Assuming health is good, they were already strong enough this year. They had some amazing indicators in the games before Embiid got hurt, then again when he was recovered ... just before he blew out his knee again. It is the same old story, when healthy .. they are amazing and certainly strong enough to give the Celtics a good run.
Celtics HAD to win this year if they hadn't this year then that core probably never would've. Had it been Minnesota or Denver meeting them in the finals they wouldn't have won chip
@@EEazyM0neySniper35 not really true. Denver was the only team that could’ve gave them a problem. “Weak” road is going to be something that’s said for the next 10 years. Nobody talks about how easy Magic and Kareem had it in the 80’s, LeBron for most of his career, and so on. I had to throw a jab at LeBron it was needed. But Boston would’ve beaten Indiana, Miami, and Cleveland even if they were completely healthy because that’s how good Boston is as a team. Boston in the regular season lost twice to Denver, but that was the regular season. Milwaukee blew Boston out at home so bad Joe played the bench nearly the whole second half, they had Doc Rivers, and we know how that ended up. But Jokic would’ve lead the only team that would’ve gave Boston a hard time. Jrue and White would’ve gave Jamal, Reggie, KCP, and Braun horrible performances and most likely locking them down for, let’s say a series of 6 or 7, at least 2 games. Brown and Tatum wouldn’t have a hard time with MPJ, Gordon, KCP, Naji (whether Naji plays at the 4 or 5 for some minutes, I’ll admit I didn’t watch Denver much this season). Jokic would have a problem maybe just 1 game in terms of scoring, maybe 2 depending on how healthy KP is. But Jokic would still get a 25 pt triple double. Tatum guarding the 1-5 the entire playoffs ruined game plans for Cleveland, Dallas, and Indiana with Miami having the least amount of stress with Bam due to shooters. Boston beats Denver in 6. Just a completely better starting 5. Also keep in mind Boston we’re ranked 3rd in Defensive Efficiency rating and 1st in Offensive Efficiency rating, Denver was 8th in Defensive Efficiency rating and 5th in Offensive Efficiency rating. Minnesota got completely outplayed by Dallas, just simple. Ant would’ve had a hard time with Jrue, White and Brown on defense. Towns (my guy since he played at Kentucky, I’m born and raised on Coal, Christ, and Kentucky basketball so he pains me to say this) may have had a complete hard time with Boston’s defense while also not being the best defender at his position, he has improved drastically and has been pretty solid this season. Conley, Jaden, and Gobert wouldn’t have been much of a problem on offense. Minnesota was 1st in Defensive rating and 16th in Offensive rating. Their defense would be the only thing that could’ve got them maybe 1 game. Head to toe Boston outplays them, won twice in the regular season which I’d say doesn’t really matter. Also this team is pretty much destined to go back to back w/ Tatum being a Top 5 guy and a MVP type of player, Brown being a All NBA player, White and Jrue being All Defensive again seems imminent, KP when healthy is the perfect big for this league while also potentially making another All Star game, Al would play another perfect role off the bench if he doesn’t retire, Payton and Hauser playing the shooting role perfectly, maybe Kornet and Tillman come back which would be great. Team is just so perfectly built. #BleedGreen Take care, God bless!
I think he is an upgrade over Dort, though Lu Dort stepped up a couple of times in the playoffs. Having both of them is even better, even if they are not on the floor at the same time. He isn't an improvement as a stationary shooter, but Caruso is a bit more dynamic on offense, as someone that is actually a decent playmaker and quite a good cutter. Also, while his lower body strength might not be as great as Dort, his hands on defense are much better.
I think he is probably the strongest player on the team, apart from J-Will, who is a reasonably sized center. I mean pound for pound, he is really strong and can perfectly handle large forwards in his matchups.
@@pinobluevogel6458they only played jwill and chet against the mavs in game 6 because they was forced to not because they wanted to,jwill is ok but not good enough to be getting starting minutes he a good player for like 15 maybe 20 but nothing more okc needs a big forward that mobile
Russ getting a ring would be great. I just want to see the lakers in the finals for the storyline, even though they are almost definitely not good enough especially with Redick
Man that would be an epic feel good story. Russ coming back here would be a lot more welcomed than KD. People would accept KD cause he’s just so good, but it would be controversial
If you think there is any chance Presti is going to sign Paul George to OKC you have not kept up with how this team is managed. That would actually take everything presti and the staff have built for the last few years and turn it upside down. This team is also already more than set for everything Paul George would provide. This is like saying the Celtics should sign Paul George. It is simply not something we need and would just create money problems down the line. We need a back up big or starting big to play next too Chet and this team will be ready for a championship run.
