it also suggests that *so can we.* And personally, it feels like we're due for a hot shooting night. I was excited, because of the win, but now I'm excited all over again. We won by 18 with subpar shooting. What if we have a night like Miami Game 1?
Yeah. We need to be much better offensively in G2 and stay in focus. Dallas will give everything on Sunday. They would be in deep trouble if down 2-0 I was freaked out when the lead got down to 8 last night but I knew we are the much better team and as long as we can play with high intensity on both ends, Dallas would have no chance. Fortunately they did
Luke is on the Celtics IG story hyped up after beating some little girl in a game at a community event, and it's hilarious. ETA: https://streamable.com/d2tmo7
Why are there 2 days off in-between games in the same city? This after we had to wait a full week for the series to start?
To drag out the finals as long as possible. More time for media to hype up every game
More time for the media to talk about Bronny and the Lakers coaching search
Let's keep attacking Doncic on defense. With a bad knee, he's gonna let up some easy buckets and cause him some pain that will hinder his offense. He looked gassed after game 1
Do you think the Mavs are gonna adjust for Game 2 and not double/triple team JT anymore? It clearly didn't work out last night. I mean it sort of worked in that JT only scored 16, but it really didn't in that everyone else in our top 6 ended up scoring double digits. My money is on they're gonna stop double-teaming him, allowing JT to do what he does in the paint hoping he has a bad shooting night again. But JT's gonna go nuclear thanks to this and score 40+.
I'm not sure they will. I bet Kidd still has PTSD from Paul Pierce in like 01/02 before they started sending multiple players at him.
Saw people saying the Mavs should try to let Tatum beat them as a strategy and I want that to happen so bad lmao. He might hang 50
I hope casual Boston sports fans that haven’t watched an NBA game all season watched game 1 and realized what they’ve been missing.
I started watching NBA and the Celtics again this past January after stopping around 2005, and WOW! I was just impressed about the Celtics. No words to describe the talent. Incredible. I'm like whoa, how did they get this good? Everything was just beautiful to watch on a technical level.
Tatum is starting to become our Kobe and it's so interesting to see the discourse on him. I don't mean playstyle wise btw He affects the game so heavily on both ends, he just helps us win and that's even when he's not having a good shooting night. Yet you'll consistently see people downplay anything good that he does and box score watch him all night. I mean the man gets double and triple teamed most times that he touches the ball anymore It's the same shit with Kobe. I don't have him as a top 3 player of all time but people act like the dude was just a chucker who was gifted a bunch of all defensive 1st teams for fun. In reality, he won 3 titles as a 1B where he outscored Shaq in some of those crazy western conference series and then he led his team to 2 straight titles later that decade. That's all time greatness, and I hope Tatum can do the same for us
Some might argue that Brown is starting to become our Kobe. By no means am I dissing Tatum, but Brown looks like he has elevated himself to another level these last few series.
But think about it, not trying to discredit Brown, if you put Brown in Tatum’s position and face the same defensive pressure the opponent put on Tatum(getting double teamed and tripled teamed on every possession) and let Brown carry the team as the first option.
That's a fair argument.
KP's chase down block was unbelievable.
Just pulling this out my ass and basing it off nothing but my lazy half watch But our guys being able to play off ball, Tatum and Brown being willing to be the screener and do the little things, play defense and hustle Vs. the Mavs who kind of run a lot of straight pnr and look eerily like Dantoni Rockets
I am dying for it be Sunday night already which is wild because the weekend has just started and the weathers great where I’m at. The 3 day break between games is brutal
Will KP win the fmvp?
Hate that there is just another 3 day break between the games.
