Me whenever Terry Rozier gets hot:
Here in the Brian’s Den we try not to get caught up hyperbole. We really do. But I just don’t see how the Celtics don’t win the NBA Championship this year. I mean they just mentally eviscerated Philly. It’s over. Sixers quit about halfway through the third quarter. Everyone was anointing them as East champions before the series, and at the slightest hint of adversity they pack up shop? Ben Simmons had one point? 1! Al Horford is paying Joel Embiid rent for all the space he’s using in his head. J.J. Redick and T.J. McConnell are their best players! And this is the team that’s supposed to go head to head with the Celtics for the next ten years? What happens when the Celtics get their best players back and add another top 5 pick next year because the Sixers were dumb enough to trade the Kings’ pick for a player they would have been able to get with their original pick (R.I.P. Sam Hinkie)? Do they just cancel the games before they start like they do with Cavs-Raptors? I’m seriously struggling to see how the Process comes out on top. Even if they push it to six or seven games (which I’m assuming they will) they’re not winning in Boston. They just aren’t. Let’s just move on to the Eastern Conference Finals, already.
Can’t see the Cavs winning, either, honestly. Let’s just look at the roster breakdowns. It’s LeBron vs. Terry Rozier. LeBron or Terry? Terry or LeBron? I don’t see an advantage either way. Al Horford is better than Kevin Love. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are better than everyone on the Cavs roster outside LBJ and Love (imagine wanting Fultz and Josh Jackson over Tatum in the draft? Anyone who did must feel like an idiot! I could never!). Brad Stevens is to Ty Lue what Starry Night is to the hand turkey I drew in kindergarten that my teacher crumpled up and threw out in front of me because it was so bad (not that I still remember it, or anything). Celtics have better jerseys and a better barn. If things get physical, Marcuses Morris and Smart can counteract Kendrick Perkins. Celtics have precisely zero Kardashian drama. Celtics might legitimately not win a road game all playoffs, but they’re unbeatable at home. Celtics have Gucci on their side now!
Cavs are mentally weak (hope LeBron doesn’t read this) just like the Sixers are mentally weak. Before the playoffs I said I’d be fine with pretty much any result if they won round one. Now that I see the competition? Things change.
The only real question I have is how many games will it take to win the Finals? If the Rockets somehow beat Golden State, it’s a sweep. Beating the Warriors is Houston’s trophy. They’d thank the Celtics for kicking off their vacations early. But if they face the Warriors? Now it might be a little tough. But I figure the Celtics come out game 1 and hit them in the mouth, get an early lead and hang on for the win, get blasted in game 2, come back and win both games in Boston, then just win one more. I’m starting to think the Celtics not winning the title would be an upset. Imagine the Celtics getting a title without their best player before the Process wins one? Whooooo, boy, the kind of takes that would come out of that. Kind of wish we could just fast forward to next year’s playoffs. This year’s are already wrapped up.
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