Celtics vs. Bucks, Round 2 Discussion

Who you got?

  • Celts in 4

    Votes: 7 3.3%
  • Celts in 5

    Votes: 69 32.5%
  • Celts in 6

    Votes: 106 50.0%
  • Celts in 7

    Votes: 25 11.8%
  • Bucks in 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Bucks in 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Bucks in 6

    Votes: 3 1.4%
  • Bucks in 7

    Votes: 2 0.9%

  • Total voters
    212
  • Poll closed .

reggiecleveland

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As was mentioned during the game by the announcers, the Bucks are having excellent success quickly pushing the ball up the floor on made baskets. So, while the Celtics are busy hugging each other and giving high fives and all that, the Bucks are putting themselves in position to score.

Contrast that with the Celtics, who after every time the Bucks score are walking it back up the floor.

That's on top of the silly ref arguing, which of course needs to stop.
I have mentioned being part of a Pat Reilley coaching symposium, which was mostly just a card show or Star TRek convention level of cool namedropping anecdotes, but I did get one thing out of I use every game I coach. He said he is often on his feet yelling at his teams to run because even a little bit of tempo often gets a score, and it is hard to keep running and players forget. I see this all the time, inbound pass, a team pushed it just a bit and find an open guy for an easy score. One of the things you will hear coaches and teammates say about Steve NAsh was how he tirelessly pushed the ball. It sin't easy.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I have mentioned being part of a Pat Reilley coaching symposium, which was mostly just a card show or Star TRek convention level of cool namedropping anecdotes, but I did get one thing out of I use every game I coach. He said he is often on his feet yelling at his teams to run because even a little bit of tempo often gets a score, and it is hard to keep running and players forget. I see this all the time, inbound pass, a team pushed it just a bit and find an open guy for an easy score. One of the things you will hear coaches and teammates say about Steve NAsh was how he tirelessly pushed the ball. It sin't easy.
Tommy was always pushing the team to run.
 

joe dokes

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Tommy was always pushing the team to run.
Hell, just getting the ball to the offensive 3 point line with 18 or 19 seconds on the clock instead of 14 or 15 is advantageous. Most often after a made basket, the Celtics get across halfcourt at 18 or 17, and start the offense at 12 or 13.
 

JakeRae

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As was mentioned during the game by the announcers, the Bucks are having excellent success quickly pushing the ball up the floor on made baskets. So, while the Celtics are busy hugging each other and giving high fives and all that, the Bucks are putting themselves in position to score.

Contrast that with the Celtics, who after every time the Bucks score are walking it back up the floor.

That's on top of the silly ref arguing, which of course needs to stop.
I wonder if it might help cut down on some of the arguing if Ime asked the team to press after makes. I don’t think we want to play an aggressive full court press for energy reasons, but some light pressure could force players to drop complaints because they have immediate assignments instead of 5-seconds-in-the-future assignments. I don’t know if this would actually help, but we need to do something to flip the switch so that there is no space for complaining/lobbying the refs except when the ball is dead.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I wonder if it might help cut down on some of the arguing if Ime asked the team to press after makes. I don’t think we want to play an aggressive full court press for energy reasons, but some light pressure could force players to drop complaints because they have immediate assignments instead of 5-seconds-in-the-future assignments. I don’t know if this would actually help, but we need to do something to flip the switch so that there is no space for complaining/lobbying the refs except when the ball is dead.
Maybe if Ime went at the refs more, the players would do less of it. Or do even more because Ime is doing it. Who knows. You'd think a team coached by BS and than Ime wouldn't have this issue, though.
 

PedroKsBambino

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I have mentioned being part of a Pat Reilley coaching symposium, which was mostly just a card show or Star TRek convention level of cool namedropping anecdotes, but I did get one thing out of I use every game I coach. He said he is often on his feet yelling at his teams to run because even a little bit of tempo often gets a score, and it is hard to keep running and players forget. I see this all the time, inbound pass, a team pushed it just a bit and find an open guy for an easy score. One of the things you will hear coaches and teammates say about Steve NAsh was how he tirelessly pushed the ball. It sin't easy.
This is also a strength of Russell Westbrook, say what you want about the rest of his game.