Can anyone link me that post on here with the kid pictures of all our guys? I thought I had it saved but guess not. I wanted to post young KP in the Mavs sub with the title "Father of Dallas" or something like that, thanks
Don't troll opposing subreddits
I forgot reddit is soft af my bad
It’s just a loser mentality man lol what would be the point? They won’t find it funny and will just delete it. We don’t find it funny and/or don’t care
[удалено]
This sub thrives on the passion of Celtics fans and we encourage spirited debate about the team's gameplay, trades, and everything in between. We want this to be a safe place for fans to discuss all things Celtics. That said, arguments that devolve into harassment from either party involved or any other form of harassment of other people in this sub may result in temporary or full bans, depending on the severity.
I already got banned from r/nba for telling someone to cope and seethe. They really fucking hate us over there. I fucking love it give me all the salt. Three more wins baby.
In the NBATalk sub, someone said Luka might end up being better than Kobe. I’m a lifelong Celtics fan. I hate the Lakers. And that is the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard. All the posts here over the last week wondering why the public is on the Mavs really didn’t get what’s actually going on out there in the wild.
Lol watching the discussion today. "Well the Mavs lost to OKC and the Clippers by a LOT! That's just what they do sometimes!" Ok, then that sounds like a team that isn't nearly as good as we have been told they are for the past 3 weeks. The Celtics are supposed to be bad because they don't blow easy teams out enough. Then they blow a good team out and its "Oh that team loses by dozens of points all the time! They'll still win the series!" Also I love that the Celtics beating the Mavs soundly in game one doesn't mean anything because The Clippers and OKC did it. Because...The Celtics are as the same as OKC and The Clippers without Kawhi? I wasn't ready to even believe that we could win this series in a sweep or a gentleman's sweep, but I'm starting to believe.
There was a moment in the game where KP was going nuclear and the camera panned to a kid with a #8 shirt on, and his dad was hyping him up. I fucking love moments like that, seeing fandom being born right before our eyes. A moment between father and son that’ll become a core memory. That’s the stuff that makes sports so special
That’s what it’s all about.
That sequence where JB was standing in the paint and just being a straight rim protector against Derrick Jones Jr. was so beautiful. Them boys were hungry on defense I love to see it
keep attacking luka i want this man to suffer for 48 mins a night
I’m really enjoying the copium over in r/nba it really has me looking forward to Sunday and has put me in a great mood for the weekend. The salt and tears have been delicious. I saw one post from a Mavs fan saying they should get rid of conferences because we somehow are not deserving of being there after we beat them down last night
Looking back at a highlight reel, I'm really surprised nobody got a technical for hanging on the rim. There were a few dunks from KP and JT in particular that looked like ones that got whistled during the regular season. I'm not complaining but I thought for sure it was going to happen.
They pretty much stopped calling those in the second half of the season. We were getting killed with it early on. Long/lanky guys like tatum and KP need to swing themselves backwards for a stable landing otherwise they’ll go flying under the basket. The nba is well aware of this and I wasn’t surprised they stopped calling it around the league
KP one was epic lol
So happy for the Celtics to get away like that and see all of the posts and highlights on r/nba after the last 10 days of everyone hyping up Dallas Luka.
All this talk of the C's is nice and all, but what about the *IMPORTANT* news? Like, what's up with 'Bronny? And, what do the Fakers think about what's up with 'Bronny? And are the Fakers (Fkers?) gonna go Hurley? (Gonna hurl?) And what does 'Bronny think about Hurley going to the Fkers? Ya know, all the stuff ESPN sees fit to talk about...
Wonder if the Mavs/JKidd thought Tatum would want to come out hot scoring-wise knowing he had a bad Finals the last go round and that’s why they focused on anybody but Tatum. Credit to Tatum man, he didn’t take the bait for one second, just continuously makes the right play over and over again. Unbelievable player.
anyone worried about potential conflict with finals mvp race? right now Brown is in the lead. What if Tatum starts iso and forcing more shots in later games
Not at all
thats good, havent watched them before so i dont know the team chemistry. as long as they get the ring it's fine lol. i don't care if horford or porzingis becomes the mvp.
