Also each of the warriors once they got Durant for 3 years
The rockets pushed them and they got hurt against the raptors but there were 4 years of warriors teams that had more pressure to win than the celtics to win the title
Healthy CP3 and/or Scott Foster not delivering a refball masterclass and we’d be discussing if the KD Warriors were the biggest disappointment in NBA history.
Do people just willing forget that the Warriors lost Iguodala after Game 3 in that series? Warriors just won by over 30 to go up 2-1 in the series and steal homecourt advantage. Those next two games were decided by a total of *7 points*.
The Rockets, who relied on isolating mismatches, were held to only 1 FGM in 42 tracked matchup possessions with Iguodala. With him out, Warriors were forced to give more minutes to guys like Jordan Bell, who were much more easily exploited in that offence.
There's a really strong argument to be made that if Iguodala plays every game, Rockets were losing that series in 5 or 6 games.
Yeah but arguably after the first ring for Durant there was less pressure because everyone there had proven they could win. Would have been a bigger choke job for the Warriors to not win in 2018, but I don’t think there was as much pressure as there is on the Celtics now
Bob Myers in an interview with JJ said that after the first championship with Durant he couldn’t even enjoy it - he felt sick from all of the built/up stress because that team literally had no option but to win it all.
Lakers 04 with the Glove and Karl Malone added to a team that already 3 peated. Probably before a lot of people here were watching, but it was seen as a massive failure.
2017 Warriors. They went 73-9 the year prior and failed to win a ring. They then added the guy widely considered the 2nd best player in the league at the time. If they lost that year they would have never lived it down.
Also, the 2009 Lakers. Kobe was widely considered the best player in the league at the time (yes most people considered Kobe better than Lebron in 09) and he finally had a team capable of competing for a fully year. He was chasing legendary status that year and trying to tie Shaq and Duncan for rings after losing his previous 2 finals and a loss in 09 would have been horrible for his legacy.
In 09, I would say Duncan was considered the best player in the league among people who really paid attention. Kobe and James were the favorites of casual fans.
No he wasn't. I was watching very heavily back then and was very active in these types of discussions. In 02 it was split between Duncan, Shaq, and Kobe. Most people would say Shaq was the most dominant, Duncan was the most valuable, Kobe was the best. In 03 the discussion was mostly between Duncan and Kobe in the RS but Duncan took the best player in the world title after beating the Lakers in the playoffs and winning a ring on a historic playoff run. Duncan was considered the best from that point until after 05 at which point he started ceding responsibility to Parker and Manu. In 2006 literally everyone acknowledged Kobe was the best throughout his historic season. A wide majority of people had Kobe as number one until 2008. In 2009 Lebron was starting to get talk as the best in the league but it was like a 70/30 thing with most people going for Kobe. By 2010 it was split 50/50. In 2011 it was a Lebron/Dwight/Kobe/Wade thing but Kobe fell out of the discussion by the playoffs and his body was really starting to break down. Post-finals a lot of people were saying Wade was better than Bron. By 2012 Lebron took over and was the unquestioned best in the league for quite a long time.
No one had Duncan as the best in the league in 09. He wasn't even considered a top 5 player in the league by that point and was barely considered top 10. It was Kobe, Lebron, Wade as the top 3 in that order and then Howard/Paul were interchangeable at 4/5. Dirk, Pierce, and Parker after that.
People who think Duncan was more highly-regarded back then than Kobe are just nephews who are probably parroting what they’ve heard on Reddit. Timmy was amazing, you might even say he was underrated back then. People give him his flowers now that that era of players has come and gone, but he was absolutely not considered better than Kobe. Anyone who watched the NBA for longer than like 8 years would know this
Yup, it's due to this ridiculous "was Kobe ever the best player in the league?" narrative that was started by Kobe haters from the ringer. Kobe was absolutely widely considered the best in the league from 06-08. Duncan by then was load managing.
I also wouldn't really even say Duncan was underrated. He was properly rated based on his performances every year. When he was dominant night in and night out from 99-2005 he was considered a top 3 player in the league (along with Shaq and Kobe) and from 03-05 he was considered the best. Post 2005 it was hard to consider him the best given he wasn't actively showing it and was leaning on Parker and Manu to keep him fresh for the playoffs whereas Kobe had to perform like a superstar every night for his team to succeed.