On the Celts, PP and White are both pretty good at pushing the ball up---and I do think they have a somewhat unique roster with TL out where everyone can bring it up fairly comfortably---Horford and Grant are both credible at it. They aren't Nash or Westbrook, but the rebounder just pushing it up might speed them up a bit and also pressures the defense.
 

Imbricus

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Maybe if Ime went at the refs more, the players would do less of it. Or do even more because Ime is doing it. Who knows. You'd think a team coached by BS and than Ime wouldn't have this issue, though.
I think the problem is, and I hate to say this, that Tatum is kind of a whiner. And when your alpha is a ref whiner, then it makes it easier for other, younger players (like Grant) to develop that bad habit too. I think Ime just has to start yanking guys who whine at the refs and who go AWOL on defense because of it.
 

BigSoxFan

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I think the problem is, and I hate to say this, that Tatum is kind of a whiner. And when your alpha is a ref whiner, then it makes it easier for other, younger players (like Grant) to develop that bad habit too. I think Ime just has to start yanking guys who whine at the refs and who go AWOL on defense because of it.
But you can’t just yank Tatum for whining and Ime clearly never would, especially in a playoff game. Just have to hope whatever pregame pep talk holds for one day.
 

lars10

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I think the problem is, and I hate to say this, that Tatum is kind of a whiner. And when your alpha is a ref whiner, then it makes it easier for other, younger players (like Grant) to develop that bad habit too. I think Ime just has to start yanking guys who whine at the refs and who go AWOL on defense because of it.
I think Tatum gets frustrated when he sees other players getting calls that he isn't getting. I think especially this series he's being grabbed a lot by whoever is guarding him without all that many calls and then being met at the rim by Lopez or Giannis who aren't getting called almost at all when they challenge at the rim. Meanwhile he's seeing Horford and Williams getting called for barely touching Giannis on the other end. Perhaps he's just a whiner.. but LeBron whines.. Giannis whines.. it just feels like no NBA player ever feels like they get the amount of calls they should. The main focus should be on making sure Tatum talks to the refs when the ball isn't in play.. get back on D and talk about it later.
 

Imbricus

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But you can’t just yank Tatum for whining and Ime clearly never would, especially in a playoff game. Just have to hope whatever pregame pep talk holds for one day.
I agree Ime never would, but this constant complaining to the refs is contagious, and if it starts at the top, it's more contagious. Is Tatum really not getting the superstar calls? I've seen games where he goes to the line a lot. Not so much in this series, yes, but he's not muscling inside as much this series because the Bucks have Lopez and Giannis underneath, waiting for him.

Even if you posit that there are more missed fouls against Tatum than certain Bucks players, what good does it do to grab your wrist after missed shots and stare at the ref? Do we have any statistics showing that that leads to a more favorable whistle for the rest of the game? So if it doesn't you're just (1) pissing off the refs (2) taking your head out of the action, which could be the other team sprinting down the floor to take advantage of your distraction (3) feeding a sulky narrative in your head that you're not being treated fairly, which then leads to you possibly mentally checking out later.

I've complained plenty about the refs this series, but I see the other side of it too: it's going to be a physical game, fouls will be missed, and you've got to play through stuff. If you only whine about fouls occasionally, that seems like a smarter strategy to me, because then the refs are more likely to take you seriously ... but if you're doing it constantly, it gets lost as just background noise.
 

joe dokes

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Maybe if Ime went at the refs more, the players would do less of it. Or do even more because Ime is doing it. Who knows. You'd think a team coached by BS and than Ime wouldn't have this issue, though.
I think he's always talking at the refs. He just lacks the Charles Manson vibe that gets budenholzer and Nick nurse on tv all the time.
That said, if he threw a "five star nutty" (h/t Bob Ryan, I think) would that: a) cause the refs to make better calls; b)cause the Celtic players to stop whining because "coach has our back"; or c) embolden the whiners to whine even more?
I don't know the answer, but I think that's the question.
 

benhogan

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I agree Ime never would, but this constant complaining to the refs is contagious, and if it starts at the top, it's more contagious. Is Tatum really not getting the superstar calls? I've seen games where he goes to the line a lot. Not so much in this series, yes, but he's not muscling inside as much this series because the Bucks have Lopez and Giannis underneath, waiting for him.