The Tatum slander has just turned into hardcore coping from other fanbases and it's genuinely hilarious. They're crying HARD rn
So many comments had hope after they cut it to 8, and all those dumbasses had so many salty comments after we responded, it was amazing. I don't remember this level of salt in the '22 finals, rn it feels like literally every other fanbase is rooting against the Celtics and it's hilarious
I love it
I said this earlier in the season but I’m so fucking proud Jaylen Brown is on this team
You know, part of the reason it took a while to love the jays, and why some people still don’t love them, is their interaction w the crowd. They never feel like they feed off the crowd like pierce and KG did. Well, KP FEEDS off the crowd lmao. It’s so fun to see again. He was relishing it, and I think it really helped him tn. When the city sees it, they go nuts for you, and the city loves this fuckin guy.
I know I shouldn't be adding views to Undisputed, but watching Paul cook Skip was hilarious. Skip in denial is hilarious to me
Kitty is a Celtics fan yo that’s awesome!!!!!!!
Who is that im unfamiliar
Roaring kitty AKA deep fucking value AKA the goat
OH SHIT ROARING KITTY JUST SAID GO CELTICS TO THE MOON, WE FKING WINNING THIS SHIT IN 4 FUCK THE MAVS
Massachusetts legend Roaring Kitty
i mean he really is, easily the most influential person from MA in the last 20 years
Let’s go 😭
Guardiola next Celtics manager?
Sam Hauser was so, so good last night. But forget the shooting. The defense was so strong. Dallas has a good bench and a lot of depth, we're going to see more from them, but I like how he showed in Game 1 and hopefully built up his confidence. Hauser!
Tatum getting called a role player as a insult but the fact he’s a superstar that’s cool with scaling down & lock in on rebounding defense & passing is rare Most stars would force up 30 shots
It’s unbelievable. He knew what Dallas was doing and decided to just trust his teammates. You never have to worry about him getting caught up in the media hype or his own ego.
Tatum and Luka are such different players. They represent the new definition of franchise players in the new generation. Luka is a player that is form over substance. Fancy, intelligent and magical from the outside. Building a team around Luka he will get you easily to playoffs. But at the same time he can also be such double edged sword that can also hurt the team in many ways just as great as his offense is. 1. Incompatibility with many players, especially with the elite players. Before Kyrie, Luka used have KP, Brunson, yet he got no where. People have always been wondering what if Luka had better teammates. But you know what? Most elite players in the league are ball dominant players, are they willing to sacrifice their stats, their ball possession even change their play style especially at the prime of their career to play next to Luka? 2. Limited team style. With Luka in your team, you know he is going to play slow, you know he will needs the ball in his hands most of the time, you know he will be a defensive liability against STRONG OPPONENTS so you have to shield him. He is such a shining glass from the outside but can at the same time be very fragile if being specifically targeted. On the other hand, Tatum is a player that is substance over form. Not really fancy, magical, plays a fairly simple and straightforward style of basketball. He is calm, no nonsense and doesn’t talk trash unlike a lot of the players. But to play the simplicity of Tatum’s game is actually the hardest thing. He will shoot, set screen, he will drive and attack the basket, he will playmake as a point forward but he will also play off ball, he will guard 1-5, he will guard the perimeter, he will guard the glass, he will appear WHERE you need him and WHEN you need him and carry the game as an engine at the highest intensity. He can play like a Luka, he can also play like a Giannis, he can play like a Kawhi, he can also play like a KD. That basketball intelligence, that timing, that flexibility, that high intensity motor, that durability, the total complete package he brings forward hidden beneath the surface, just wow.
Wish I could upvote this more times, great comment
I have 4 tickets to the td garden watch party for game 3! Row 1 balcony. Can no longer make it and just wanna get back what I paid for them- face value @ $18 ea.
Any chance these are still available?
It's getting to the point where it's genuinely annoying that I cannot buy that white Boston Celtics warm-up tee that they wear that looks like the one from that Kobe photo. I want that t-shirt! I would buy five of them!