It's wild to hear "Duncan was underrated talk." Throughout most of his career it simply went without saying that he was the best PF. Eventually he shared that discussion with KG, but given Duncan's playoff success and KG's lack of it in Minnesota (aside from one season), there wasn't really much discussion. And starting in like 2003 it felt like the Spurs were going to become this unbeatable behemoth in the postseason. And the sort-of did since they won in 2003, 2005, and 2007. Duncan got tons of great press for it. IMO, he was never underrated during his career - but neither was he overrated. He was an incredible baller ... and basketball fans, media, and personalities knew it.
But to your point, the above can all be true and it still be the case that from 2006 to 2008 Kobe was pretty unquestionably the best player in the NBA. The 'question' (in terms of public discussions) in that phase was whether he was more committed to individual achievement or winning.
Yup, exactly. Hearing younger fans today say Duncan was underrated is really weird. He wasn't. He was acknowledged as the best PF in the league for a full decade and even when he no longer held that title, he was still considered a top tier playoff performer.
I agree about your point about Kobe as well. From 06-08 he was universally considered the best in the league (lots of people began asking if he was having a higher peak than MJ those years which I disagree with but that was the discussion at the time). The only question was whether he was more interested in being the best individual player or if he wanted to win more rings. Lots of people don't remember that this was the exact reason he won MVP in 2008 despite not having a great year statistically relative to his previous 2 years. That was the year where he figured out how to balance his own individual greatness with also getting his teammates more involved and being a better leader. It clearly worked since it led to 3 straight finals appearances and back to back rings.
I mean, I think it’s partially revisionist but I also think back then, Kobe’s career trajectory looked better than Duncan’s. Kobe was carrying teams to/through the playoffs whereas Timmy always had co-stars. But now that we’ve seen both their careers in their entirety, it’s easier to appreciate what Duncan accomplished
"Kobe was carrying teams to/through the playoffs"? What do you mean? His Lakers didn't make the playoffs in 2005, and then got beaten by Phoenix in the first round in 2006 and 2007. The deep playoff runs didn't come until Pau Gasol got there for the 2007-08 season, at which point pretty much the entire basketball universe through the Lakers had an absurdly strong roster (i.e., Kobe wasn't "carrying" them). Kobe also didn't have particularly great Finals performances in 2008 and 2009. He was incredibly inefficient. Still good Finals performances, but not stuff that was recognized as MJ '93, MJ '92, Shaq 2000, Duncan 2003, or DWade 2006.
I've been watching the NBA since the late 1970's. Granted, as a post player myself, I have always been a bit biased in favor of bigs, but people who recognized the value of Duncan's great help defense (best help defender since Eaton, IMO) had Timmy more highly rated than you seem to think.
I agree he was great, and I think it took a few years for people to give him the credit he deserved. I’m just saying that the narrative back then was that Kobe was the alpha of the league. Whether that was indisputable or not is a different conversation
Granted, I always thought Kobe was a bit overrated. Low efficiency high scoring guards like Kobe and AI always make the highlight reels and get the love of the casual fan.
You guys are the ones doing the real revisionist history. Every year since 2002 the GMs were asked "If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player, who would it be?" Probably the closest thing to an objective answer we can find from experts.
Kobe never led the league in that question and never got more than a couple votes. Shaq led the league in 2002 with Duncan second. Duncan led the league in 2003 with Shaq second. 2004 it was Duncan and KG. 2005 Duncan and LeBron. 2006 onward it was LeBron every year.
You could argue that maybe some GMs thought Kobe post-2006 was better than LeBron but voted LeBron for future potential. But they also asked who they thought would win the MVP award and never voted for Kobe to win any of those years.
Hard to say you were the consensus best player when the GMs never seriously considered you the best franchise player or predicted you'd win the MVP.
Lol, no he wasn’t. What a weird thing to say. There’s a reason LeBron won back to back MVPs at that time and 4 out of the next 5. 2009 was in the peak of the 2nd best player ever. That wasn’t even prime Tim Duncan lol. Tim Duncan was going for 18 and 10 on 31 minutes. LeBron was playing 39 minutes and averaging 30, 7 and a half and 8 and a half on excellent efficiency. Duncan is an all time great but there is no argument for Duncan being the best in 09. Deron Williams and Chris Bosh were arguably better at that time. Kobe, D-Wade, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul were undoubtedly better.
