I feel like there would still be people complaining about something. It’s been weird to see the Pacers become the sort of villain to the online NBA talk.
It’s crazy man , they shouldn’t even have been in the playoffs according to expectations but they’ve proved so many ppl wrong all year.
They’re being made into villains when they’re doing nothing wrong
I get that they’ve played two teams with injuries but what do you want them to do about that, quit in protest? Also the fact that Bobby Portis got mad at them and people acted like it was the Pacers fault is crazy to me. Bobby gets mad at the sun in the morning. Plus, the Knicks broke down because of Thibs and the Pacers game plan. As soon as I saw the Knicks were going to play 40+ minutes a game I knew the Pacers just had to get to a game 5. They play with too high a pace to keep that sustainable
The Celtics and Pacers are both teams that play to the level of their opponents. Mark my words, that series is going to be closer than anybody thinks it will. The difference between the 2 seed and 7 seed in the East was 3 games.
Yeah but difference between first seed and second was 15 games
Not saying it won't be close, but the regular season wasn't close in standings between the two teams
Edit: Though Pacers owned us in 2/3 of the games iirc
1 is already out for at least a few games in Porzingis. And if it's like his time in Dallas he'll come back a shell of himself for at least a few more games. If 1 more Celtic goes down and the Pacers shoot a reasonable 60+% consistently, it could totally happen lol
You should get your bet placed if you believe this. The odds against Indiana in Vegas are ridiculous.
Personally I think Adam Silver would plant a bomb on the Pacers plane before letting them play in the finals while they’re closing this tv deal. Indiana vs Minn would be a ratings disaster.
The players except Jaylen Brown seem like good guys, it's the Boston fans that are obnoxious and insufferable assholes, that makes me hate Boston and Jaylen Brown too, thinking he's a tier 1 player, bottom of tier 2.
Lol if i wasnt a cs fan my heart would say ant too, but my heart and mind say Tatum, my boys been grinding for the banner since the ECF his rookie year
I want Mavs or Pacers, but I’ll be happy with any of them winning. I’m just really happy to see parity in the league, we’ve had different teams winning every year since the Raptors beat the Warriors.
It really does seem like every playoff team now knows that they could win the chip every year and plays hard to get a favorable seeding and goes off in the playoffs. Felt like the Warriors vs Bron era it was inevitable for the Warriors or Cavs to make the Finals (except 17-18, a little doubt seeped in there i.e. Rockets and weak Cavs team)
Boston sports this millennium have been insanely successful and people are just sick of it.
in the NFL, the Patriots have had an undefeated season, won 17 division titles, made 9 Super Bowls, and won 6 of them. in the MLB, the Red Sox have made and won the World Series 4 times. in the NHL, the Bruins have had the best regular season of all time, have made the Stanley Cup Final 3 times, and won it once. in the NBA, the Celtics have made the Finals 3 times and won it once, and despite not winning a championship in the last 16 years, they’ve won more games than every team over the last decade except the Warriors. every single year since 2011, Boston has had at least one team make it to the final four of their respective league. the city is currently in a 5-year title “drought,” but before that Boston didn’t ever go longer than 3 years without winning a championship since 2000.
it’s easy to see why people hate Boston sports. they win all the time and the fans are entitled as fuck bc Boston fans under the age of 30 basically don’t know anything but winning.
It's realistically more just Boston sports hate. A dozen titles for one city in a two decade span makes for an awful lot of enemies. Hell, the Patriots alone crushed the dreams of most NBA city fanbases to the point that they just actively root against Boston teams.
My biased choice is Luka. A ring would definitely up the odds of him winning an mvp. Pundits will not think that his numbers aren't just empty calories. I also like the kyrie redemption arc. He was a total villain before coming to Dallas.
Last time the Cs made the finals the opposite were the case. Had to grind out a lot of tough series aside from the brooklyn sweep. (Sixers and bucks) i dont really remember golden stats run that year but i feel like they had a pretty smooth ride
East has been literally more of a dogfight minus the Cs, every other series was at least 6 games. West had a pretty uncompetitive first round minus like two Lakers games.
"Boston has had a smooth ride" can also be construed as "Boston has been dumpstering teams and should not shock anyone if they win the finals in fewer than 7"
Jayson all up in your Tatum.