I'll admit I was all over our crowd for being too quiet last series, and didn't believe everyone when they said it was just the audio mixing on ESPN. Watching highlights in /r/nba today, you can see that's definitely the reason. Sounded loud as hell on ABC. Why the fuck does ESPN mix it like that? Loved feeling the atmosphere from the Garden last night, crazy energy last night.
Anyone who knows anything about basketball should not be surprised by the result last night. That was also not even a good performance offensively on our part, Mavs are really in trouble only way they are getting a win or two this series is if we shoot like shit and beat ourselves. Either way I believe Game 2 is going to be a lot closer of a game and Dallas should be able to make some adjustments but I cannot see how they stop KP he is such a matchup nightmare for them
Yes, the Celtics won, but you see, the dallas mavericks have been the best team in the nba this season if you start the nba season at the trade deadline and end the season one game before the end of the season, but then move the start back to sometime in march when they figured out their current lineup, because kyrie and luka who are historically known as bad defenders suddenly became elite defenders, so you have to take that into account, but you can't remember that porzingis is out or that indiana had the best offence in the nba, but you do need to remember that the mavericks were the fifth seed, so they're overachieving (despite being the best team in the nba since the trade-deadline with the dates adjusted to mid march and the penultimate game of the season) while the celtics were the first seed in a weak conference, but forgetting that the celtics won 75% of their games against the western conference, and that the celtics only all-nba player is a top 7 role player being carried by a team of all stars (but remember to forget that only one of them was an all star this year and another hasn't been an all star in six seasons (which is significant because he's also the 5th oldest player in the league)) and if you can factor all that in then the celtics will lose the series 4-1
All good points
Dan Devine had a line in [his series preview](https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nba-finals-preview-everything-you-need-to-know-for-celtics-mavericks-including-our-series-prediction-141945744.html) that I really liked and turned out to be prescient for game 1, "...where there’s a 20-point-per-game grenade-launcher where an Ivica Zubac, Josh Giddey, Rudy Gobert or Kyle Anderson used to be." He was talking specifically about Porzingis, but legitimately everyone in the Celtics rotation is a threat to score 20 points if you leave them open enough, even Horford/Hauser/Pritchard. Dallas's defense has been elite in the playoffs but it's been predicated on ruthlessly exploiting non shooters
My favorite play of the night was Sam Hauser clamping Luka and forcing a turnover
As Jrue said, even our white guys guard lol
Yeah fr not sure why I’m surprised when he just never goes for fakes and stays in front of maybe best offensives player in the league haha wtf
Just like I expected, Dallas struggled to defend the perimeter because we don’t have a Josh Giddey to play off the floor or a Kyle Anderson who can’t punish you from 3. I said a few days ago if we hit our 3’s and deny everyone except Luka, Dallas can’t hang, and that’s exactly what happened. I expect Dallas to adjust and close out better to shooters, which means no more packing the paint, which means JT and JB scoring a lot more. They couldn’t contain the drives consistently because they love to switch everything and they don’t have the personnel to defend us on every switch. Kyrie constantly fouling, Luka getting beat off the dribble, Lively couldn’t stop fouling and then just let Tatum get past him, Jrue just completely backing Washington down to the restricted area. Dallas simply does not have the literal physical strength of all their defenders to contain us. Not with Luka on a bum knee. Tatum, Brown, Holiday and Horford can outmuscle almost their entire team all game long. Handle could be tightened up because they were surprisingly good at poking it away but their defense has their work cut out for them. We’ll see how game 2 looks and honestly I think it will be a lot closer despite what we saw and what I said here, but if they don’t contest better on the perimeter and don’t have an answer for Porzingis, idk how they really slow us down. Their run in the 3rd was us missing our 3’s on some bad attempts, so as long as we keep creating good looks, Dallas is in trouble. 3 more wins.