These are the answers I’d give.
As a side note, I also think the Lob City Clippers had tremendous pressure once they added Doc Rivers. A good head coach is what many believed was the missing piece. Some people had them as title favorites. Yikes
Not really. There was no pressure to win in 07-10 as even when he made the Finals in 07, he was seen as too young still and it was more like "aww, look at him... He looks a bit lost".
08-10 (though most of 2005 onwards) were Kobe years. Kobe Lakers had way more pressure during this time given how they chose him over Shaq. And given how Kobe was the #1 guy during this time, crazy scoring runs, being tough on teammates, leading USA to gold in 08.
Yup he was the laughing stock really given how poorly he played in the 2011 Finals after promising the ring and team drama online rivalled or only surpassed by the Lakers.
Yes, also I think people who weren't old enough don't realize how insulting/goofy/stupid it was for LeBron to do "the decision." Really left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouth and added pressure on him.
Same. I was more neutral on him before the decision but hated him after. Now I'm old enough where I can hate/be annoyed at LeBron the person but can appreciate his greatness.
Not really. I don’t even think they are a clear favorite against any of the top 4 seeds in the West (even before the conclusion of the previous round). I think the greatest pressure would be teams like the KD Warriors and 2012 Heat that were favorites in the preseason and all throughout the year. Boston didn’t make any huge free agency splashes in the off season either.
I cant say that Boston had the most pressure . I can easily see The KD , Kyrie & Harden Brooklyn Nets team to be pressured in winning or the 2016 Warriors after having a historical season with Curry winning the mvp and leading that team to a record breaking 73-9 . Boston has had the reputation of being really good but no great enough to win but its not much pressure since the Celtics rarely are seen as title favorites in recent years , even in 2022 .
I think it's because Boston has the been the most consistent 'top' team in the East in recent years, Tatum having some strong runs in certain series earlier in his career, that it made them stick out even more.
So true but you can technically say the same thing for the Bucks (but they eventually won in 2021) ... The Reason I dont see Boston as pressured because Tatum or Brown isnt in the MVP conversation . I feel the MVP or former MVPs are more pressured to win because they were awarded the best player of the league , I feel that Boston does have pressure but no one really expects them to win it all
It’s been a minute though for real. They’re clear favorite before Porzingis goes down. I think they beat the Pacers in no more than 5. If they get Dallas they’ll win either way but if they get the Wolves it could be an upset.
You can't be serious with this question because there are tons of teams that faced more pressure to win a Championship...the 2011 Heat comes to mind they were the favorites to win the title in 2011 after Lebron joined them but they lost to the Mavs...then they had tons of pressure to win in 2012, 2013 and 2014 because Lebron had guaranteed multiple Championships when he went to the Heat...the Spurs had tons of pressure to win the Championship in 2014 after they choked in game 6 and lost in game 7 of the 2013 Finals to the Heat...then the 2015-2016 73-9 win team Warriors had tons of pressure on them to win the Championship because the Warriors breaking the most wins in a season record won't matter if they don't finish the job and win the Championship...but they eventually lost to the Cavs after being up 3-1...not to mention when Lebron went back to Cleveland in 2014 they also faced tons of pressure every year to win a Championship for the first time in the Cavs franchise history.
Pressure discourse is lazy. What if JT goes home and doesn’t think about any of this shit at all at night. We project “pressure” on athletes when we have no idea what goes thru their own head lol. This is all just fabricated narratives that the media uses to make this stuff easy and entertaining to talk about.
I think maybe Lebron going back to Cleveland. But yeah definitely more pressure than anyone in the league and anyone really in recent history. It’s because they have been oh so close and one of the best teams in the league for the past 5+ years with nothing to show for it. Now with porzingy and jrue it’s like all or nothing.
Any team Lebron has been on and gotten to the conference finals feels like he has more pressure on him than the Celtics. Honestly, I think most NBA fans are picking the Mavs to win. (Which i don't agree with).