Even if you posit that there are more missed fouls against Tatum than certain Bucks players, what good does it do to grab your wrist after missed shots and stare at the ref? Do we have any statistics showing that that leads to a more favorable whistle for the rest of the game? So if it doesn't you're just (1) pissing off the refs (2) taking your head out of the action, which could be the other team sprinting down the floor to take advantage of your distraction (3) feeding a sulky narrative in your head that you're not being treated fairly, which then leads to you possibly mentally checking out later.

I've complained plenty about the refs this series, but I see the other side of it too: it's going to be a physical game, fouls will be missed, and you've got to play through stuff. If you only whine about fouls occasionally, that seems like a smarter strategy to me, because then the refs are more likely to take you seriously ... but if you're doing it constantly, it gets lost as just background noise.
I wish the refs would just officiate the whining out of the game by just T-ing up coaches/players to start the season. They'd all catch on by the middle of season 1 and knock it off. Every player does it now.

Guys even complain when they don't get calls from their play-acting. It's worse than Italian football.

Streamline/improve the challenge system (down to 30 seconds) and offer more coaches challenges. That may also alleviate the incessant player/coach whining
 
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Eddie Jurak

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Thinking more about this Celtic team, and the fact that they have seemed to be playing “December style” for a lot of this series, I think that trust in their system just isn’t fully ingrained.

When the Bucks put enough pressure on them, their poise and willingness to follow their system breaks down.

On Locked On, Karalis and Tom Westerholm we’re talking about how Tatum is shooting over 50% on catch and shoot threes and on threes where he takes 7 or more dribbles before the shot. (I think the latter represent isos where he able to set up exactly the shot he wants). On everything in between, Tatum is shooting poorly on threes - I assume this is things like “dribble past the pick and get the shot up quickly.”

Under enough pressure, the bad habits that saw them 18-21 before their turn around just re-emerge.

There is just never any need for the Celtics to fire up the first three they get early into he clock because they should know by now that against Milwaukee it will be there for them later. They should know by now that having Tatum or Brown get swallowed up on droves or have to throw up contested mid range shots is playing right into Milwaukee’s hands.

But when push comes to shove, the revert back to trusted stuff that doesn’t work well.
 

benhogan

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Thinking more about this Celtic team, and the fact that they have seemed to be playing “December style” for a lot of this series, I think that trust in their system just isn’t fully ingrained.

When the Bucks put enough pressure on them, their poise and willingness to follow their system breaks down.

On Locked On, Karalis and Tom Westerholm we’re talking about how Tatum is shooting over 50% on catch and shoot threes and on threes where he takes 7 or more dribbles before the shot. (I think the latter represent isos where he able to set up exactly the shot he wants). On everything in between, Tatum is shooting poorly on threes - I assume this is things like “dribble past the pick and get the shot up quickly.”

Under enough pressure, the bad habits that saw them 18-21 before their turn around just re-emerge.

There is just never any need for the Celtics to fire up the first three they get early into he clock because they should know by now that against Milwaukee it will be there for them later. They should know by now that having Tatum or Brown get swallowed up on droves or have to throw up contested mid range shots is playing right into Milwaukee’s hands.

But when push comes to shove, the revert back to trusted stuff that doesn’t work well.
Good point. We can all point fingers at Grant/PP's 3pt shooting, Marcus' rough plays at the end, Jaylen going invisible the last 7 minutes, or Horford only 7 FGA BUT the Celtics' fortunes boil down to Jayson Tatum. Hopefully, he makes the right decisions and executes tonight or else we're out. Either way, he'll learn from his mistakes, get better and improve because that's what he has done 100X before.

Championship runs will be happening for the next 5 seasons, would love for them to start ahead of schedule in 2022.
 

Red Averages

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We should probably give DeJesus some credit for preaching the Celtics resiliency when others were frustrated/angry.