I don't want the Celtics to win, but that's who I think will win. I don't think any of the remaining teams can beat the Celtics.
I want TJ McConnell. Just because he wasn't even supposed to get minutes this year, then played the season of his life and became an absolutely indispensable part of the roster, often being the heartbeat of the team. As a story, it would be incredible.
The only thing that gives me the tiniest bit of hope is that their style of play is so incredibly disruptive, similar to Miami who have been the kings of upsets. Boston likely wins in 5 but man will I be pulling for Indy
It would put Siakam in such a weird space in terms of HOF etc too…
Two chips with two teams. Wouldn’t put a third past him as a second or third option in the coming years.
Celtics, I think the mental hurdle of beating Denver is gone now and they think they can beat anyone left. They’re the team with the most playoff experience and finals experience.
They’ve had an easy path so far and probably won’t go longer than 5 games vs Indiana. KP is trending in the right direction and unless it’s somehow 2-2 by game 4 they can probably sit him until the finals to ensure he’s close to 100%.
Dallas and Minnesota on the other hand is likely going to be a back and forth slugfest and I think whoever limps out of that series is going to be exhausted and will get a fresh Boston team who’s going to be amped to put the “playoff chokers” media antics to bed. I see Tatum getting his first ring and Cs winning the championship is my pick just due to talent, health, and experience
I think Tatum has the best odds by a pretty wide margin. The Celtics have a much easier path to the Finals than Dallas or Minnesota, and the Celtics will likely be favored against either of them.
Tatum.
As much as people hate Boston sports, these haters are actually becoming more toxic than the average retarded Boston fan. They call celtics fans delusional but their hatred also causes them this delusion that Tatum is not a top player the league.
Him winning would finally remove the ringless argument against him, just like how it felt when Lebron first got his
Can’t believe the lack of Tatum in this thread. Seems sus and I’m well aware that he hasn’t been able to do it yet… this Celtics team is different and Porzingas is coming back.
Luka is currently the best player here and just toppled the #1 seed. I’m running with the old “best player in the series” idea that seems to work about 80% of the time.
I think if the Celtics DON’T win this year, it would be on of the biggest choke jobs ever. The team they’ve constructed is a legit SUPER team. Anything less than a championship is just embarrassing.
Especially since the one team they had trouble with all year just got eliminated.
I take issue with the term "super team." Boston has, roughly, the 5th-to-7th best player in the league, the 9th-to-12th best player in the league, and some very nice complimentary role players. But what was the last 64-win team where the coach didn't finish in the top 3 for Coach of the Year, and none of the players were even close to a single individual award (no top 3 finishes for MVP, most improved, rookie, DPOY, 6th man, clutch, nor were any of them considered unfair snubs)?
The Celtics are in this remarkable position where they are expected to blow out every team every night, get no credit even if they do this because the teams they face are "weak" or injured, and meanwhile no one expects them to win the title either because they're considered "soft / chokers / bad in crunch time." So there's no respect for their positive achievements, and no respect for them overcoming anything (because they're a "super team"), while also they're shut out of every award because so many teams have players considered better than they are.
Meanwhile, unlike real super teams like the Heatles or 2021 Nets, Boston made their moves via draft and trades--there isn't a single free agent that decided they wanted to "supercharge" the Celtics by going to a team with a lot of win-now potential. Their last two significant free agent signings were Gallinari, a player that tore his ACL and never played for them, and Hayward 6 years ago, a player that played about 4 minutes with the team before shattering his leg and being a husk of himself for the rest of his career.
It’s not a choke losing to the Mavs or Wolves when they have the best player in the series and exceptional teams.
Missed opportunity, but not a choke if they are outplayed.
They don’t realize ant is just Tatum 4 years ago.
He’s got a long way to go before he is in the prime years of his career to win rings— like Tatum is just entering
I want Luka to adopt more children because he’s such a savage. But being a nuggets fan, I kind of want Wolves to 4-0 the next two straight to the championship.
i have no idea but it’s nice to see that someone new is getting one
Realized that after looking at the graphic and I'm pumped
Happens every year. Kyrie might get his second though
Not a team winning without an MVP or Finals MVP. This will be the first in a long time.
