Lebron and Durant are 2 sides of the same coin. Curry did it the right way. You have to root for that guy.

Sure, by blowing a 3-1 Finals lead to the GOAT and asking (with Draymond's help) for Durant to come and save him.

I just cheer for KU players to get rings.

So cheering for the Warriors or Heat.

I wish the nba would fold

Probably not the thread for you then

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ch-sources-say

LMAO

And KD was beat by the same Warriors team in the playoffs a year before. So the Warriors win a Championship then KD joins them afterwards and now he is the reason they are winning championships? Doesn't add up.

You mean he stayed with the team that drafted him made the team better (Champions)? Just like MJ did for his Bulls.

It's funny how Curry is the star of his team yet is 3>1 versus Lebron in the Finals and is looked at as not as good as Lebron.

The Warriors beat the Cavaliers the previous year without KD (4-2)?

Lebron is a generational talent no doubt and he deserves all the accolades he receives. Definitely a top player in this leagues history. He starred in 8 straight Finals. Is that 10 total?

You're referring to the postseason in which both Kyrie and Love got hurt, right? The season in which the Cavs ended the season with a starting lineup of LeBron, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov, and Matthew Dellavedova against Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Harrison Barnes?


10 yes.

There's a reason Durant won Finals MVP both years (and why Curry has never won one in his entire career). KD was the best player on those Warriors teams.

I can't stand Lebron, but he was a much better overall player than Curry is. Lebron is top 5 for sure..Curry isn't and I don't think ever really should considered that high.

Jimmy Buckets going off

Thats not a charge because Brown takes off before th3 defender slides under him. Absolutely a block.

Going to Game 7.

Jaylen Brown choked his FT’s which I think was a big turning point

Yeah, I'm not trusting the Celtics after this one whatsoever. You need to close this series out tonight. Warriors beat either of these teams running away.

I wonder if Celtics fans have some PTSD of Eastern Conference Final Game 6’s against the Heat.

LeBron goes off in 2012. Jimmy Buckets tonight.

Yea, I'm with you on this.

Curry absolutely is amazing on offense. But when you stack him up against Lebron, MJ, Wilt, and the like... All players that could change a game defensively. Or at least, weren't players that the other team was actively seeking out to take advantage of...

I need a Wiggins Warriors jersey lol

I wish KC would trade the Royals for an NBA team.

Marcus Smart does not live up to his last name. Plays hard but makes stupid decisions offensively.

Boston just sucks at close games. They're either blowing you out or they lose.

Good lord that's sad

He's always done that, yeah. Takes alot of bad shots.

This is all true. The Celtics are the better, more-talented team, but the Heat are unquestionably tougher. That's pretty much it. Neither has as shot against the Ws, though.

Boston played like garbage and it was still a close game, despite Miami pulling numerous shots out of their ass, and despite Butler's Jordan'esque performance.

You triggered some folks.

Bring back the ABA!

When does Spoelstra get credit for being one of the top NBA coaches?

This is on the edge of the Celtics pulling away for good. Only Butler is keeping them in it. Herro shouldn't be on the floor at all.

Down 6 at half after that is a miracle

Just wonder how long Butler can shoot at this rate.

Boston nearly just collapsed right out of the NBA Finals. One Butler missed three away from it.

WOW!! They almost choked that away.

Yeah I'm sure if Butler could do it over he would've taken that one to the basket.

Thank you Butler for that stupid shot

Questionable possessions by Miami to end it

I think the drive would have been a better choice but I can't complain much about an open three either. Sometimes they don't fall.

In any case, the Celtics were the far better team in that series (and this game). This will make for a more interesting Finals.

Unless the Warriors get some major injuries they're kicking the shit out of these Celtics.

This is going to be a good Finals but I like GS in 6 or 7

Great game and series! Kind-of a throwback except all the hugging shit at the end.

**** THE CELTICS!!!!!!

The Celtics have played GS tough the last few seasons in the regular season so this won't be a blowout.

Warriors in 6

I watch the NBA a bit but not as closely as I used to.
When did they put in a rule that you can take away a made basket because the shooter was out of bounds way after the play ended and play has resumed?
That was weird.

I'd go Warriors in 6. This is easily the weakest version of the Curry/Klay/Draymond Warriors they've had in the championship era (2014-now) and from a pure basketball perspective the Celtics are right there in talent level, but the Celtics are too inexperienced to make me fully believe in them. Celtics should have won this Heat series in 5 games and they were a Jimmy Butler open three away from choking out in 7. I'll trust the team that's done it before.

I know they review 3 pt shots to see if the foot is on the line and have been doing that for a long time. Can't tell you when exactly though.

It happened to the Raptors at a playoff game I was at 5 or 6 years ago (taking away a three like a minute after the play because a guy stepped out of bounds during it) At the time, I had no idea you could do it either. Not sure when that became a rule.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...a-predictions/

538 has the Celtics as a significant favorite fwiw.

The betting odds that have just come out have the Warriors as -160 favorites though

Huh. That seems batshit to me.