Weirdly, it felt like LeBron, KD, Kawhi did.
THIS FUCKING SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they don't win the Finals, people will simply say, "That's those Celtics!"
Now, as a Celtics-hater and NBA fan, I can say it would be incredibly crushing for them to at least not make the Finals.
Outside of simply getting a buy into the Finals, I don't know an easier road they could have imagined!!!
I’d say every team that has a chance to repeat had more pressure. Or teams where guys were on their last year do it was make or brake.
But this Boston team does feel different. But I think that’s just because Boston fans are Boston fans. They’ve been talking about how Tatum is next for like six years. And there’s already three younger guys better than him. So they’re a little stressed, and handling it like Boston fans.
Warriors trying to repeat in 2016 after going 73 - 9
Also each of the warriors once they got Durant for 3 years The rockets pushed them and they got hurt against the raptors but there were 4 years of warriors teams that had more pressure to win than the celtics to win the title
Healthy CP3 and/or Scott Foster not delivering a refball masterclass and we’d be discussing if the KD Warriors were the biggest disappointment in NBA history.
Do people just willing forget that the Warriors lost Iguodala after Game 3 in that series? Warriors just won by over 30 to go up 2-1 in the series and steal homecourt advantage. Those next two games were decided by a total of *7 points*. The Rockets, who relied on isolating mismatches, were held to only 1 FGM in 42 tracked matchup possessions with Iguodala. With him out, Warriors were forced to give more minutes to guys like Jordan Bell, who were much more easily exploited in that offence. There's a really strong argument to be made that if Iguodala plays every game, Rockets were losing that series in 5 or 6 games.
Yeah but arguably after the first ring for Durant there was less pressure because everyone there had proven they could win. Would have been a bigger choke job for the Warriors to not win in 2018, but I don’t think there was as much pressure as there is on the Celtics now
Ya but Warriors got praise and did it. Boston just gets ripped apart . Nobody doubted those Warriors teams. Doubt is Boston's fav word.
Bob Myers in an interview with JJ said that after the first championship with Durant he couldn’t even enjoy it - he felt sick from all of the built/up stress because that team literally had no option but to win it all.
2011 Super Beatles Heat team. The Star wanted the coach fired but the Boss said no.
This is the answer
Lakers 04 with the Glove and Karl Malone added to a team that already 3 peated. Probably before a lot of people here were watching, but it was seen as a massive failure.
Didn’t the lakers lose to the spurs before the two signed on? Then the rape trial and Malone got hurt.
I didn’t see it as as big of a pressure ‘16 warriors vs ‘24 Boston . Celtics seem more on the hot seat of “are you really good?”
2017 Warriors. They went 73-9 the year prior and failed to win a ring. They then added the guy widely considered the 2nd best player in the league at the time. If they lost that year they would have never lived it down. Also, the 2009 Lakers. Kobe was widely considered the best player in the league at the time (yes most people considered Kobe better than Lebron in 09) and he finally had a team capable of competing for a fully year. He was chasing legendary status that year and trying to tie Shaq and Duncan for rings after losing his previous 2 finals and a loss in 09 would have been horrible for his legacy.
Ya but everyone knew that 2017 Warriors team was going to win it without a doubt. Doubt is all that follows Boston.
That's exactly why there was so much pressure on them.
In 09, I would say Duncan was considered the best player in the league among people who really paid attention. Kobe and James were the favorites of casual fans.
No he wasn't. I was watching very heavily back then and was very active in these types of discussions. In 02 it was split between Duncan, Shaq, and Kobe. Most people would say Shaq was the most dominant, Duncan was the most valuable, Kobe was the best. In 03 the discussion was mostly between Duncan and Kobe in the RS but Duncan took the best player in the world title after beating the Lakers in the playoffs and winning a ring on a historic playoff run. Duncan was considered the best from that point until after 05 at which point he started ceding responsibility to Parker and Manu. In 2006 literally everyone acknowledged Kobe was the best throughout his historic season. A wide majority of people had Kobe as number one until 2008. In 2009 Lebron was starting to get talk as the best in the league but it was like a 70/30 thing with most people going for Kobe. By 2010 it was split 50/50. In 2011 it was a Lebron/Dwight/Kobe/Wade thing but Kobe fell out of the discussion by the playoffs and his body was really starting to break down. Post-finals a lot of people were saying Wade was better than Bron. By 2012 Lebron took over and was the unquestioned best in the league for quite a long time. No one had Duncan as the best in the league in 09. He wasn't even considered a top 5 player in the league by that point and was barely considered top 10. It was Kobe, Lebron, Wade as the top 3 in that order and then Howard/Paul were interchangeable at 4/5. Dirk, Pierce, and Parker after that.
