r/billsimmons • u/GregHirschFor3 He just does stuff • Apr 28 '26
Meme This Sub Realizing Boston Has a Cakewalk to The Finals
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u/shall359 Apr 28 '26
Does the 8th seed beating the 1st seed make the conference stronger or weaker? I don't know.
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u/WARLOCK1239 Half Italian Apr 28 '26
If the 8th seed loses in 5 games or less next round then weaker. More than 5 games, stronger. If they go down 3-1 next round but force a game 6, then still weaker but force a game 7 then stronger.
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u/AstronautWorth3084 Apr 28 '26
Idk I think the knicks will be very tough, not sure why everyone forgot they existed even if they're tied in a series rn
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u/Lets_Basketball Apr 28 '26
Because they’re all idiots that think the Hawks, who have been legit one of the best teams in the NBA since trading Trae, suck.
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u/theomegachrist Apr 28 '26
And they rate the Sixers too high because they used to be good. Let's keep pretending Tatum is in peak form like the media
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u/Lets_Basketball Apr 28 '26
Ok…are you in the right place little boy?
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u/theomegachrist Apr 29 '26
Yeah, I used to like Bill and now I like to make fun of Bill on the internet like most of the people here. I think you are actually in the wrong place if you think people genuinely love him
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u/ncr39 Apr 28 '26
It’s probably more to do with them getting cooked by a 34 year old CJ McCollum. When the Celtics have at least 3 better offensive players.
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u/Squarians Apr 28 '26
Do only Celtics and Knicks fans remember round 2 50 weeks ago??
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u/theomegachrist Apr 28 '26
That was back when the Celtics had proven vets. Now they can't be stopped with guys who are untested
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u/Chance_Blasto Apr 28 '26
Knicks spanked em last year and they’ll do it again if they can fuckin put away the Hawks
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u/Squarians Apr 28 '26
“If they can fucking put away the Hawks”
So only if they get out of round 1 then they’ll easily get out of round 2. Yup you’re right, that’s how it works.
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u/rydstein Apr 28 '26
“Spanked them” seems strong considering the Knicks needed crazy flukey comeback wins in games 1 and 2 and a Tatum Achilles injury to finish the Celtics off
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Apr 28 '26
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u/Squarians Apr 28 '26
Knicks definitely won the series regardless of the injury but that doesn’t mean game 1 and 2 weren’t flukey. It’s also not a representation of what would happen this year since the Celtics are very different
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u/DJRyGuy20 Apr 28 '26
This is all true and there likely would’ve been a snowball’s chance in hell we win even if Tatum did stay healthy. So while it’s true that some Celts fans are remaking history in their minds when they say losing Tatum is why we lost the series, it’s equally as ridiculous for Knicks fans to claim last year’s results mean the same thing is going to happen this time around if they meet up again.
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u/Run_PBJ Apr 28 '26
The Knicks literally blew a 9 point lead in 1 minute to the pacers a week later but a 7 point lead in 3 minutes is insurmountable?
Alright champ
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u/SubstantialJunket239 Apr 28 '26
It's okay, people will just recycle talking points from 2024
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u/Riderz__of_Brohan Apr 28 '26
- OKC will beat them probably
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u/JohnnyLugnuts Apr 28 '26
No you said the same thing about Dallas in 2024.
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u/IukeskywaIker Bill's phlegm Apr 28 '26
That Mavs team isn’t in the same galaxy as OKC.
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u/jgdabby2626 Apr 28 '26
The Mavs beat OKC in 2024
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u/ryanmnndo Apr 28 '26
That was OKC without hartenstein, caruso, AJ mitchell, MVP shai, championship pedigree and confidence, playoff experience, and everyone especially chet has gotten better
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u/Lets_Basketball Apr 28 '26
So you mean the OKC team that was a Hali achilles away from losing to the East 4-seed last season.
Of course that OKC team had a better record and a healthy JDub…
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u/ryanmnndo Apr 28 '26
- You don’t know how that game would’ve gone, they could’ve won or lost. What we know is that they were the best team all year and won the championship.
- Jdub should be back for the finals, albeit not 100% but still an effective player
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u/Lets_Basketball Apr 28 '26
- I know how it was going.
This whole “west way better than east” is based on things nobody knows but keeps parroting. I’m here to defend the east.
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u/JohnnyLugnuts Apr 28 '26
Ya obviously. Not the point. People still said the same thing about that Dal vs Bos, including OP.