We’re onto game 7.

I see 2 games the Celtics dominated from end to end.
1 game where the Celtics won by 8 after dominating the 4th.
2 games where the Celtics were up in the final minute with the ball.

pretty clear what should be done on Sunday. Get it done

Also more White. He has completely changed the dynamic when in.
 

Eddie Jurak

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We should probably give DeJesus some credit for preaching the Celtics resiliency when others were frustrated/angry.

We’re onto game 7.

I see 2 games the Celtics dominated from end to end.
1 game where the Celtics won by 8 after dominating the 4th.
2 games where the Celtics were up in the final minute with the ball.

pretty clear what should be done on Sunday. Get it done

Also more White. He has completely changed the dynamic when in.
It is really weird. The series is tied 3-3, but they could, maybe should, be 5-1.

Tatum had the kind of statement game that great players need to have. Without his fourth quarter, this becomes another blown 4th quarter lead. Milwaukee made a run, as they did in game 4, and Tatum answered it pretty much single-handedly, running off 11 straight Celtic points after the lead got down to 4.

And, yes about White. Brown and Smart had their moments, too, although it as a weirdly up and down game for Brown. But White changes things because he is versatile, a fast decision maker, and willing to drive (and kick if there isn;t a shot).

There was one play where Tatum never even touched the ball that highlighted what a great game he had. Coming out of a time out with an 8 point lead, the Celtics run a play that looks like Smart is going to make an entry pass to Tatum in the left post. But Smart's not making the pass and Tatum is just jockeying for position, and it looks like a slow developing busted play... and then Jaylen comes off a screen and pops out beyond the arc for an easily set up catch and shoot three, now C's up 11 with 5 minutes left. Everyone knew Smart was trying to get that ball to Tatum, but he wasn't.
 
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NomarsFool

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Is Jaylen Brown dealing with some kind of hand injury? I feel like all series his handle has been very suspect with lots of turnovers. Is it just really good Milwaukee defense? I know his handle has never been phenomenal, but I thought he had made quite a bit of improvement there. Now, I’m holding my breath every time he is dribbling near other players.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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We should probably give DeJesus some credit for preaching the Celtics resiliency when others were frustrated/angry.

We’re onto game 7.

I see 2 games the Celtics dominated from end to end.
1 game where the Celtics won by 8 after dominating the 4th.
2 games where the Celtics were up in the final minute with the ball.

pretty clear what should be done on Sunday. Get it done

Also more White. He has completely changed the dynamic when in.
I don't deserve any credit but thank you. There were a ton of posters including regulars like you, lovegtm, TBB, HRB, CC, BH, CD and a bunch of others (sorry I haven't looked again) who thought this was a reasonable outcome.

And I will say it here. If you haven't been following them all season or if you watched early and gave up or even if you have been watching all along, you can be forgiven for not believing in this team. They made it easy early on and their improvement during the second half felt a little like fool's gold even though the data matched what we weree seeing. However, this team is even more battle tested now. If they win Sunday, Miami won't be easy but you have to like this Celtics squad's chances to get to the finals.
 

RorschachsMask

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Over the last 3 games, Tatum averaging 13.3 points in the 4th quarters, on a 77% TS. It’s a 75% TS for the 4th quarters in general for the playoffs.

Smart, White, and Jaylen all played big roles offensively, and Al was Al on defense.

A game 7 at the Garden, let’s fucking go.
 

bigq

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Brad isn't getting enough credit for going out and grabbing Derrick White

This deal is paying off quickly
Getting Horford in the off season and White mid season has made this Celtics team a legitimate championship contender. PBS is off to a pretty good start.
 

bankshot1

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We should probably give DeJesus some credit for preaching the Celtics resiliency when others were frustrated/angry.

We’re onto game 7.

I see 2 games the Celtics dominated from end to end.
1 game where the Celtics won by 8 after dominating the 4th.
2 games where the Celtics were up in the final minute with the ball.

pretty clear what should be done on Sunday. Get it done

Also more White. He has completely changed the dynamic when in.
posted right after G5
The Celts were road warriors this year. This series isn't over yet.
 