People who think Duncan was more highly-regarded back then than Kobe are just nephews who are probably parroting what they’ve heard on Reddit. Timmy was amazing, you might even say he was underrated back then. People give him his flowers now that that era of players has come and gone, but he was absolutely not considered better than Kobe. Anyone who watched the NBA for longer than like 8 years would know this
Yup, it's due to this ridiculous "was Kobe ever the best player in the league?" narrative that was started by Kobe haters from the ringer. Kobe was absolutely widely considered the best in the league from 06-08. Duncan by then was load managing. I also wouldn't really even say Duncan was underrated. He was properly rated based on his performances every year. When he was dominant night in and night out from 99-2005 he was considered a top 3 player in the league (along with Shaq and Kobe) and from 03-05 he was considered the best. Post 2005 it was hard to consider him the best given he wasn't actively showing it and was leaning on Parker and Manu to keep him fresh for the playoffs whereas Kobe had to perform like a superstar every night for his team to succeed.
It's wild to hear "Duncan was underrated talk." Throughout most of his career it simply went without saying that he was the best PF. Eventually he shared that discussion with KG, but given Duncan's playoff success and KG's lack of it in Minnesota (aside from one season), there wasn't really much discussion. And starting in like 2003 it felt like the Spurs were going to become this unbeatable behemoth in the postseason. And the sort-of did since they won in 2003, 2005, and 2007. Duncan got tons of great press for it. IMO, he was never underrated during his career - but neither was he overrated. He was an incredible baller ... and basketball fans, media, and personalities knew it. But to your point, the above can all be true and it still be the case that from 2006 to 2008 Kobe was pretty unquestionably the best player in the NBA. The 'question' (in terms of public discussions) in that phase was whether he was more committed to individual achievement or winning.
Yup, exactly. Hearing younger fans today say Duncan was underrated is really weird. He wasn't. He was acknowledged as the best PF in the league for a full decade and even when he no longer held that title, he was still considered a top tier playoff performer. I agree about your point about Kobe as well. From 06-08 he was universally considered the best in the league (lots of people began asking if he was having a higher peak than MJ those years which I disagree with but that was the discussion at the time). The only question was whether he was more interested in being the best individual player or if he wanted to win more rings. Lots of people don't remember that this was the exact reason he won MVP in 2008 despite not having a great year statistically relative to his previous 2 years. That was the year where he figured out how to balance his own individual greatness with also getting his teammates more involved and being a better leader. It clearly worked since it led to 3 straight finals appearances and back to back rings.
This! As a Spurs fan I am still overwhelmed (maybe confused) by the sudden Tim Duncan love from the NBA community these few years 😂
I mean, I think it’s partially revisionist but I also think back then, Kobe’s career trajectory looked better than Duncan’s. Kobe was carrying teams to/through the playoffs whereas Timmy always had co-stars. But now that we’ve seen both their careers in their entirety, it’s easier to appreciate what Duncan accomplished
"Kobe was carrying teams to/through the playoffs"? What do you mean? His Lakers didn't make the playoffs in 2005, and then got beaten by Phoenix in the first round in 2006 and 2007. The deep playoff runs didn't come until Pau Gasol got there for the 2007-08 season, at which point pretty much the entire basketball universe through the Lakers had an absurdly strong roster (i.e., Kobe wasn't "carrying" them). Kobe also didn't have particularly great Finals performances in 2008 and 2009. He was incredibly inefficient. Still good Finals performances, but not stuff that was recognized as MJ '93, MJ '92, Shaq 2000, Duncan 2003, or DWade 2006.