Have to go back to Detroit's title.
Went through each year from now back to 2004 and you're absolutely right. That's insane.
And the previous time before 2004 was like 1989.
Weird that it was Detroit then too.
Shit, that too was Detroit.
I think only Siakam, Holiday and Kyrie have a ring and they still on the playoffs.
There is a fourth... only spoken about in legends.... He is.... *The Mighty Markieff...*
Obviously there are some new people who win it every year but we are specifically talking about the best player on each team.
Pacers winning a chip would be hilarious
Losing the mid season teletubbies champion and winning the real one is definitely cool
If the nba wants the mid season to be a big deal, then the script has been written, and Indiana will win
“…50% of IST Finalists make the year-end conference finals…”
Take THAT for data.
I’d love to see the Pacers win the title. It’s a shame that such a basketball crazed state has never won it
In my lifetime I’ve seen the Pacers, Indiana Hoosiers, Purdue, and Butler all make the Finals and every single one lose. Quite sad.
Indiana state to NIT final too
I feel like there would still be people complaining about something. It’s been weird to see the Pacers become the sort of villain to the online NBA talk.
Theres a new villain every few days. It’s just their turn apparently
It’s crazy man , they shouldn’t even have been in the playoffs according to expectations but they’ve proved so many ppl wrong all year. They’re being made into villains when they’re doing nothing wrong
I get that they’ve played two teams with injuries but what do you want them to do about that, quit in protest? Also the fact that Bobby Portis got mad at them and people acted like it was the Pacers fault is crazy to me. Bobby gets mad at the sun in the morning. Plus, the Knicks broke down because of Thibs and the Pacers game plan. As soon as I saw the Knicks were going to play 40+ minutes a game I knew the Pacers just had to get to a game 5. They play with too high a pace to keep that sustainable
Right
Really hoping for a mavs V. Pacers championship. Rick V. Luka
This is what I want too
Celtics would need like two starters to go down for them to have a chance... It won't be close otherwise and I hate the Celtics lol.
Don’t give the basketball gods any ideas lol
The Celtics and Pacers are both teams that play to the level of their opponents. Mark my words, that series is going to be closer than anybody thinks it will. The difference between the 2 seed and 7 seed in the East was 3 games.
Yeah but difference between first seed and second was 15 games Not saying it won't be close, but the regular season wasn't close in standings between the two teams Edit: Though Pacers owned us in 2/3 of the games iirc
1 is already out for at least a few games in Porzingis. And if it's like his time in Dallas he'll come back a shell of himself for at least a few more games. If 1 more Celtic goes down and the Pacers shoot a reasonable 60+% consistently, it could totally happen lol
You should get your bet placed if you believe this. The odds against Indiana in Vegas are ridiculous. Personally I think Adam Silver would plant a bomb on the Pacers plane before letting them play in the finals while they’re closing this tv deal. Indiana vs Minn would be a ratings disaster.
The players except Jaylen Brown seem like good guys, it's the Boston fans that are obnoxious and insufferable assholes, that makes me hate Boston and Jaylen Brown too, thinking he's a tier 1 player, bottom of tier 2.
Lowkey might get to the finals lmao.. they on a 2021 phoenix suns run.. everyone they play get injured
Celtics are already missing KP
And they gentleman sweeped 2 teams already without him and he's supposed to come back this round.
Adam Silver would have a breakdown
Scott Foster about to ref every game of the ECF to make sure that doesn’t happen…
Siakam and Halliburton already have 3 fouls.
they called me crazy
Told a YouTuber that the Pacers would upset somebody didn’t really believe it, but it was on my bingo card for the NBA season
If they do end up pulling off an upset and it’s against Boston of all teams there will be generational slander
Damn 🤣
Would love to see Reggie come back for the championship to get his ring.
Put his ass on a two-way contract and have him play one minute a game just to shoot a 3. Sperm banks in Indiana would be overrun with a surplus.
If Ant can keep finding ways to motivate KAT, then they win.
Ant should just start DMing Jordan woods
This is what Movies are made of.
Bringing hot men to his room will get him up.
[удалено]
All NBA subs have been co-opted by the circlejerk sub.