Rook05

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I don't deserve any credit but thank you.
You’ve been the most level-headed by far. This team can win it all, but that only became apparent like two months ago. I mean, this is a team that blew a 25 point fourth quarter lead to the Knicks THIS YEAR. They gakked away game 5 and responded with the kind of game champs put together.
 

Euclis20

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By my count, in the last half season's worth of games (45 games, including playoffs) the Celtics have lost back to back games just once, and one of those losses was @Toronto at the end of the year when half the regulars didn't make the trip. For sure, this team knows how to bounce back.
 

Kliq

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This might come across as an odd takeaway given how great Tatum played tonight, but Giannis is just so freaking great. Total gamer, always delivers, super consistent throughout the series; we are going to have to play absolutely lights-out to beat that guy, as he drags a really mediocre supporting cast (minus Holiday) to seven games based on his performance. He's such a killer out there.
 

Foxy42

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My best buddy for 30 years passed tragically last summer. The two of us went to a lot of incredible games and concerts together, it was kind of our thing. Since he passed there’s been so many times I instinctively go to text him about a game or think about having to go to game X with him etc.

On Sunday, my 10 year old and his will be sitting together in the balcony, cheering like crazy as I keep an eye on them from two rows away. It’s emotional to even think about.

Go C’s….
 

Euclis20

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This might come across as an odd takeaway given how great Tatum played tonight, but Giannis is just so freaking great. Total gamer, always delivers, super consistent throughout the series; we are going to have to play absolutely lights-out to beat that guy, as he drags a really mediocre supporting cast (minus Holiday) to seven games based on his performance. He's such a killer out there.
+1. It's such a contrast to Durant, the guy who as recently as a month ago was probably most seen as the best active player in the league. This game (44 points, 20 rebounds, 14-15 from the line) felt very similar to the Bucks' closeout game over Phoenix last year (50 points, 14 rebounds, 17-19 from the line). We'll see how Sunday goes, but winning when Giannis does this doesn't feel so much like dodging a bullet as it does dodging a cannonball.
 

Kliq

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+1. It's such a contrast to Durant, the guy who as recently as a month ago was probably most seen as the best active player in the league. This game (44 points, 20 rebounds, 14-15 from the line) felt very similar to the Bucks' closeout game over Phoenix last year (50 points, 14 rebounds, 17-19 from the line). We'll see how Sunday goes, but winning when Giannis does this doesn't feel so much like dodging a bullet as it does dodging a cannonball.
At some point during this postseason, every great player in the game today (Durant, Tatum, Luka, Booker, Curry, Embiid, etc.) has had a game or two where they really played poorly and there were questions afterwards about whether or not they had it in them to win the title this year. Giannis has been the only one, imo, to be so consistently great in each and every game; even his bad games he has just a massive impact on the game because of his physicality and defense.

I know it's the heat of a playoff series, but I'm surprised at the amount of people who just want to chalk up his success to being really big and athletic. He's such a graceful, artistic player for his size. His footwork is incredible; his balance amazing and his ability to finish with either hand from all sorts of attacking angles is really what makes him unstoppable, even if you prevent him from dunking it. His timing and instincts on the defensive end this series have had a massive impact on the Celtics psyche around the basket, and led to some very poor shooting games from some very good players.

He's maybe the most unflappable superstar player since Tim Duncan. Even LeBron at times could get psyched out in certain situations. Giannis seems wholly unaffected by any negative thing that happens to him during the game. He could brick some free throws, he can pull up and airball a three, he could get called for a charge; he just keeps coming with the same kind of mentality. His ability to make free throws, as you mention, in super important games despite the fact that it is a clear weakness for him as a player, is pretty remarkable. He almost seems to relish the mental challenge of having to make the shots in the biggest moment.

When he came down with about two minutes to go in Game 5 and pulled up and cashed a three; a shot that he really shouldn't have taken and if he missed it, the Bucks likely lose the game, as a Celtics fan it was like watching a zombie learn how to drive a car; like is there ANYWAY to get away from this dude?
 