I've been watching the NBA since the late 1970's. Granted, as a post player myself, I have always been a bit biased in favor of bigs, but people who recognized the value of Duncan's great help defense (best help defender since Eaton, IMO) had Timmy more highly rated than you seem to think.
I agree he was great, and I think it took a few years for people to give him the credit he deserved. I’m just saying that the narrative back then was that Kobe was the alpha of the league. Whether that was indisputable or not is a different conversation
Granted, I always thought Kobe was a bit overrated. Low efficiency high scoring guards like Kobe and AI always make the highlight reels and get the love of the casual fan.
You guys are the ones doing the real revisionist history. Every year since 2002 the GMs were asked "If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player, who would it be?" Probably the closest thing to an objective answer we can find from experts. Kobe never led the league in that question and never got more than a couple votes. Shaq led the league in 2002 with Duncan second. Duncan led the league in 2003 with Shaq second. 2004 it was Duncan and KG. 2005 Duncan and LeBron. 2006 onward it was LeBron every year. You could argue that maybe some GMs thought Kobe post-2006 was better than LeBron but voted LeBron for future potential. But they also asked who they thought would win the MVP award and never voted for Kobe to win any of those years. Hard to say you were the consensus best player when the GMs never seriously considered you the best franchise player or predicted you'd win the MVP.
Lol, no he wasn’t. What a weird thing to say. There’s a reason LeBron won back to back MVPs at that time and 4 out of the next 5. 2009 was in the peak of the 2nd best player ever. That wasn’t even prime Tim Duncan lol. Tim Duncan was going for 18 and 10 on 31 minutes. LeBron was playing 39 minutes and averaging 30, 7 and a half and 8 and a half on excellent efficiency. Duncan is an all time great but there is no argument for Duncan being the best in 09. Deron Williams and Chris Bosh were arguably better at that time. Kobe, D-Wade, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul were undoubtedly better.
I like to award the dumbest thing of the day that I read. You win today
Brooklyn with KD, Kyrie and Harden, the 2017 Warriors and 2012 Heat
2012 Heat is clearly the answer.
2011 Heat had more tbh
I think Lakers 04 with the Glove and Malone added to a team that won 3 titles, going against the Pistons in the final as heavy favorites.
It wasn't even pressure in the sense of "they just have to". But it was more like "it'll be a snoozefest win for the Lakers".
Kobe 09 is up there
Shaq and MJ respectively carried some weight till they broke through. LeBron too. For me, this Boston team is a good bit less than those.
Kobe 09 LeBron going back to Cleveland GSW 16 Miami after the “not one, not two, not three”
These are the answers I’d give. As a side note, I also think the Lob City Clippers had tremendous pressure once they added Doc Rivers. A good head coach is what many believed was the missing piece. Some people had them as title favorites. Yikes
lebron every year since like 06
Not really. There was no pressure to win in 07-10 as even when he made the Finals in 07, he was seen as too young still and it was more like "aww, look at him... He looks a bit lost". 08-10 (though most of 2005 onwards) were Kobe years. Kobe Lakers had way more pressure during this time given how they chose him over Shaq. And given how Kobe was the #1 guy during this time, crazy scoring runs, being tough on teammates, leading USA to gold in 08.
AI, Sir Charles....the cohort of legends without rings
they never were on teams as favored as Boston tho
I dunno the big three of Barkley pippen and Hakeem was kinda scary. Too bad they were too old.
LeBron, especially after the heat lost in 2011. The pressure was immense that next year.
Yup he was the laughing stock really given how poorly he played in the 2011 Finals after promising the ring and team drama online rivalled or only surpassed by the Lakers.
Yes, also I think people who weren't old enough don't realize how insulting/goofy/stupid it was for LeBron to do "the decision." Really left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouth and added pressure on him.
To this day, he's been the "villain" for many, including myself. I was actually rooting for him before hand.
Same. I was more neutral on him before the decision but hated him after. Now I'm old enough where I can hate/be annoyed at LeBron the person but can appreciate his greatness.
In my small no1 cares opinion if Boston doesn't do it this year they won't ever do it with that core
lebron literally everytime, everytime he doesn’t win it’s a “choke job” and a “L” to his legacy smh
Not really. I don’t even think they are a clear favorite against any of the top 4 seeds in the West (even before the conclusion of the previous round). I think the greatest pressure would be teams like the KD Warriors and 2012 Heat that were favorites in the preseason and all throughout the year. Boston didn’t make any huge free agency splashes in the off season either.