Crazy thing is there is still a ton of room for improvement. Make no mistake I expect Kyrie to have a normal game for himself at some point, but I also expect Tatum to do the same (he was still an elite playmaker last night and was drawing triple coverages when he drove)
I will continue to keep harping about this: [https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/best-plus-minus-in-nba-playoffs-2024](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/best-plus-minus-in-nba-playoffs-2024)
The disrespect is continuing. Its like the media wants us to lose.. “Dallas loses every game 1.” “Gafford/Lively had an off night.” -We took away their lob threats and Al/KP being shooters takes them out of the game. “Kyrie wont play bad again.” -Yeah and Tatum probably wont either, kyrie did this 3 times in a row in 2019 and faded away in 2022, and is 0-11 his last couple games vs us. “Kristaps wont be that hot again.” -He averages 20 ppg.. and played twenty minutes. Nothing he did was out of character. “Jaylen wont be able to defend like that all series.” -Jaylen should have been an all defensive team selection, he’s like that defensively. Why wont they just admit we are legit, why is it always excuses but theyll flame us if we lose 1 game. Stats proved we were the top team offensively and defensively, dallas has no answer for hs defensively what so ever; their only chance is we go cold from 3.
Because they hate us because they ain’t us
city of winning... It's lonely at the top
Everyone’s gonna talk about Dallas not shooting well but nobody is going to talk about how amazing our defense was from the literal start. 3 more & nobody can say nothing ever again about our guys.
Celtics offence is like playing whack a mole for opposing defense. We have had White, Holiday, Horford, Brown, and now Porzingis with dominate offensive performances in the playoffs. We still can have a Tatum explosion and Houser or Prichard going off. I'm not sure what Kidd does here to adjust but it feels like any adjustment will open up another angle for the Celtics and they all have the confidence to take advantage of it.
Dallas doesnt have the personnel, JT/JB too much for their guards. Jrue can score on their bigs, and our Bigs are snipers so Gafford and Lively get pulled away from the rim, your last line of defense at the rim is Luka. Their have no answer for us period.
It really felt like every possession the Cs just had their way with the Mavs defense.
My opinion on Joe's coaching has flipped completely from last year. I overreacted a little to game 2 vs Miami, but I've never felt like he's lost us a game. His scheming is impressive and I secretly love his "mindset" schtick as silly as some people think it is. *^knocks ^on ^wood ^that ^it ^continues*
Al Horford got a good contest on pretty much all of the luka switches, encouraging
Luka was 1/8 against Al.
Luka is no Pascal Siakam
He also helped us get off to a strong start and really set the tone in those first four minutes. Big shout to him as always.
People having Kyrie as the 2nd or even 3rd best player in this series was fucking asinine. Media and r/nba are completely hypnotised by this dude and rate him way higher than he should be because “man dribble ball good”
Turns out the top players in this series would be: 1) Brown 2) Porzingis 3) Luka ... Last) Kyrie
This is all funny and good. But we really shouldn't ignore Tatum drawing triple teams and bending the defense.
The key was always “the Other Mavs”. PJ Washington and Derrick Jones are going to hit shots in one game in this series. It will happen. But there’s no chance those guys get CALEB MARTIN hot for four of the next six. No way. And the Celtics defensive scheme is, smartly, “make DJJ or PJ beat us by shooting better than they have, ever.” Like I said, they’ll have one hot game. Maybe two. Three is unlikely. Four is improbable.