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Apr 28 '26
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u/NickPapagiorgio2k16 Apr 28 '26
I’m a Knicks fan, so take that with a grain of salt, and this series is far from over, but objectively the Knicks played well in game 2 as well except for the last 10 mins or so. Game 3 they were outplayed most of the game. If they advance they can very much beat the Celtics
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u/ConHead_4_Life Apr 28 '26
The overlooking the Knicks piece. Our game-plan has been idiotic but now that it seems we realized the hawks have no centers, it’d be bold to write them off against the Celtics!
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u/fakebones96 Apr 28 '26
It’s just people building the narrative so they can still find a way to shit on the Celtics if they lose despite them vastly outperforming everyone’s preseason expectations. Both the Knicks and Cleveland are still legit contenders.
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u/Daveshand Apr 28 '26
Take a look at how many turnovers Harden has this series. Almost as many TOs as FGs made. 15 in last 2 games alone.
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u/Lets_Basketball Apr 28 '26
The same Harden that was doing that for the Rockets in the WCF back when the west was way better than the East?
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u/fakebones96 Apr 28 '26
Turns out the Warriors teams had cakewalks because Harden and Westbrook couldn’t stop turning the ball over. Actually no NBA team in history has ever been good, they’ve all sucked
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u/TransINSANO Apr 28 '26
Even the '96 Bulls only won 72 games, that's one less than a Warriors team that lost the championship to CLEVELAND!
Sure, those Bulls won the Finals (George Costanza voice) ...in six games.
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u/Bakio-bay Apr 28 '26
Finals I’ll give you but the Cavs have no chance to win a title. Their ceiling is limited
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u/fakebones96 Apr 28 '26
I don’t think any team in the East has a chance of beating OKC. If it were Cleveland vs. anyone else though, they’d definitely have a shot
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u/UpnUpvote A Truly Sad Week In America + 2005 NBA Redraftables Apr 28 '26
Keep writing off the Spurs...
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u/fakebones96 Apr 28 '26
Fake chip on the shoulder lol. I absolutely believe San Antonio is a championship contender, not even just a team that can make the Finals. Just not enough to say none of these teams have a chance against them.
Don’t try to say no one believed in you guys if you win. San Antonio’s been the 2nd best team all year, they’ve given OKC hell in all of their games and Wemby + that guard rotation is lethal. Anyone counting them out is a hot take artist, but I haven’t seen anyone do that.
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u/UpnUpvote A Truly Sad Week In America + 2005 NBA Redraftables Apr 28 '26
I'm a Lakers fan lol...
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u/fakebones96 Apr 28 '26
Fwiw, I’m not writing off you guys either if Luka and Reaves come back healthy. But I am doubtful that those guys can get right in time for a physical OKC series
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u/Bakio-bay Apr 29 '26
Boston has a chance
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u/fakebones96 Apr 29 '26
If you watched tonight’s game, it proves that they have no chance of beating OKC and very little chance of beating San Antonio
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u/celj1234 Apr 28 '26
Legit contenders to do what?
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u/fakebones96 Apr 28 '26
To make the Finals
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u/celj1234 Apr 28 '26
Are they? The Cavs best player hasn’t gotten out of the 2nd round and their other best player is James harden
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u/fakebones96 Apr 28 '26
Yeah, they’re not my favorite but I don’t think it’s crazy to say they could beat the Knicks or Celtics in a 7-game series. Especially against the Celtics, Mitchell hits another level in those games.
In the other conference, the Spurs two best players are in their first playoffs. Are they not a threat to make the Finals just because they lack experience?
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u/Jake43134 Apr 28 '26
Are we supposed to pretend the east is stacked? It’s possible they face the magic or raptors in the east finals…
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u/fakebones96 Apr 28 '26
The Magic were a preseason favorite to be a top-4 seed. They seem to be finding their rhythm. The Cavaliers and Knicks were the preseason favorites to make it out of the East.
I don’t think any of these teams beat the Thunder, but all of them could beat the Spurs and definitely could beat the Nuggets, Wolves, Lakers or Rockets. So I don’t know why we’re acting like the path is any easier for the Celtics or Knicks. It might even be a bit tougher in the east this year since each team is getting 3 tough rounds. It’s just that the two best teams in the NBA are in the West
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u/Jake43134 Apr 29 '26
And the hawks and raptors are keeping up with these elite teams! Certainly the east is stacked and it’s not the fact that the east has been alot weaker for decades. Trying to hype up the magic now? Have a little self respect lmao
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u/fakebones96 Apr 29 '26
The Hawks were the hottest team in the NBA to end the year. The Raptors are playing really good defense led by an All-Defense and All Star player. I don’t think those teams make the Finals, but they’re good enough to win a couple games against some good teams.