Reverend

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This might come across as an odd takeaway given how great Tatum played tonight, but Giannis is just so freaking great. Total gamer, always delivers, super consistent throughout the series; we are going to have to play absolutely lights-out to beat that guy, as he drags a really mediocre supporting cast (minus Holiday) to seven games based on his performance. He's such a killer out there.
20 frickin' rebounds for Giannis, three offensive. Came through on his FTs too. Didn't throw up the shit 3s either.

I've been staring at the line and thinking about the game he played and wondering how frustrating it must be to lose. Like, that's sports. But I'm also wondering, for those of you here who see the game better than do I (which is, like, everyone), how much of this is by design where it makes more sense to shut down everyone and while not giving up on Giannis, have a plan that assumes he'll get his?
 

slamminsammya

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20 frickin' rebounds for Giannis, three offensive. Came through on his FTs too. Didn't throw up the shit 3s either.

I've been staring at the line and thinking about the game he played and wondering how frustrating it must be to lose. Like, that's sports. But I'm also wondering, for those of you here who see the game better than do I (which is, like, everyone), how much of this is by design where it makes more sense to shut down everyone and while not giving up on Giannis, have a plan that assumes he'll get his?
I think every single 3 Giannis takes is a shit 3 because he is bad at them and some other option will almost always be a better option. Especially that one towards the end where he had Smart on him in the corner and just tossed it up, contested, with like 10 on the shot clock. He took 3 tonight, even though he made 2 of them that is 3 too many.
 

Reverend

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I think every single 3 Giannis takes is a shit 3 because he is bad at them and some other option will almost always be a better option. Especially that one towards the end where he had Smart on him in the corner and just tossed it up, contested, with like 10 on the shot clock. He took 3 tonight, even though he made 2 of them that is 3 too many.
Yeah, I didn't express that well. I meant that he didn't take as many even when they were losing. Of course, maybe that's because he was getting his opportunities and seemed less gassed. That said, and I just looked and he hasn't actually been taking as many as I thought. I've clearly been over-estimating how many 3s he takes, possibly because of that one game where he too 6, but probably because it always stands out because, well, as you say.
 

m0ckduck

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If MIL wins G7, it will be their third road win of the series.
If BOS wins G7, they will win the series despite trailing 3 times (1-0, 2-1, 3-2)

I was wondering which of these is more rare. It seems that the first thing (3 road wins) has happened 5 times before (although I didn't check the examples offered in the post). If MIL wins, the series would also tie for most road wins by both teams in a series at 5.

The second thing (winning a series after trailing 3 times), I have no clue how often that's happened.
 

snowmanny

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If MIL wins G7, it will be their third road win of the series.
If BOS wins G7, they will win the series despite trailing 3 times (1-0, 2-1, 3-2)

I was wondering which of these is more rare. It seems that the first thing (3 road wins) has happened 5 times before (although I didn't check the examples offered in the post). If MIL wins, the series would also tie for most road wins by both teams in a series at 5.

The second thing (winning a series after trailing 3 times), I have no clue how often that's happened.
I have no clue either. That’s by definition a LWLWLWW series. I know the 1978 Bullets did it in the Finals but that’s all I’ve got. But they won game 7 on the road so that wouldn’t be identical to this.
 

m0ckduck

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This might come across as an odd takeaway given how great Tatum played tonight, but Giannis is just so freaking great. Total gamer, always delivers, super consistent throughout the series; we are going to have to play absolutely lights-out to beat that guy, as he drags a really mediocre supporting cast (minus Holiday) to seven games based on his performance. He's such a killer out there.
+2. It says a lot that Tatum, for all his pyrotechnics last night, only outscored Giannis by 2 points. The nature of GA's game— dunks and layups against a helpless defense— makes it so much easier for him to contribute consistently on a game-by-game basis in the playoffs against tough D. It's an entirely lower degree of difficulty that he's established for himself, and it's fully to his credit as a player.
 

lovegtm

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I don't deserve any credit but thank you. There were a ton of posters including regulars like you, lovegtm, TBB, HRB, CC, BH, CD and a bunch of others (sorry I haven't looked again) who thought this was a reasonable outcome.

