So Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown > Kawhi Leonard and Paul George yet.... or?

Hayward had a nice game. You'd expect him to be a bit rusty on the shooting, but he was able to go 31 minutes, give that presence on the floor, and knock out 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Also, Marcus Smart has turned into something.

I actually think the best all around player for the Celtics is Jaylen Brown. He's the piece that brings it all together.

Still think the Celtics win in 5?

they lost 2 fluke games they were the better team for 90% of and won the other one. they'll still win the series bc they have 4 of the 5 best players.

They still have a solid shot to win the series. Both teams are pretty even. But 4 of the 5 best? Na.

Tatum > Brown > Jimmy > Bam > Dragic > Kemba > Herro > Smart.

Seems pretty even to me, especially when coaching is on Mia side.

Spoelstra was proven human in the 1st half with his exploitable double big Adebayo & Olynyk lineup.

Hayward was allowed to spend his first minutes in over a month frequently in a low stress match-up with Olynyk as opposed to chasing Herro or Robinson.

Hayward was able to get his rhythm & contributed beyond his box-score numbers - most notably by balancing the floor against the Miami zone looks while keeping Ojeleye right where he belongs at this point in the playoffs - in DNP-CD mode.

I feel like you could randomly shuffle those names and get a better list

Maybe he did randomly shuffle them to create the list to prove how even the teams are

What’s your list, big shot?

Fair enough. I’m sure he will adjust. It was going to be pretty much impossible for them to sweep anyways.

I like Mia to come back strong in game 4.

Surprisingly, Miami wasn't ready to, and never did, match Boston's force. That won't happen again.

Boston met the ball higher in the half-court. Stevens matched-up Smart on Dragic from the start and avoided getting Walker switched on to him. Theis ended up there on occasion - which he should take as a personal challenge.

Hayward's return also helped slow some of Miami's pick & roll. Boston was able to force Adebayo to shoot after landing on multiple occasions & found ways to have Brown in the switch. Boston controlled that action better than in Game 2, but the roll is still there.

Expect an aggressive from the jump Butler Wednesday. If Boston wins Game 4, it's likely going 7. A Miami win puts Boston right back into character test mode in Game 5.

Nah just being obtuse on purpose, don't think it's a horrible list by any means but just goes to show a lot of these players could be easily interchangeable

I do not agree with brown > bam & jimmy

nor do i think dragic>kemba

and i def don't think smart is the worst out of that list (and i hate him)

Tatum
Jimmy
Brown
Hayward at full strength
Kemba

Will the Nuggets shoot 5-or more FTs in the first half?
Will LeBron be called for his first ever offensive foul in the playoffs ever?
Will Adam Silver try and disguise the rig a bit better this time?

Find out @ 7:30PM

lol @ people dont think the nba is rigged a bit. LBJ never got a off foul thats pure BS. I got nugs +7.5 today

obvious sarcasm is not so obvious

but how about we don't have any refs this game?

In a YMCA gym where players are calling their own fouls I have no clue who would win this series. These teams are that close. Would pay decent money to watch that. In an NBA series with reffing Nuggets have no chance. That much was established resoundingly in game 1.

After re-watching, a lot of the credit should go to Vogel for their defensive destruction in the second and third quarters. They made two key adjustments, and I've never seen a team be so successful switching the Joker/Jamal screens because both are a mismatch. What they did was entice Joker into getting a post-up and doubled Joker with Murray's man and rotated to Jamal super-quick. Nikola can hit the open man, but Jamal isn't quite there yet.

That and knowing exactly what Joker's tendencies are with his...errr.. histrionics, made the wheels come off in the second Q.

The only thing that angers me now is that, after a series where AD will score infinity and Jokic will look merely good, people will be on the AD>Jokic train when it's just not true. It's like Jokic vs. AD after Jokic has had to battle Dwight and possibly Javale for 3 quarters, and ofc a bad whistle.

swap teams and Denver is home while the two best passers in the NBA are carving up Kawhi and PG.

the game would never end bc labald would call a foul on literally every play

(and ofc never commit any of his own)

Opened at 213.5, up to 215.5 or 216 depending on book atm.

Don't feel good about anything but still put a unit on over (true line should be 218.5 imo) and a small bite of Denver ml.

i feel under today at 216.5 216 imo is fair im gonna stay out of o/u i like nugs +7.5 nba isn't gonna rig it twice

Lakers defense has been pretty damn good and the Nuggets keep hitting touch shots. Don't think it's sustainable for Denver.

so the nugz are intentionally putting plumlee on labald? hmm

It appears this LeBron James gentleman is excellent at basketball