I have to say, despite normally reading quite well, I thought it was news as well. PG on the thunder would be fitting, he was one of the main reasons they got so strong now, with directly gaining them a large portion of the assets that went into the great OKC roster.
If the thunder offer 8 firsts, dort and whoever we take in the draft this year or next year if giannis gets unhappy and requests a trade, there’s no way the bucks turn that down
The Thunder have evolved beyond PG3. They will probably sign a rebounding big in FAgcy and/or might send the 12 and one of next year's picks to move up if there's someone they like. Also, Ousmane Dieng and Cason Wallace will be much improved. The world is their oyster.
There are 4 teams that I see beating the Celtics: (assuming they are fully healthy) 1. The Sixers, if they have 1 or 2 good assets with what they had last year 2. The Nuggets, if they have slightly more of a bench 3. The Mavs, if Kyrie is performing normally and they have a functioning supporting cast 4. The Knicks, if they can land someone that is a strong 2nd option to replace Randle (or Randle is good the entire way) Possibly even the Pacers, they were probably much closer than everyone realized in taking some games off them. I'm expecting them to improve. Same for the Thunder who will probably also be better, with AC on the team and some improvement internally. They weren't good enough this year to beat the Celtics, but they might be perfectly good enough next season.
Hot take: the Miami Heat have been doubted because they constantly rely on being overachievers than actually being a good team. The one time they were an actually good team in the Jimmy Butler era (2022), they were the #1 seed and reached Game 7 of the ECF. They had 2 unexpected runs to the Finals... and didn't make any changes to truly improve after either of them. The other teams around them are (trying to) get(ting) better while the Heat have stood pat, so why should just believe in them over the teams actually trying to improve? Not to mention the teams from the West they would have to face if they were to luck up and reach the Finals again.
I actually like JJ as the Lakers head coach..Really he's a got a better shot at being a successful coach then most. He's smart, high basketball IQ, a lifetime of experience of the ins and outs of high level NBA Basketball, he's confident, well spoken, he's got great support and talent around him. I hope it works out for him, if anything it'll be an entertaining experience.
The Lakers hiring JJ was amongst one of the dumbest moves they've made in the last few years. The only move dumber was blowing up their 2020 title team and adding Westbrook... On another note if OKC added Edey to the lineup I think they'd finally add their missing piece. They could also move chet down to the 4 spot which he then could roam and I think would flourish even more.
Rebounding & interior defense is literally where they need improvement. It's not like they have the first 5 picks. If Edey is available at their pick it'd be a good idea to pick him up.. idk how it's a "terrible idea" but people just say whatever without really looking into it so I don't really care lmao
I know we are not all sitting here saying the pacers are frauds, Cause I’m over a fact, the bucks and heat are gonna fall off a cliff due to their old ass age. The only teams I think going forward actually gonna be competitive is the Sixers, pacers, Orlando, maybe the knicks, and the Celtics. I ain’t gonna sit here and take people saying that the team with the best point guard in the east are fraudulent, That’s not a hot take That’s a bad tale. Just saying though, But keep it up though, yo content good as hell
Pacers gave the Celtics a good run, which was much closer than people realized. Part of Indiana not making it was youth, part of it was a lack of defense and part of it was health. The Celtics are really good, but certainly not unbeatable by any means. Also, I see you naming only East teams, while the West is by far the strongest conference that also has young teams that are going to be better again. Teams like the Thunder, the Pelicans, the Grizzlies, the Kings and the Rockets, possibly even the Spurs, depending on who they put next to Wemby. And that is not even mentioning the straight up contender teams like the Nuggets, the Mavs and the Timberwolves, who are all going to be better next year more likely than not.
Pacers are going to be scary now that they have some experience. Could’ve been a top seed if Hali didn’t get hurt or if they could just beat the bad teams…
Porzingis would've won the championship with the youngest team in the league who had almost no playoff experience instead of a team with veterans who had a lot of playoff experience collectively and individually? I'm sorry. I disagree.
Milwaukee giving up a perfect fit in Jrue Holiday has cursed that team. The Bucks would be better off admitting their mistake and trading Lilliard away to Miami for Butler and , Possibly Tyler Hero with the right package to send with Dame.