And I will say it here. If you haven't been following them all season or if you watched early and gave up or even if you have been watching all along, you can be forgiven for not believing in this team. They made it easy early on and their improvement during the second half felt a little like fool's gold even though the data matched what we weree seeing. However, this team is even more battle tested now. If they win Sunday, Miami won't be easy but you have to like this Celtics squad's chances to get to the finals.
The Raptors had to win the 4-bounce game, last year's Bucks had to win the Durant-toe game, and the 2008 Celtics had to survive LeBron going for 45 in game 7.

I'm not going to go so far as to suggest causality, but you can find lots of champions who have to go through 2nd/3rd round 7-game slugfests, and it does seem to add a resiliency, if you survive.

The Celtics front-ran through the end of the season, and got a bit lucky to sweep Brooklyn, rather than going 5 or 6. This test was going to come at some point; let's see whether they can pull it off.
 

m0ckduck

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Jul 20, 2005
1,714
I have no clue either. That’s by definition a LWLWLWW series. I know the 1978 Bullets did it in the Finals but that’s all I’ve got. But they won game 7 on the road so that wouldn’t be identical to this.
Good pull. That was a bit before my time; interesting to look at the box scores now. MAN, was that a tight series. In addition to the back-and-forth-cadence, every game outside of G6 was close. Margins of victory: 4, 8, 1, 4 (in OT), 4, 25 (the outlier), 6. Seattle won 3 games by a total of 9 points and then missed on two chances to close it out.

Edit: ah, I'm reminded that this was the year the Finals enjoyed "an unusual 1-2-2-1-1 scheduling format"
 

djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
25,894
Los Angeles, CA
I think every single 3 Giannis takes is a shit 3 because he is bad at them and some other option will almost always be a better option. Especially that one towards the end where he had Smart on him in the corner and just tossed it up, contested, with like 10 on the shot clock. He took 3 tonight, even though he made 2 of them that is 3 too many.
Yeah, luck just wasn't on our side tonight with respect to Giannis 3s. When he shoots them, they're usually ugly. I'll take that as their offensive possession every single fucking time, regardless of outcome.
 

djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
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Los Angeles, CA
Celtics won all four quarters tonight, which I know doesn't mean much in the end, but that's a really heartening thing to see. Even when Milwaukee made runs, they matched them.
Honestly, it means a lot to me. So many times, we've seen this team win 3 quarters only to lose the game. This felt a lot like the last 2 wins against the Nets (I think I have that right), where the Celtics held a lead pretty much the whole way through. Like the Nets, the Bucks got close on several occasions, but the Celtics fended them off. It's good to see them have the fortitude to make that happen as opposed to wilting under pressure late in the game.

Also, THANK GOD they got away from the Game 5 strategy of milking the clock and relying on a last-5-seconds ISO. That plan never works and often leads to transition going the other way. Yes, they leaned on Tatum this game and he came through, but they were actually passing the ball around and not just holding it until the clock hit 5 and they had to do something. Moving the ball creates an entirely different dynamic than allowing the defense to focus on one player and expecting them to make a miracle score at the last second.
 
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NomarsFool

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Dec 21, 2001
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Also, THANK GOD they got away from the Game 5 strategy of milking the clock and relying on a last-5-seconds ISO. That plan never works and often leads to transition going the other way. Yes, they leaned on Tatum this game and he came through, but they were actually passing the ball around and not just holding it until the clock hit 5 and they had to do something. Moving the ball creates an entirely different dynamic than allowing the defense to focus on one player and expecting them to make a miracle score at the last second.
I’m not 100% sure the strategy was all that different. There was quite a bit of slow walking the ball up the floor in the 4th and there was quite a bit of Tatum iso ball. The difference last night was that he was hitting those isolation shots (quite a few step back threes). He came up big in the big moments.

BTW, as good as White has been lately, the transaction of the year award has to go to the Kemba for Horford swap. Just think about last nights game without Horford. I mean,would Giannis have scored 70?! Theis would have fouled out In the first half