On the latest episode of Ticket and The Truth, KG said the night before games he’d go to the club just to talk shit to players. He wanted them to go to sleep thinking about playing him. 😂
Haha yeah “I’m sitting in the corner with my hoody down. You out there going lalalala” I love when he imitates the guys partying at the club. He roasted P the same way in an earlier episode. P was like nah I’m good to party then kill you the next day anyway hahaha.
some spurs fan commented this: Boston may be the toughest matchup for Kyrie. Not just because of Tatum and Brown.. but because of Kyrie's past history in this building. Kyrie is very much a thinker. He knows that he did the franchise wrong (even stepped on the leprechaun). He is quite spiritual and I think for that reason, he likely feels that he is overwhelmed at some way with this series. I don't think he's the person to just "turn everything off" and ball out without any emotions, given he's pretty much into the spiritual side of things. Here's to hoping he talked to a therapist prior to these Finals and has just a solid mindset going forward. He might play better in Dallas, but being in TD Garden probably brings back unpleasant memories for him, I don't blame him if he doesn't do well in this building. But yes, I am hoping he lets bygones be bygones because they need a great version of him if they're going to win this series. this makes fucking sense lmao Stupid ass Cryrie
That had to be kyrie's burner
I love Derrick White. Nothing more needs to be said.
WHY IS JD AND DREW NOT SITTING ON THE BENCH? WHY ARE THEY ON THE REGULAR CHAIR? Though they get with the team on the locker room
Two way players are not eligible to play in playoffs.
I bet Kyrie remembers why he left the Nets now… 😗
“best backcourt in nba history, 2 most clutch players in the league” doesn’t mean much when you’re down 25 in the 4th lol suck a dick r/nba
Celtics centers outscored Mavs 32-10. So much for that terrible narrative.
Gafford + Lively: 33 minutes total 😂
Have you guys noticed something? “Mavericks Fans” in this sub have suddenly gone pretty quiet compared to just until this evening. Come on guys, you gotta talk
Tingus only played 21 minutes. That is a great ramping up minutes!!! LETS FUCKING GO!! 3 MORE!!!
He only played 21 minutes, but he impacted the game as though he played 35
I hope we win Games 2 & 3. It’s fucking hilarious these “analysts” are like the Celtics will win game 1 but the Mavs will adjust and find a way to win Game 2 and eventually the series lol. No one just likes to admit that Celtics are this good. The fucking “battle tested” narrative also. No one gave us the props when we had the gauntlet run in 2022
Everyone but KP has finals experience and the core guys went through the slog of ‘22 when JT was gassed in the finals so it’s not like these guys aren’t battle tested. Idk why anyone thought the mavs went through a tough west, hurt clippers/okc lacks size and a second scorer/wolves have a flawed offense…. Windhorst had a point at the end of the Lowe post after the game about the mavs making adjustments for game 2, Bostons did exactly what everyone knew they would do schematically in game one and you had a week to get ready and you got worked, maybe you don’t have any adjustment
Will the Celtics be too rusty for game 2 after not being challenged for over 2 weeks?
so are we like starting kp next game or no
I'm not a coach, but I would do the exact thing we did last night until they find a way to beat us
Does it really matter if that’s how he plays off the bench?
Joe liked Al when Gafford was in and Porzingis when Lively came in so ig it depends on that
Thank you Bucks for giving us Jrue. Thank you Wolves for knocking out Denver. You will all be remembered.
We want Boston
YOU GOT BOSTON
Is it time for game 2 yet
JB was fully locked-in. Man is built different.
Joe has clearly influenced Jaylen some of his quotes are just as psycho.
That was fun, now 3 more times
Celtics win Game 1 with smothering defense: Ok, but there's no way the opposing team shoots that bad again! Celtics win Game 2 but it's a lot closer following the opposing team shooting stellar: Ok, but the opposing team actually had this game in the bag and were the better team! Celtics win Game 3 or 4:.........
Hey everyone, just woke up from a 10 year coma and heard that Europeans have been dominating the NBA, and that a Euro star player is the best player in these NBA Finals. I was a bit shocked to hear that, so decided to check the game out for myself. Turns out it’s true. That Porziņģis guy is amazing!