Their system loves Tatum, Brown and Smart (as it honestly should, they are tremendous two way players) and doesn't like Klay (which I am much more skeptical of considering how he tends to go off for these 8+ 3PTM games in huge games).

Warriors also could use GPII back in this series given the kind of athletes Boston has. Pretty sure he's supposed to come back at some point.

Doubt it unless Timelord's injury keeps him ineffective.

The Warriors have faced weaker opponents in these playoffs. Boston went through a gauntlet. The Celtics are a big, physical team. This shouldn't be easy for Golden State unless injuries sink Boston's chances.

Maybe it was just a shit close out but it looked to me like Boston was playing the drive. I’d need to rewatch it.

It probably comes down to who makes shots and who is healthy. I’ll go GSW in 7

Didn’t he break his arm or something? It was a bad injury.

Warriors in 5..maybe a sweep.

He fractured his elbow. He is expected to be back for the finals. Possibly game 1.

Lol.

Thanks for the laugh. Celtics matchup well with GS. It's not going to be easy for GS to win against this team. This isn't the GS with Durant.

I think it goes 6 or 7 with Golden State eventually winning it. The Heat have nothing like the Warriors have offense wise.

Boston in 6. Memphis gave the Warriors fits with their defense and the Celtics will too. They're just as big as the Grizzlies, if not bigger, more poised, and have a more dynamic offense.

I'd love to be wrong. Hate the C's

Curry needs to step it up and win Finals MVP.

Dubs run a team game though.


Celtics def have a punchers chance.

Did Memphis really give the Warriors fits? I didn't watch every Warriors game but at times they just seemed to be dicking around.

When they were on, I sure don't see how Boston will keep up with them.

But I agree the Warriors go through stretches where they are beatable. If they dick around against Boston they could certainly lose.

I think the 2019 Raptors defense is a better comparable to the 2022 Celtics than the Grizzlies. That team, like the Celtics, also had great switchable athletes all over the floor and a high IQ defensive big that posed issues to the Warriors. A big distinction there though is Kawhi.

I heard them debating on some dumb Stephen A Smith show that Curry needs to win a 5th ti surpass KD. If you ask me, outside of Lebron, Curry is #2 as far as legacy. He doesn't need to do shit to surpass KD.

They might be better now.

The series looked like it was going to be pretty competitive to me until Ja got hurt. They've applied the most pressure to the Warriors defensively so far this playoffs. Boston is going to apply even more. They may not have the firepower that Golden State has but that defense and Jayson Tatum realizing he's unguardable is the equalizer

Yes, and even after Ja got hurt it still looked competitive. Because the Warriors dicked around even more.

I mean I don't really even start following the NBA until the playoffs start, so maybe things have been deceiving. I would love to see Boston win in seven and yes, I've seen Boston turn it on also.

I guess we will find out soon.

They’re not. None of their 3 HOFers are as good as they were in those years and they don’t have Kevin Durant.

They dicked around and shot their normal average that they did in the regular season against the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies controlled most of that series and had the lead for the majority of the series, but they just didn’t have anyone to close out the games after Ja went out. Any team with size that doesn’t forget to use that size advantage instead of letting the Warriors trick you into playing bad basketball and just chucking up shitty 3’s all game can beat the Warriors. The key is to just win the battle in the paint and let them create turnovers like they have all season. You get enough points in the paint and fastbreak points off of their turnovers then it doesn’t matter how many 3’s they make. I hate the Celtics, but I think they have a very good chance in this series with their lengthy defenders.

I think they have more balance and depth especially if all their injured guys were healthy. If they run over Boston I think a strong case can be made.

Keep doubting Wiggins and Jordan Poole. LMAO

Wiggins is a huge pussy.

Doesn't mean the Warriors won't win. Just saying that he fits the Harrison Barnes role very very well as a mentally weak vagina with talent.

Andrew Wiggins (who, yes, is effectively a glorified Harrison Barnes now who just has to shoot open threes and defend) and Jordan Poole don't make this team better than the Kevin Durant Warriors. Not even close really.

How pissed is Philly fan seeing Tatum lead the Celtics to the Finals. Talk about shitting themselves in the draft.

I guess Lakers as well but Ball got them Davis so it's not as bad.

Or choosing Simmons over Butler.

I didn't think thiat was a serious post lol. Wiggins is ok but Poole's a friggin turnover machine

Don't know if that is true but they are close...depends on what happens in the Finals. If you look back at the KD years, the first year he was there they were phenomenal but the last 2 years was similar to GS's team this year.

What is interesting is this year's team first time they all played together was in the 1st round of the playoffs due to all the injuries. They didn't have that issue when KD was part of their team except the last finals run where the Raptors won their asterisk championship.

They were a Chris Paul injury away from 1 less ring.

KD already bickering with Draymond on Twitter today over whether or not Curry was doubled more than him on those teams. You just know them winning a title without him will bother him.

Wasn’t any more of an asterisk championship than the only ring Curry, Draymond and Klay won without Durant (2014 vs. a Kyrie/Love-less Cavs), no?

Seems a few in here doubt the Warriors as if they're not really good. Yet here they are in the finals (without KD).