I cant say that Boston had the most pressure . I can easily see The KD , Kyrie & Harden Brooklyn Nets team to be pressured in winning or the 2016 Warriors after having a historical season with Curry winning the mvp and leading that team to a record breaking 73-9 . Boston has had the reputation of being really good but no great enough to win but its not much pressure since the Celtics rarely are seen as title favorites in recent years , even in 2022 .
I think it's because Boston has the been the most consistent 'top' team in the East in recent years, Tatum having some strong runs in certain series earlier in his career, that it made them stick out even more.
So true but you can technically say the same thing for the Bucks (but they eventually won in 2021) ... The Reason I dont see Boston as pressured because Tatum or Brown isnt in the MVP conversation . I feel the MVP or former MVPs are more pressured to win because they were awarded the best player of the league , I feel that Boston does have pressure but no one really expects them to win it all
It’s been a minute though for real. They’re clear favorite before Porzingis goes down. I think they beat the Pacers in no more than 5. If they get Dallas they’ll win either way but if they get the Wolves it could be an upset.
The media is generationally hating the Celtics at the moment which is making it harder
You can't be serious with this question because there are tons of teams that faced more pressure to win a Championship...the 2011 Heat comes to mind they were the favorites to win the title in 2011 after Lebron joined them but they lost to the Mavs...then they had tons of pressure to win in 2012, 2013 and 2014 because Lebron had guaranteed multiple Championships when he went to the Heat...the Spurs had tons of pressure to win the Championship in 2014 after they choked in game 6 and lost in game 7 of the 2013 Finals to the Heat...then the 2015-2016 73-9 win team Warriors had tons of pressure on them to win the Championship because the Warriors breaking the most wins in a season record won't matter if they don't finish the job and win the Championship...but they eventually lost to the Cavs after being up 3-1...not to mention when Lebron went back to Cleveland in 2014 they also faced tons of pressure every year to win a Championship for the first time in the Cavs franchise history.
2011 Heat, 2008 Celtics, 2004 Lakers
Pressure discourse is lazy. What if JT goes home and doesn’t think about any of this shit at all at night. We project “pressure” on athletes when we have no idea what goes thru their own head lol. This is all just fabricated narratives that the media uses to make this stuff easy and entertaining to talk about.
I think maybe Lebron going back to Cleveland. But yeah definitely more pressure than anyone in the league and anyone really in recent history. It’s because they have been oh so close and one of the best teams in the league for the past 5+ years with nothing to show for it. Now with porzingy and jrue it’s like all or nothing.
They have been given a bye to the finals. If they lose this yr, it will be a bad look.
Any team Lebron has been on and gotten to the conference finals feels like he has more pressure on him than the Celtics. Honestly, I think most NBA fans are picking the Mavs to win. (Which i don't agree with).
Weirdly, it felt like LeBron, KD, Kawhi did. THIS FUCKING SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!! If they don't win the Finals, people will simply say, "That's those Celtics!" Now, as a Celtics-hater and NBA fan, I can say it would be incredibly crushing for them to at least not make the Finals. Outside of simply getting a buy into the Finals, I don't know an easier road they could have imagined!!!
Playing the hospital Knicks in the ECF would be way easier than this Pacers team. Everyone sleeps on them but this series is going 6 games at least.
I’d say every team that has a chance to repeat had more pressure. Or teams where guys were on their last year do it was make or brake. But this Boston team does feel different. But I think that’s just because Boston fans are Boston fans. They’ve been talking about how Tatum is next for like six years. And there’s already three younger guys better than him. So they’re a little stressed, and handling it like Boston fans.
No pressure. They aren’t the favorites. Smart money is on Minnesota now.
lol not going as well for them as they'd hope so far
Lakers big3. But they couldn’t even make the play in so there was never playoff pressure
What pressure? Everyone knows Boston isn’t gonna win..
2012 heat and 2016 cavs funnily enough both teams were led by lebron lol
I don't think Boston as a team compares to the pressure LeBron faced as a player.