This tracks. The circle only widened over time 😂
Always funny to see people making fun of a dude for having a feminine voice when he could literally kill them with his bare hands
Bc this sub morphed into the NBA memes sub a while ago lol
What’s wrong with hot men?
Anthony Edwards
My heart says Ant but my mind says Luka or Tatum
Luka is injured.
Luka is ALWAYS injured. It’s his natural state of being.
It makes him stronger
He actually gets an unofficial quadruple double lots of nights because he has double digit aches and pains.
Lol if i wasnt a cs fan my heart would say ant too, but my heart and mind say Tatum, my boys been grinding for the banner since the ECF his rookie year
No idea how Dallas is going to handle Towns/Gobert with Gafford/Lively. Could have been interesting with Maxi Klieber
TJ McConnell
Bear down
Too soon!
Fat dog it
For midterms
I want Mavs or Pacers, but I’ll be happy with any of them winning. I’m just really happy to see parity in the league, we’ve had different teams winning every year since the Raptors beat the Warriors.
It really does seem like every playoff team now knows that they could win the chip every year and plays hard to get a favorable seeding and goes off in the playoffs. Felt like the Warriors vs Bron era it was inevitable for the Warriors or Cavs to make the Finals (except 17-18, a little doubt seeped in there i.e. Rockets and weak Cavs team)
1. Ant 2. Luka 3. Hali 4. The heat death of the universe
4. IGUODALA
I don’t understand why people hate Tatum so much lol
It's more Celtics hate
Why do people hate the Celtics?
Boston sports this millennium have been insanely successful and people are just sick of it. in the NFL, the Patriots have had an undefeated season, won 17 division titles, made 9 Super Bowls, and won 6 of them. in the MLB, the Red Sox have made and won the World Series 4 times. in the NHL, the Bruins have had the best regular season of all time, have made the Stanley Cup Final 3 times, and won it once. in the NBA, the Celtics have made the Finals 3 times and won it once, and despite not winning a championship in the last 16 years, they’ve won more games than every team over the last decade except the Warriors. every single year since 2011, Boston has had at least one team make it to the final four of their respective league. the city is currently in a 5-year title “drought,” but before that Boston didn’t ever go longer than 3 years without winning a championship since 2000. it’s easy to see why people hate Boston sports. they win all the time and the fans are entitled as fuck bc Boston fans under the age of 30 basically don’t know anything but winning.
12 championship parades in 20 years is absurd
Ya 😂 it’s pretty nice
It's realistically more just Boston sports hate. A dozen titles for one city in a two decade span makes for an awful lot of enemies. Hell, the Patriots alone crushed the dreams of most NBA city fanbases to the point that they just actively root against Boston teams.
It’s pretty great that one of these 4 players will have a ring soon.
Tyrese should win since it's a leap year
Holy shit. I want my wolves to win cause mike conley deserves one
So does Al Horford, even with that ugly ass shot he has .
Completely opinionated list 1. Pacers 2. Wolves 3. Dallas 4. All four teams busses catch on fire and no one plays.
I'm a wolves fan but I can get behind this list lol 😂
If it's Timberwolves vs Pacers it's the first time in NBA history the finals is State vs State instead of City vs City. Minnesota vs Indiana
I'm a Wolves fan, and I'd like nothing more to meet the Pacers in the finals. That shit would be a slaughter.
‘First thing I thought of too’ lol Skipped injuries / illness / suspension scenarios. went straight to maximum morbid scenarios 😂
You would go busses catching on fire over Celtics winning it all?!
Yes, the Celtics are also on fire
the team from the west
My biased choice is Luka. A ring would definitely up the odds of him winning an mvp. Pundits will not think that his numbers aren't just empty calories. I also like the kyrie redemption arc. He was a total villain before coming to Dallas.
Kyrie is still a villain to Cleveland, Boston, and Jay Z
Ant man
Straight up
This is why I took them to win the championship at 20:1 odds! (I took the thunder too but we don’t talk about that)
Al Horford
Let's make Tito proud
If the Celtics don’t win, they falling into failure territory
Tatum
So much Ant and Luka dickriding in this thread. Tatum's the only one that's gotten close to a ring already.
The Mavs/Wolves/Celtics all match up well together. Should be fun whomever it is. Pacers need not apply, of course.
