Thoughts about giving the higher seed 5 home games? Or 4 home, 2 away, 1 neutral?

Never would happen.

It’s one of the dumbest exercises in all of sports. Guys literally sit out a bunch of games just because they can bc it’s so meaningless

Cesspoole for Ayton who says no

All I want in this world is to give me one more game I can feel happy about to delay the inevitable of spending my summer watching the giants and spending my fall watching Darnold

Please. Im a good person

Auxiliary players for the Celtics did not shoot it well. White and Smart, in particular, started declining wide open shots, which caused the offense to get extremely stagnant. There was a whole lot of dicking around with the ball for 15 seconds and then hoping that Tatum could score on an iso. Horford didn't decline shots, but he also missed everything.

Celtics played with a mystifying lack of urgency on the defensive end, and generated almost no live ball turnovers.

In-game load management

Now hold on, let me address SPM’s God directly:

Warriors fans have won 25 straight Western Conference series. They have played in 6 of the last 8 Finals series, winning 4. They have gotten to enjoy the best NBA team of all time in 2016 / 2017 and watched their team change the game of basketball behind their transcendent singular all time great player, Steph Curry.

SPM may be a good person, but he deserves no further accommodations. Lakers in 5 baby

Have you actually been impressed with how the Lakers have played against GS? I haven't. You have to remember that this Warriors team isn't that great. And if Curry had made his usual percentage of tough shots last game, or if Lonnie Walker hadn't turned into Corey Booker for a brief moment, the narrative would be that AD disappeared in the second half of a crucial game and now the Lakers are cooked.

The main reason to give the Lakers some title equity is because there isn't a truly dominant team in the NBA this year. That's why Celtic fans are going to lose their **** if Boston drops this series to the Sixers. Celtics fans know in their hearts that this group will never have a clearer path to a ring than they were given this year.

FWIW, I think the Celtics need to be religious about putting Embiid in the pick and roll, just like the Warriors did with AD. I say that not because Embiid can't move well enough to handle it, but rather because Boston has to get Embiid away from the basket.

I’m curious what could happen this off-season that changes that narrative. Even if the suns accumulate some depth Paul and Durant are another year older. The top of the free agent class is either players who are gonna stay around or people who probably are not dynasty keys.

Maybe the clippers finally take their spot at the head of the table? Maybe Giannis gets traded? Bucks look the most ****ed by what’s to come

Next year Chet starts playing and its all over for the other 29 teams.

The main reasons the path was so clear this year were (i) the Celtics were fully health going into the playoffs; (ii) the Bucks lost in the first round; (iii) Embiid was limping around for the first few games of the Sixers series; and (iv) there is no truly dominant team in the West.

As for next year, I think it is possible that Giannis is gone. Any team that lands Giannis is an immediate contender, especially if that team is Miami.

Corey Booker?

I fully agree it’s an open year. The 2017 Warriors aren’t here and 2018 LeBron isn’t on any individual team.

The Lakers are playing somewhat ugly basketball. They are physical, they want to live in the paint, they don’t shoot well and their two best players are constantly managing their energy. Memphis and Golden State both shot terribly down the stretch in game 4 at Staples. All that being said, they have gone 3 - 1 up in successive series against favoured opponents, who present very different challenges.

The Lakers may not be “good” but they have some key strengths, Ham is constantly adjusting very well and they’re getting a lot of useable minutes from their bench. They are a high iq team. You also have to bear in mind that - to some extent - the Lakers are responsible for the struggles of the Grizzlies and the Warriors. You don’t play in a vacuum, and the Lakers have managed to target weaknesses and take away strengths in all of their playoff wins thus far.

They don’t have a “3 and D” wing, and that could be a big problem if they played the Suns next round.

I probably lean into the notion that an ugly team that were a terrible team as recently as January are hard to accurately quantify. I just don’t think you can reach a conference finals if you aren’t “good” in some manner of speaking.

LOL. I obviously meant Devin Booker. Turning into Corey Booker wouldn't accomplish much.

Why would bucks trade giannis? They are probably going for a 3peat right now if they had stayed healthy the last 2 years. And now they got rid of possibly the worst playoff coach in the league. Hire Nurse, minor retooling of roster, win more rings.

There is a lot of speculation that they can't afford to keep all their key guys, or sign free agents to replace those key guys.

Giannis is a superstar. If the Bucks can't afford to surround him with a championship team, then there is at least a chance that he will do what many superstars in that spot do.

Losing either of Middleton or BroLo is gonna hurt. Losing both and they are definitely not a contender unless they hit some home run in free agency that doesn’t seem possible with the pieces available

I’m operating on the assumption at least 1 is gone

Giannis to the Magic one time, baby!

What would a plausible Giannis trade even look like???

OKC shipping Chet/Giddey/etc. plus ALL the picks to pair him with SGA?

Giannis wants to stay in Milwaukee his whole career is what some insiders who know him say. I can definitely see him wanting to be like Steph and not Lebron.

Like lol that’s bad. He’s not Gobert

Steph didn't lose in the first round in his prime though.

You're underestimating CHETCODE and Giddey both who have the potential to be really ****ing good.