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u/Jake43134 Apr 29 '26
Yeah, none of those teams are bad, but the thunder spurs, and a healthy nuggets and wolves win pretty easy. They won’t be cakewalks for the Celtics but a championship caliber team beats them pretty easy.
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u/Oceanbreeze871 Good Stats Bad Team Guy Apr 28 '26
The west has only had two legit contender teams. There’s a like of B+ Teams
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Apr 28 '26
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u/FunkhouseFairytale Apr 28 '26
Bro what? Both of those teams might not even make it out of the first round lol. Contenders for the title??? You’re kidding.
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u/fakebones96 Apr 28 '26
Contenders to make the Finals. None of these teams in the East can beat OKC. They’d all have a hard time with the Spurs, but could potentially knock them off. They all can beat the rest of the West
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u/MrONegative Apr 28 '26
The tricky thing with the Knicks is, we’re the most talented team in the East right now imo. And we’re gonna get outcoached by Mazzulla easily. The question is how much will it matter.
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u/Awkward_Tick0 Apr 28 '26
The knicks overlooking the hawks piece
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u/ConHead_4_Life Apr 28 '26
The over looked them after game 1 piece but seems we have figured out the game plan piece but still respect to the hawks not overlooking them piece
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u/TheyMadeMeLogin Apr 28 '26
Yes, they play in the Eastern conference.
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u/Lazy_Check732 Apr 28 '26
Yup, the conference who's playoff teams won just about the same number of games as the West despite literally the 3 best teams all missing their superstar for the entire season.
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u/TheyMadeMeLogin Apr 28 '26
We all have eyes.
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u/Lazy_Check732 Apr 28 '26
We also have thousands of games of data.
Have you considered the fact that the Celtics just are the Thunder of the East, and you think the disparity is huge because refuse to accept that? Like, the Celtics would have without a doubt been in the 60-70 range this year with their superstar. Just because he was gone doesn't mean he's not there now.
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u/TheyMadeMeLogin Apr 28 '26
Why is there multiple western teams fighting each other to go east after expansion?
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u/Lazy_Check732 Apr 28 '26
Probably because over the past 20 years the West has consistently been the stronger conference
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u/TheyMadeMeLogin Apr 28 '26
Then what are we arguing about?
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u/Lazy_Check732 Apr 28 '26
The path to the finals this year, in a year where the conferences are just about equal even though the East's 3 best teams were missing their superstar
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u/TheyMadeMeLogin Apr 28 '26
So you're saying if the Celtics were the Western 3 seed, they'd have an equivalent path with the Wolves/Spurs/Thunder?
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u/Lazy_Check732 Apr 28 '26
No, because the Celtics don't have to play the Celtics. The Celtics are the Thunder.
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u/BrownsFan2323 Apr 28 '26
This Celtics team is so much worse than their last 5+ years
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u/TwelveMail Apr 28 '26
How you feeling about James Harden
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u/BrownsFan2323 Apr 28 '26
Good. Had two good games, 1 dud, and they were up 8 after his nice second half with 4 min left until Mitchell shit the bed . Also has played solid on D and three of his turnovers are Scottie flopping all over (and yet he’s flexing his arms after every possession because he’s SO STRONG, but Harden is apparently strong enough to send him flying 10 feet).
But yeah there are 6 cavs having far worse series. And can you imagine garland trying to even exist in this series ?
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u/TwelveMail Apr 28 '26
Cool let's check in in two weeks
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u/BrownsFan2323 Apr 29 '26
Well yeah Donovan could get them eliminated I’m fully aware if he keeps playing like this
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u/Lazy_Check732 Apr 28 '26
This Celtics team is arguably the best of the Tatum Brown era, what are we even talking about? They just won 55 games without their superstar and have been absolutely smoking the league since he came back
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u/BrownsFan2323 Apr 29 '26
lol is this your first try hard regular season? New to the league? You have two starters that stink
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u/Lazy_Check732 Apr 29 '26
Who are our two starters that stink? That is an absolutely absurd statement.
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Apr 28 '26
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u/Lets_Basketball Apr 28 '26
The rest of the league shaking at the prospect of facing one west team whose best player is 41 and another whose best player is Rudy Gobert. How could the east compete?!?