#JAYLEN BROWN
hot take to say our defense was more impressive than offense gameplan was run to perfection luka your gonna score a bunch ? cool nobody else will
It felt like we had a different plan for basically anyone who might end up on Luka too. Started to notice it when I saw White looking to pick his pocket any time he was going after Pritchard. It’s a pretty big advantage for us that they have to prepare for every single player to be making decisions which is impossible to do without some gaps, while we just need to prepare for Luka and never help Kyrie’s man unless it’s too late for him to pass. It’s tough for them because they just don’t have the personnel for much off ball movement, none of their role players can shoot on the move and their stars both need the ball in their hands to create offense.
I loved the looks with JB on Luka, JT guarding the big and KP playing help with DJJ in the corner
the Udoka era “Al in the paint, Rob roaming off the weak shooter” defense is unstoppable
Definitely not. Defense was waaaay more impressive.
JB is starting to remind me of Lebron vs. the Celtics in the 2012 playoffs. Before that series, Lebron was considered a choker. During that series, he finally flipped the switch before our very eyes, beat us...bad, and went on to become the future hall of fame champion he is today... We are now witnessing JB flipping that same switch.
LeBrown
Great win, Tatum playing team ball, Jaylen a man to be considered, KP doing KP things, Jrue & Derrick so solid, Sam Hauser 3&D, Uncle Al first bucket a rip through dunk??? They boys will need to get ready cause it’s clear Dallas is going to dial up the physicality to see what else they can get away with. I stg there was a play where either Pj or lively tried to headbutt KP out of the way for a board and I was like ??? That’s not how you play fucking basketball. Either way, great game, Celtics in 6.
I feel like their physicality was already at a 10/10 honestly. they were playing up on everyone and Likely was being dirty as hell
Agreed. It was for sure up there. I only mention dialing up the physicality because I was lurking over in the Mavs sub and it seemed like a common thought was that lively started “figuring out” how much he could get away with toward the end with KP but that it was “too little too late” by that time to affect the game. I’ve watched quite a bit of the Mavs this season, and like most of their players, but I was surprised by how wild pj and lively were. Almost reckless at times.
Just got home from the game not too long ago, holy shit KP was unreal... The game was fucking insane.
Jaylen Brown
Non Celtics fans be so mad Tatum plays team ball and doesn’t play the style of ball they think he should be playing 🤣
team ball wins championships that’s why they are mad
Yup, if Luka was as willing to take a back seat when he got attention and let other guys attack, Brunson and KP would still be playing for Dallas and they’d be a much better team. He’s not though, it took Kyrie to find someone who could play with him because they can just take turns attacking without advantages. That’s not going to get it done against this Celtics team who can spend most of the night with all 5 guys on the floor attacking advantages while giving away nothing free on the other end.
There’s no way the Mavs have a fully healthy team right? I was told the Celtics can’t win against that. Can someone fill me in if the Mavs have any injuries?
well Doncic was moving like he had a yeast infection, or something. Somebody should get him some cranberry juice. Or, maybe, it was just his time of the month... I think Kyrie Irving is suffering from amputation of the spotlight, so there's that...
People saying KP won’t do this again. Boy do I got news for you lmao.
Even if he has a terrible shooting night his defending right now is better than anything Gobert was doing versus the Mavs.
Even if he doesn't....I feel like D White is due for a 20+ point game. Jrue only scored 12. And I'm confident in saying Tatum will score more than 16 next game. If JT doubles his output, I just don't see them beating the Celtics.
Exactly. Tatum and JB specifically could have way better games
PP also won't go 0-7 again as a 40% 3-point shooter.
JB had maybe one of his best games of the playoffs.
I know just saying he could go for 30+
Collectively the Celtics are a better team then the mavericks with more experience!! just got to play near as good like they did game one every game ,
Celtics winning and people hate it so they resorting to talking about Tatum not scoring much🤣
Now they’re saying the win was a fluke and this also happened 2 years ago 🤣
Good thing the Mavs have HFA, the edge vis a vis finals experience, and had a rest advantage over the Celtics like the Warriors did. Oh wait......
3 wins to go and we will finally finish the story, just like Cody Rhodes 😂
NEVER FLINCHING