While I think Lillard is a great player to have on Milwaukee, the offense has improved a ton, they couldn't give up Jrue for him. Together with Giannis, he was the only player they couldn't lose to have a championship roster and defense. Also I do wonder where are they going to find the assets now, to make their team better? The Bucks look kinda screwed atm.
The perfect fit is a bit crazy yes jrue was good but let not act like jrue was this fantastic playoff guy because he was terrible in his runs offensively just defensively he was amazing the jrue on the Celtics is not the Jrue on the bucks The bucks problems is not because they traded dame their problem is that they lost all of their other role players as well along with jrue and couldn’t replace them then add on bad coaching when they would have just kept coach bud
Giannis and Jimmy would be a poor fit. Neither one of them can space the floor, and they got like to get to the basket, so they would be getting in each other's way of being at their most effective offensively.
@@Wrestle_Kingdom Jrue was way overtaxed in his Bucks time. He even was the lone 'starplayer' that kept the team afloat when both Giannis and Middleton were out. They still had an above 500 record during that time, which is incredible if you consider Jrue is not an amazing playmaker or scorer, but is primarily known for being a versatile top quality defender. Now you can't expect him to guard the opposing team's best player(s) and also expect a 20-30 point scoring threat on the other side, but that was exactly what he sometimes needed to do on the Bucks. On the Celtics, where he is the 4th or even the 5th option on offense, that isn't an issue. I think he was the best player on the floor for the Celtics during some of the finals games.
OKC should rather try to get Kd, this would be the perfect move imo, as you have an actual reliable playoff player who can give Shai his help. Suns need the picks or some other assests, cause it ain't looking good for them...
KD has not been eliable in his last few playoff appearances. He would be a plus for OKC; however, he does not fit their timeline, his contract would take up a lot of their cap, draft picks alone aren't enough to make that trade, and there's no love between he and the OKC fanbase.
My hot take, the Sixers would be better served NOT going for the most obvious thing in Paul George or Jimmy Butler. They’d be better off swinging a deal for Brandon Ingram and signing some good role players to support Maxey, Joel and Ingram in the playoffs. Guys like KCP, Kris Dunn, Naji Marshall, Andre Drummond. If they could just get two of those players from that pool while keeping Lowry and Oubre, they could actually not fall apart come playoff time. And obviously they need someone to take Tobias Harris minutes. Think Miles Bridges would do well there but I don’t know if Charlotte will let that happen. Maxey KCP Ingram Bridges or Marshall Embiid Could be a great lineup.
I desperately hope Ingram is going to stay in New Orleans. Not only is he my favorite player, but he seems happy there. Sixers as a team might be good, but it isn't a great fit, as he is huge playmaker that also needs the ball and the crowd is extremely harsh there, which I wouldn't wish on most people, but certainly not Ingram.
last year I predicted okc to be 6th seed and people called me crazy and said they’d only be in the play in and I was like that’s where they finished last year they will improve and those same ppl had the warriors 5th. I tend to give at least 1-3 young teams a leap a year and this year I think the hornets jump to at least the play in tournament if healthy.
You were crazy. A sixth seed is so far off from #1 :) They will probably be even better this year with AC and their internal improvement. Also, not having to field Giddey gets rid of at least his inconsistancies.
@@pinobluevogel6458 ik that’s y i was even low on them but other ppl were lower so i think hornets can be play in and who knows maybe they can be 6th seed if healthy
@@marcoscruz16 I mean, if you're an OKC fan and you're underpredicting how well they do, that is far better than overpredicting. I can imagine it was a nice surprise.
I dont think okc brings in another star as they jave said they dont want another volume shooter to let their toung players continue to develop. That being said wirh 30 mil in cap space and the ability to create a tiny but more they very well could do something crazy this offseason. Its not out of the question they decide you know what we good paying deep luxury tax for the next 10 yrs and go out and sign pg or trade for Durant and draft a big. Again not my ideal id rather someone younger that they can sign longterm and keep as i think those draft pucks especially when its time to max chet and williams are huge. Id rather them keep as many picks as they can trade some picks for future picks down the road so they can always bring in cheap good talent while they are in the second apron.
