Siakam Spins & The Cs Grin: Official Pacers (#6) vs. Celtics (#1) Eastern Conference Finals Thread

[Marlow Stanfield]

Jaylen Brown went TF off last night. Did his big one and brought the game home.

I had faith Maz making the adjustment and he did, even switching up and going deeper in the bench. Ended up paying off because there were some great defensive stops in the 2nd half.

D. White stepped it up and played great which is always great to see.

The bench gave great minutes. Shout out to Prichard hitting some clutch shots.

Tatum definitely struggled offensively. Just couldn't get his rhythm going which is gonna happen sometimes. At least he did what he could by getting rebounds and moving the ball on offense, so I ain't mad at it. I'm definitely not about to jump out the window on this nikka because it's only 1 game that they won comfortably. Plus, I've seen what he is capable of in the playoffs so I'm not worried.

Indy done

 

[StatUS]

I knew this bytch ass nikka was faking. Game 1 he dribbles off his foot and somehow started grabbing his hamstring


This dude soft as shyt

He got hurt before this.

 

[SchoolboyC]

The 2021 Suns is a horrible example CP3 hurt his shoulder and couldn't shoot the entire Laker series. CP3 also got covid and missed the first 2 games of the Clipper series and Cam Johnson also missed game of that series. In the Finals CP3 played with a hurt hand , Booker with a bad hamstring and the Suns lost their backup big in the first game of the series.

Is this the part where we act like the Celtics haven’t been missing a major piece for 80% of the playoffs so far?

Also my point was never that the Celtics have a tougher path to the Finals than the Warriors, Nuggets or Suns did. It was that teams go to the Finals often without having to face some unholy gauntlet of elite competition. It’s not some type of new thing.

 

[Phantum]

He got hurt before this.

I don't believe him

 

[firemanBk]

If Haliburton plays in game 3 he was definitely faking an injury
He better not be playing game 3

 

[Raquinotj]

We have to stop acting like this is the first second third or fourth time a team had an “easy” road to the Finals.

Where was this energy when the Nuggets didn’t play a single team that won more than 45 games in the playoffs last year?

Where was this energy when the Warriors got a cupcake path to the Finals in 2022 playing the Nuggets without Murray & MPJ, Grizzlies without Ja for half the series and a Mavs that was clearly in over their heads in the WCF?

What about the 2021 Suns playing the Lakers who lost AD during the series, Nuggets without Murray and Clippers without Kawhi?

It is what it is. You play who’s in front of you, survive and advance

Don’t forget the Raptors beat the Hospital Warriors, where Klay tore his ACL and Kevin Durant tore his Achilles with Looney, cousins and Iguodala all playing injured

 

[Soldier]

So basically the Pacers are gonna be like random conference finals teams like the 2007 Jazz, 2013 Grizzlies, 2019 Blazers, 2021 Hawks, 2023 Lakers etc

You also forgot the 2002 Celtics and the 2015 hawks

I guess this is too early to make conclusions about this third round anyway , but let’s be honest, mavs/wolves is a better conference final series than pacers/celts. The level of play, pace, effort, grit, defense, performance/poise under pressure, attention to details, intensity, skill, talent, physicality, execution and team chemistry is much much higher in The west final than in the east final . Mavs and wolves are both evenly matched teams. Mavs have a slight edge in playoff experience, because Kyrie won a chip and went to two finals and Luka went to the WCF 2 years ago, but with the exception of that, both teams are evenly matched. The WCF is a legitimate heavyweight fight between two worthy equals. The celts are the best team in the league and the top seed in the east facing the Cinderella 6th seed pacers. Pacers have a lot of promising talent, they got a lot of shooters, but they’re stil a young, inexperienced and immature team prone to sloppy execution and dumb mistakes. One of the main reasons They are playing in the ECF right now is because the depleted bucks and Knicks had too many injuries on their side. They don’t belong there. The ecf is just a far superior team at their peak against a young and dumb team who is not at this level yet. This east final is not a competitive fight between two worthy equals…

 

[Raquinotj]

I don't believe him

He might be hurt, it’s the same hamstring that messed up his season. He wasn’t the same after that. I don’t think we will see him again in this series. Hamstring injuries are one of the toughest to play through.

 

[UpAndComing]

Jaylen Brown probably needs his own commercial so the casual fans would know how great of a player he is

Since he's a low key guy, maybe a Kawhi-type of commercial or something lol

Because let's be honest All NBA selections and All defensive teams (which he should have gotten as well) are popularity contests

 

[UpAndComing]

And shout out to Tatum with making the adjustment offensively by going to the Mid-Post. He was in a great rhythm in that area. The first 2-3 months he was in the post alot. Like why did he abandon it?

Quiet as kept, he's actually 10x more lethal from that area than he is shooting 3 pointers

 

[firemanBk]

Don’t forget the Raptors beat the Hospital Warriors, where Klay tore his ACL and Kevin Durant tore his Achilles with Looney, cousins and Iguodala all playing injured

Nobody forgets this
In fact people bring it up constantly
Let's not even mention how Celtics fans love to discredit the Bucks 2021 ring due to injuries

 

[Shogun]

Pacer's fans didn't want hear it when every team they beat was riddled with injuries.
Good luck
Time to double down on blaming the refs for everything

 

[SchoolboyC]

Nobody forgets this
In fact people bring it up constantly
Let's not even mention how Celtics fans love to discredit the Bucks 2021 ring due to injuries

So sounds to me like it’s our turn to be the beneficiaries since everyone else has had theirs

 

[Boonapalist]

So sounds to me like it’s our turn to be the beneficiaries since everyone else has had theirs

It’ll be worse for the Celtics since the fan base is so big. Which attracts a lot of haters and detractors. Same with when the Warriors and Lakers won. The Bucks and Nuggets got it a little. And the Raptors were more in between.

 

[UpAndComing]

Canada with a win lol