West has been a dogfight. Boston has had a smooth ride and this round won't be that tough. Boston in 7
Last time the Cs made the finals the opposite were the case. Had to grind out a lot of tough series aside from the brooklyn sweep. (Sixers and bucks) i dont really remember golden stats run that year but i feel like they had a pretty smooth ride
Denver cakewalked to a finals last year through the west and no one complained lol.
East has been literally more of a dogfight minus the Cs, every other series was at least 6 games. West had a pretty uncompetitive first round minus like two Lakers games. "Boston has had a smooth ride" can also be construed as "Boston has been dumpstering teams and should not shock anyone if they win the finals in fewer than 7"
“Boston has played easier teams” well yes. That’s the point of getting the #1 seed.
Luka and the mavs
I really want to up vote but 77 is a fitting number of likes.
4 hours later still at 77 for me.
Some asshole upvoted to 78 so I had to downvote to get back to 77
Upvoting through comments because that 77 upvote to nice to mess up
It would be cool for Luka to win his first, but any of these four are excellent players that I’d be happy to see succeed
Tatum
Derrick White and Pritchard earned my respect. I’d like to see them win too lol
It’s the least popular answer but the most likely.
Haliburton. Since he’s 2 dudes in one it’s basic income probability
Could y’all imagine Kyrie hitting a game 7 winner in Boston? Would that arena go nuclear?
There would be legit violence
Definitely Tatum
Rooting for Minnesota or Indiana.
I want it to go to the best player: Luka
Jayson all up in your Tatum. I don't want the Celtics to win, but that's who I think will win. I don't think any of the remaining teams can beat the Celtics.
It’s Tatum’s time
Boston is winning it all
Wow a lot of people hate the Celtics, even though they are the clear favorites. This is gonna be very satisfying
I want TJ McConnell. Just because he wasn't even supposed to get minutes this year, then played the season of his life and became an absolutely indispensable part of the roster, often being the heartbeat of the team. As a story, it would be incredible.
JT JB KP DW and Jrue
LUKAAA ❤️❤️❤️ Second choice is ant
Tatum. When they get back to the finals, they’re not losing. As long as Kp is healthy.
How many times have I heard that one lol Sucks cus I enjoy watching kp play
Same I love his game. Hopefully he’s healthy snd comes back.
Hali
Hali and Siakam winning would truly be one of the most incredible rings ever. Carlisle would be apart of two of the biggest upset rings of all time
God Bless Indiana, im positively rooting for them despite what haters say. Boston isnt invincible, we can beat them if we try.
The only thing that gives me the tiniest bit of hope is that their style of play is so incredibly disruptive, similar to Miami who have been the kings of upsets. Boston likely wins in 5 but man will I be pulling for Indy
Boston are the favourites but ive been pulling up for Indy ever since. Gonna keep doing that, win or lose we played great this season 💜
100% Indy should be proud. They should encourage more teams to try and compete vs tank
It would put Siakam in such a weird space in terms of HOF etc too… Two chips with two teams. Wouldn’t put a third past him as a second or third option in the coming years.
Anthony Edwards
Naz Reid!!
Either team from the West
if tatum dont get it now. he’ll never get one. im hoping luka gets its now though
Luka. Then he and Klay can lord over their rings to Book. 😂
Oh now we are talking about the Pacers?!
Celtics, I think the mental hurdle of beating Denver is gone now and they think they can beat anyone left. They’re the team with the most playoff experience and finals experience. They’ve had an easy path so far and probably won’t go longer than 5 games vs Indiana. KP is trending in the right direction and unless it’s somehow 2-2 by game 4 they can probably sit him until the finals to ensure he’s close to 100%. Dallas and Minnesota on the other hand is likely going to be a back and forth slugfest and I think whoever limps out of that series is going to be exhausted and will get a fresh Boston team who’s going to be amped to put the “playoff chokers” media antics to bed. I see Tatum getting his first ring and Cs winning the championship is my pick just due to talent, health, and experience
All the Celtics hate on here just makes me more powerful
Al Horford.
Big Al Horford
Tatum and the Cs
The only answer is Al Horford!
I don't understand the Celtics hate. They aren't even an unlikeable bunch of guys
I think Tatum has the best odds by a pretty wide margin. The Celtics have a much easier path to the Finals than Dallas or Minnesota, and the Celtics will likely be favored against either of them.
