Why wouldn't the layoff effect Dallas? Also.. are the Celts suddenly going to stop winning on the road?I'm going with shooting variance. I think they'll get a lot of open looks. If they shoot like OKC did, they will have a tough time. This is also the issue that might be affected most by the layoff. I'd also worry about the Mavs coming out hot and the Celts pressing on their own 3s in G1, losing home court and it being tough from there.
We should have another thread like this for why should the Mavs be worried?Lots to chew on here. So, what singular item has you most concerned about this upcoming series? For me, it's probably Porzingis' calf.
These are worries, man. They are not rational!Why wouldn't the layoff effect Dallas? Also.. are the Celts suddenly going to stop winning on the road?
ha, fair enough.These are worries, man. They are not rational!
I concurI am concerned about additional injuries popping up.
Ditto. Injuries are my biggest concern.I picked other, because a JT or JB injury is really the only thing that will kill this for me in the "what could have been" way. If the Mavs beat us with both teams relatively at full health so be it. An injury to either of those two is my only concern
Applying this more broadly to the team: playing within themselves and the system, even if they fall behind early in the series, is a point of concern for me. I don't think Dallas can beat them 4 games out of 7 if they continue to be the team we've seen this whole season. But there's a lot of pressure on this group, so I worry a bit about staying the course. Then again, they've been strong coming off losses for years now, so they have that going for them.Tatum trying to make up for 2022 and playing hero ball rather than his effective distribution to date.
I'm old enough to remember when this guy named Nicola Jokic was the greatest closer on earth and all DEN needed to do was find a way to keep it close and then they would win it down the stretch.IMO we have the guards/wings to deal reasonably with the greatest closers since the invention of the zipper, but a set of KP+Al+Kornet would be nice for rim protection, spreading the floor and neutering D's bigs.
Same.Porzingis' health
Luka becoming a kaiju
<gigantic gap>
everything else
Those were the days.I'm old enough to remember when this guy named Nicola Jokic was the greatest closer on earth and all DEN needed to do was find a way to keep it close and then they would win it down the stretch.
It's been such a long time since we've seen a talent like that.
If anyone on the Celtics gets a technical in a series that features Luka, I may lose it.Tony Brothers, Marc Davis, and Scott Foster all officiating in the Finals is gross. That trio is slimier than Zach Zarba’s hair. Tatum was probably already assessed a technical while I was writing this.
I'd go the other way. Make Luka a scorer and less a playmaker. Tighten up on everyone else. Can one man beat you with his elite scoring, yes. Can he do it four times with little help from his friends, no. And, the Celtics have the personnel to guard Luka so that he only scores 40 instead of 50. If you sell out to stop or severely slow down Luka (BB style), he will kill you with his decision-making and passing.To me, it's a given that Kyrie and Luka are going to do some damage. So I think that you guard them the best you can, mitigate the points that they'll score and let the other Mavs try to beat you. But what really worries me is if the other Mavs players start draining shots and you now have other players to key in on and you're spread a bit thinner.
Put it this way, stopping Luka and Kyrie is going to be tough (but doable). If another player starts dropping points on you, that's going to ramp the difficulty up. I hope that the Celts aren't looking past the "supporting cast".
I want to beat Dallas at their best. If this were to happen, wtf ever. You lost. We won. Fuck the narrative.I’m actually worried about a key Mav getting hurt and the Celts winning (like we would have anyway) with no one giving them any credit for doing so.
Not that I’d care cause we’d have the championship.
But I worry I’d go insane with the whining of non Boston fans.
I never heard any member of the ‘75 Reds apologize about winning the World Series over the Rice-less Red Sox. Or any sports press doing it either. Your name tag reminded me of that one.I’m actually worried about a key Mav getting hurt and the Celts winning (like we would have anyway) with no one giving them any credit for doing so.
Not that I’d care cause we’d have the championship.
But I worry I’d go insane with the whining of non Boston fans.
I am comforted on the second aspect by some of CJMs past comments and approaches to the math game. I think he'll let Luka try to get 60 on contested 2s before he gives up open corner threes or lobs. KPs rim protection would also be huge, if it's near his regular season levels.So after thinking about this for a week, I think my top concern is seemlessly re-integrating KP. During the season he played what, 40 something games when the Celts had their full roster playing, so it’s not like they don’t have the experience. But if his minutes are down vs the regular season (and I expect them to be), or if he is rusty and can’t play crunch time, or whatever the situation is, I have some concern about the effect on rotations and whatnot.
My biggest concern from the Mavs perspective is the Celts loading up too much to stop Luka and then giving good open looks to role players (corner 3s!). But if that happens in a game early in the series, I would think the Celts would adjust. Like I have a hard time seeing the Celtics continue with that strategy if it’s not working.
This would be a real rich man's problem. I'll take it! And maybe it serves as even more motivation for the repeat.I’m actually worried about a key Mav getting hurt and the Celts winning (like we would have anyway) with no one giving them any credit for doing so.
Not that I’d care cause we’d have the championship.
But I worry I’d go insane with the whining of non Boston fans.
Yes, I agree.I am comforted on the second aspect by some of CJMs past comments and approaches to the math game. I think he'll let Luka try to get 60 on contested 2s before he gives up open corner threes or lobs. KPs rim protection would also be huge, if it's near his regular season levels.
I don’t think you have to worry about this. Whether a key Mav gets hurt or not, if the Celtics win the narrative will shift to “Well they didn’t beat the best team in the West”. They won’t get any credit because they didn’t beat Denver.I’m actually worried about a key Mav getting hurt and the Celts winning (like we would have anyway) with no one giving them any credit for doing so.
Not that I’d care cause we’d have the championship.
But I worry I’d go insane with the whining of non Boston fans.
Ahem.I'd go the other way. Make Luka a scorer and less a playmaker. Tighten up on everyone else. Can one man beat you with his elite scoring, yes. Can he do it four times with little help from his friends, no. And, the Celtics have the personnel to guard Luka so that he only scores 40 instead of 50. If you sell out to stop or severely slow down Luka (BB style), he will kill you with his decision-making and passing.
EDIT: This is also why you are pushing pace and making him work hard defensively. If you do these things successfully, you can make him perhaps a 35-point scorer while limiting his ability to make his teammates great.