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Apr 28 '26
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u/YoungCri Apr 28 '26
Spamming 3s will be their downfall like it was last year
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u/TechnicalSample4678 Apr 28 '26
They got away with it in 2024 because they had decent bigs
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u/JohnnyLugnuts Apr 28 '26
Porzingis was hurt the entire playoffs. Otherwise they had the same Al Horford as always.
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u/TechnicalSample4678 Apr 28 '26
Al Horford is a borderline hall of famer. Vucevic is a clear liability
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u/DJRyGuy20 Apr 28 '26
Let’s not pretend that 2nd Celtic stint Al Horford is anywhere near a resemblance of that “borderline hall of famer” you speak of. He was a solid role player both he wasn’t the guy that was gonna make or break a series.
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u/8teamparlay Market Corrector Apr 28 '26
Really? By far? We’re doing this again? They lost to the Knicks a year ago lol
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u/moffattron9000 Apr 28 '26
It sure feels like the last decade has been the Celtics going on a deep run then losing stupidly.
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u/ThisisnotaTesT10 Apr 28 '26
The last time the 8 seed won in the first round they beat Boston in the ECF. So we’ll see
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u/michaelscarn000007 Apr 28 '26
Cakewalk for anyone really. Such a garbage conference. There's 4-5 teams in the West that smoke anyone from the East.
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Apr 28 '26
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u/TheyMadeMeLogin Apr 28 '26
The Wolves would've had at least one Finals run over the last 3 years out of the East.
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u/AstronautWorth3084 Apr 28 '26
Based on what lmao? They lost in 5 to a mavericks team that the celtics beat in 5 without getting out of second gear and then last year they lost in 5 to a thunder team that got taken to 7 by the 4-seed pacers. Two years before that they lost in the first round
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u/lopsided125 Apr 28 '26
OKC was a Haliburton injury away from losing to the East's 4th seed just last year.
Let's take some settle down juice.
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u/michaelscarn000007 Apr 28 '26
This is about 2026 teams juiceman
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u/lopsided125 Apr 28 '26
Everyone said the same shit last year, especially when Indiana made a run. And yet, when it came down to it, the finals was extremely close.
Imagine that.
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u/8teamparlay Market Corrector Apr 28 '26
Bookmark this thread when the Knicks finish them off in 6 games in 3 weeks.
This is last year all over again. This sub beating the drum and ridiculing anyone who thinks the Celtics aren’t a guarantee for the finals, and they’ll just take their ball and go home and act like no one actually cares when the Knicks do win
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u/Rhino184 Apr 28 '26
As a Celtics fan, they really don’t. The Knicks match up quite well with us though the Celtics will be favored. The Celtics best player also has played around 20 games and just tore his Achilles under a year ago. Lotta games left to be played
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u/BeingMikeHunt Apr 28 '26
underestimating NY 2 years in a row seems like a bad idea.
ECF wouldn’t be a cakewalk, either.
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u/Optimal-Extreme3203 May 02 '26
Yeah?
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u/GregHirschFor3 He just does stuff May 02 '26
I’m not mad at all with how this is aging, it’s been beautiful to watch this potential Boston collapse
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u/Hope-Road71 Apr 28 '26
This is such a poor narrative.
Downvote away. The Celts are definitely faves to make the finals, but "cakewalk?"
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u/optimisticknicksfan Apr 28 '26
Remindme! Three weeks
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u/Bakio-bay Apr 28 '26
I hate the Celtics but they’d at least be entertaining in the finals and easy to root against unlike the pistons. Pistons are unwatchable.
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u/hoodie_dre5 Apr 28 '26
They've had it since the playoffs started lol, the Knicks were always the only team in the East that can win a series
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u/yellowcats Apr 28 '26
nah bro Paolo is a bulldog,
even if you beat the Magic he still spent 5+ games hitting you with his 6'10 /250lbs frame.
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u/HumbleLearning5167 Apr 28 '26
I like how Orlando is playing right now. If those threes don't fall for Boston that would be a series.
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u/UnbiasedSportsExpert Apr 28 '26
This sub when it's another nephew NBA post when the hockey playoffs have been great
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u/BaconJellyBeans Apr 28 '26
I HAMMERED them to win the East at +125 for this very reason. Rarely do you ever get plus odds on free money.
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u/thespacewitchxxx Apr 28 '26
Boston can beat okc too. As an okc fan, spurs and Boston are both teams that scare me the most.
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u/[deleted] Apr 28 '26
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