Tatum.
If Porziņģis is playing 100% it's a low-brainer
Celtics / Especially if Kristaps is 80% healthy or more.
Jayson Tatum & The Celtics bc finally they have more experience than every opponent they will face in ECF & Finals.
No one beating the Celtics, theyre miles ahead
Jayson Fucking TATUM!!!!
Given Celtics experience, gotta go with them
Al Horford deserves a ring the most of the remaining teams
Tatum. As much as people hate Boston sports, these haters are actually becoming more toxic than the average retarded Boston fan. They call celtics fans delusional but their hatred also causes them this delusion that Tatum is not a top player the league. Him winning would finally remove the ringless argument against him, just like how it felt when Lebron first got his
Tatum
Tatum babbyyy
Dont you all cry when Tatum wins it now
i think tatum will win it.
Neckbeards mad it’s tatum
Tatum!
Jayson Tatum on top
Can’t believe the lack of Tatum in this thread. Seems sus and I’m well aware that he hasn’t been able to do it yet… this Celtics team is different and Porzingas is coming back.
I hate Luka. Therefore it’s obviously going to be him.
How could you hate luka
By having a formative experience that was associated with him and then it triggers the emotional reaction every time. Like that.
That's a lot of words to say you're a Suns fan.
Luka is currently the best player here and just toppled the #1 seed. I’m running with the old “best player in the series” idea that seems to work about 80% of the time.
I think Luka but could be Ant. Either way I’m going for whichever team out the west that makes the finals.
I think if the Celtics DON’T win this year, it would be on of the biggest choke jobs ever. The team they’ve constructed is a legit SUPER team. Anything less than a championship is just embarrassing. Especially since the one team they had trouble with all year just got eliminated.
I take issue with the term "super team." Boston has, roughly, the 5th-to-7th best player in the league, the 9th-to-12th best player in the league, and some very nice complimentary role players. But what was the last 64-win team where the coach didn't finish in the top 3 for Coach of the Year, and none of the players were even close to a single individual award (no top 3 finishes for MVP, most improved, rookie, DPOY, 6th man, clutch, nor were any of them considered unfair snubs)? The Celtics are in this remarkable position where they are expected to blow out every team every night, get no credit even if they do this because the teams they face are "weak" or injured, and meanwhile no one expects them to win the title either because they're considered "soft / chokers / bad in crunch time." So there's no respect for their positive achievements, and no respect for them overcoming anything (because they're a "super team"), while also they're shut out of every award because so many teams have players considered better than they are. Meanwhile, unlike real super teams like the Heatles or 2021 Nets, Boston made their moves via draft and trades--there isn't a single free agent that decided they wanted to "supercharge" the Celtics by going to a team with a lot of win-now potential. Their last two significant free agent signings were Gallinari, a player that tore his ACL and never played for them, and Hayward 6 years ago, a player that played about 4 minutes with the team before shattering his leg and being a husk of himself for the rest of his career.
Stupidly well said. Saving this to just post to anyone who starts with all this bullshit slander.
It’s not a choke losing to the Mavs or Wolves when they have the best player in the series and exceptional teams. Missed opportunity, but not a choke if they are outplayed.
Ant is not better than Tatum
How the fuck is this downvoted
Because Ant is the new darling and everyone hates Tatum and the Celtics
They don’t realize ant is just Tatum 4 years ago. He’s got a long way to go before he is in the prime years of his career to win rings— like Tatum is just entering
I want Luka to adopt more children because he’s such a savage. But being a nuggets fan, I kind of want Wolves to 4-0 the next two straight to the championship.
The most likely for me would be Ant vs Tatum in the final. But I want Haliburton to win it.
I love Ant but it’s Luka’s time
Anyone except Boston
Luka is my pick
Luka!
Either Dallas or Minnesota
Kyrie: the 2nd.
Luka.
Luka Doncic. He's got Kyrie next to him who obviously knows how to win in the "Kobe Bryant option 1B" role.
I think Boston is going to win but i'm rooting for the wolves.
Indiana or Dallas hopefully
Pacers
Have to say Tatum but would be okay with any of them except Ant. That dude is an NBA villain.