@russellwestbrookyellingatw9381 Are you laughing because you disagree with the statement or is it that you think there's no way we can get him? Because not getting Siakam may have opened the door to give him a good contract
My take, teams are far better now on average than even 10 years ago. This is clear because defenders struggle so much to stop scores from racking up beyond 120 on a nightly basis
That not why they lost and they was never going to get gafford during the season they lost due to terrible shooting and shai being the only guy to confidently create offense while jdub was a no show and chet couldn’t hit a 3
AD to the thunder, heat miss the playoffs, sixers and bucks stay ass celtics keep having our lovely free bye to the finals assuming tibs runs all his starters into the ground again, twolves need a 2nd star it they wanna make it to the conference finals kat is the western conference version of julius randle
I'm sure a lot of people have something to say about this list. I'm just baffled by some of the names that are very high and certainly seeing a lot of names lower than I would have them. Are you talking straight up how they performed overall this season, or keeping potential in mind? (if healthy, on a good team, right role ... etc) Fred VanVleet at 41, wth? .. or even Butler at 21. Outside of the playoffs, Butler is not even a top 25 player. We can debate if Tatum is better than Brunson, I certainly think he isn't. His poor shooting these playoffs didn't matter too much in the long run, but it is certainly a liability if he didn't have such great offensive help. I think by far the worst is Ingram at 50. C'mon, that is just not even close, there are roughly 20 players above him that should be below him. Just because Lu Dort was allowed to foul him for an entire playoff series, every minute he was on the court, that doesn't make him any less good. He should be somewhere near the 25-30 part, below Irving and Wemby, but above Sabonis and Lamelo.
@@pinobluevogel6458 Nah when I’ve showed it to ppl who follow the league religiously like I do they’ve had minor differences but said it’s good… Rockets won 19 more games by adding Fred and most of the advanced stats say he should be higher than 41. This list is not just thrown together a lot of research went into it and your are really overrating Ingram but he would be higher without the injury concerns same for Butler. Of course it’s far from perfect and you can argue guys to be a few spots higher or lower forsure np 👍
I’d say: 1. Jokic 2. Luka (mainly due to his playoff run) 3. Giannis (MVP caliber season but the coaching change w/ the injury and team chemistry not being their) 4. Tatum (Finished Top 5 in MVP voting, lead the best team while making All NBA, lead his team in total points, rebounds, assists in the playoffs. He ended up 2nd in FMVP voting which became a political driven award w/ Brown, he’s my boy and deserved it since he helped bring a ring back to my team) 5.) Shai (2nd in MVP voting, happy and proud for him since he went to my beloved UK. Couldn’t be more excited with how much he’s grown as a person and player) 6.) Embiid (got hurt and I don’t see him getting any better, or Phili in general, or past the second round next year) I agree with 7-28. I’d put Paolo at 29, Towns at 30, Spicy P at 31, PG at 32, and Melo at 33 and shift everyone else down one. Jrue at 42 and shift everyone else down one, his all defensive season just put him above a lot of other players. Other than that I agree. Take care, God bless! 🙏
@@bkelly625 I understand you put a lot of time into this, but can you please explain what type of considerations were made while making the list? As it matters a whole lot if you account for future potential, what team the player is on, if he is used to the top of his potential or if it is simply a measure of a player's impact on winning games. And I understand Ingram didn't have a great season at all, due to injury and his team being not as good as they can be, but considering the importance of him for the team as a whole, the Pelicans just aren't very good without him. Same for Zion, the whole team hinges around the creation of those two wings and maybe a few CJ plays and Valanciunas post-ups. Now while everyone can see Zion is efficient and very hard to stop, they often don't realize it is Ingram that is the best playmaker on the team. I'm not advocating putting him any higher than the 25-35 range, but he can for sure be higher than he is now, depending on the selection criteria. I think for a wing, he is probably the most complete player in the league, slanted a bit to offense and creation. (while Tatum, the other really good allround wing, is more slanted to defense and size) Basically the only thing is he isn't great at is defending in space, but he still has a lot of length for the opposition to shoot over and contests well. Finally, I don't say your list is bad, as I see the right names on the list and especially at the top of the list, I am for the most part in agreement. It doesn't matter if I think a certain player is one spot above or below what you posted, but having those few outlyers was something I was interested in, as to what your logic was behind them. For example, I still do not see the VanVleet placement at all. I've seen him play on several occasions and he simply doesn't look great, nor do I see any numbers that jump off the page. I can imagine his veteranship and smart decisionmaking can help his team, but he just isn't that great of a player. Just a veteran guard that can shoot and create a bit and is a stout defender.
@@basedat4651 Jrue is too impactful of a player to be this low. Maybe the list isn't optimizing for defense, but why is Wemby and Chet this high then? (or Lebron or AD even)
