Tommy V
First let me preface this article by saying I am unabashedly a Celtics fan but I will try to keep my homer glasses off (if I can). With that out of the way I want to give a few reasons why I think it was the right decision both personally and professionally for Gordon Hayward to join the Boston Celtics.
(Also don't you just love this picture? Makes you appreciate Brad Stevens before he's President in 2024.) 1. The Western Conference is Going to be an Absolute Bloodbath Not only was the western conference the stronger one in recent years but they've somehow added even more high end talent in with the additions of Jimmy Butler and Paul George, two of the arguably top 15 players in the NBA. The Utah Jazz were the 5th seed last year with a record of 51-31 (Tied with the LA Clippers whom they beat in 7 games in the first round), if all they did was re-sign Hayward and trade out Hill for Rubio they might stand pat at the 5th seed but more like could even move down to 6th seed if they were passed by both the Thunder and Nuggets/Timberwolves depending on which one figures it out. That means they would probably get to play a stacked Thunder, Spurs, or Rockets team in the first round and be right back where they are now. The Eastern conference on the other hand is about to be about as weak as it's ever been. The Pacers and Bulls are out of the playoff picture and teams like the Raptors, Wizards, and Bucks have done next to nothing to improve themselves in the offseason. While the Bucks should be better next year with the return of Jabari Parker and continued excellent play from the Greek Freak. Next year there's still simply a lack of top heavy teams outside of the Cavs and Celtics. The Celtics were already a 1st seed last year (albeit a weak one) and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. With the addition of Gordon Hayward it should and likely will be a cakewalk to the Eastern Conference Finals and while LeBron is still standing at the end like a video game boss there has to be hope that he has to slow down eventually OR GO WEST TO THE LAKERS MAKING THE EAST EVEN WORSE AND THE WEST EVEN BETTER. This brings me to my next point. 2. The Celtics Represent the Best Chance for Hayward to Win a Championship I know the Celtics just got beat by a much better Cavs team in 5 games and that they only won the one game because Marcus Smart was possessed by Steph Curry but this Cavs teams is getting older and already showed cracks in the Eastern Conference Finals before those cracks got stomped on by the Warriors. The Celtics however would be a clear favorite in the East if Lebron leaves and the East should be very weak for the foreseeable future. Getting to the finals is really only half or maybe even a quarter of the battle since there are so many great teams out West who are all better than the Celtics are right now. However they could run into a crippled team in the final much like the Warriors did in 2015 or win a few games that no one expects them to. In Basketball the better teams usually win in a 7 game series but there's always room for exception. Even if the Celtics chances to win a title while Gordon is probably low, it's almost definitely better than if he joined the Heat or stayed with the Jazz. The Heat could be a good team but they lack the kind of all-star talent outside of Gordon Hayward that is needed to win a championship. Their best player is probably Hassan Whiteside who is very good but honestly might not know that he can pass the basketball to his teammates. Goran Dragic is getting older and I don't trust Dion Waiters to do anything once he gets a big contract. The Celtics don't have a ton of top end talent and I don't know if Hayward, Al Horford, or Isaiah Thomas can be the best guy on the Championship team but perhaps they can share the load much like the last Celtics big 3 of Pierce, Garnett, and Allen did. 3. Boston is Where He Fits in the Best I don't want to shock you if you're reading this, but Boston has a bit of a reputation for being a racist city. I'm not sure where the rumors come from really. It may have started with Mark Wahlberg stabbing a Vietnamese man in the eye with a hook while calling him a "Slant-Eyed Gook" but I'm not certain it could have been much much earlier. Deep in that racism lies the lovely fact that Boston absolutely LOVES white athletes. I mean did you hear the chants for Kelly Olynyk during game 7 against the Wizards?
(It's only fitting that the twitter handle is fucking ONLY IN BOSTON) I mean seriously they're the only people who would cheer that loudly for Olynyk and it's at least like 60% because he's white. But now with Gordon Hayward in Boston he might be the best white Celtic since... LARRY BIRD Yes that Larry Bird. You know how crazy the crowds are going to go when he has a 40 point game and people are comparing him to Larry Legend? You know how many Hayward jerseys people are going to buy? I mean seriously Boston has some pretty good crowds already but they're going to go apeshit for this guy. On top of that another thing about him being in Boston that I love is the fact that he wear 20 and the numbers 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 are all hanging in the rafters already. It seems almost too perfect right? Almost like how his NBA coach Brad Stevens was also his college coach at Butler where they went up against a Goliath in Duke in 2010 National Championship and nearly toppled them. Now both of them have said they have unfinished business of winning a championship together. For all of these reasons I can't wait for the next few years of Gordon Hayward in Boston and I'm glad he made the right decision unlike that bitch Kevin Durant. Go Celtics!
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Tommy V If you've been living in an NBA-proof bunker for the last 12 hours you might have missed the Houston Rockets trading a platter of low to mid tier assets (Patrick Beverly, Sam Decker, Lou Williams, and a Top 3 protected pick in 2018) for Chris Paul. The initial reaction of most people, including myself, was a staggering Whoa! I mean this trade seemed to come out of nowhere, but all of a sudden the Point God is now out of Los Angeles and pairing up with James Harden to create the best new backcourt in the NBA.
The first reaction most had after this initial shock was "Wait, why?" Why would Chris Paul leave a team where he's the primary ball handler to team up with James Harden, a newly suited point guard who always needs the ball? Why would he leave Lob City where he can comfortably shoot his beautiful step back midrange anytime he likes, and go to a team that shoots almost exclusively threes and layups? Whatever the reason may be the deal is now done and the better question for fans of the league becomes "How will he fit?" A lot of people fall back on the old argument of "there's only one ball" so there's no way players like Chris Paul and James Harden can fit together. I believe however that the NBA is simply much more heavily weighted on talent then it is on fit and we've seen this over the past five years. If it was based on fit Morey created almost the ideal team around James Harden to succeed. This perfect team would seem to be: 1. An off-ball guard who can defend and shoot (Patrick Beverly) 2. Shooting at the wing positions for when he kicks out (Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, and Ryan Anderson) 3. Athletic center who is a constant threat to lob off of the Pick and Roll (Clint Capela) Add to that team another great fit in coach Mike D'Antoni and you don't even make it to the Western Conference Finals or get a shot at the Warriors. Perhaps Daryl Morey looked over this season and decided fuck it, we're not going for fit anymore, we're going to get the best player available this off-season and make it work. Chris Paul might be correctly labelled as hot-headed or a bitch because of the way he interacts with his teammates and referees but he's still one of the most efficient point guards in the NBA. He could fit on almost any team backed by the fact that he was a 41.1 3P% shooter and had the highest DRPM in the league last year. The bigger problem for the Rockets won't be a basketball fit but a personality one. James Harden said that last year was one of the most fun years of his basketball career and Chris Paul leads the league in fun killed per 48 minutes. So while the pairing might not be perfect at first, Chris Paul to the Rockets will be a much better fit than most people think. As long as D'Antoni staggers minutes well this team has the capability of being a 60+ win team and actually competing with the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Although the Rockets might not be able to topple the new juggernauts of the NBA, we can at least have fun watching the Point God play some Seven Seconds or Less style basketball. Z TrainI want to open with this: I'm a big PG13 guy. I think he's an awesome player and a superstar. Is the whole "changing your number to give yourself a nickname" gig a douchebag move? Yeah, absolutely. But I gave myself the nickname Z Train in high school. I digress.
Trying to recruit him to go to the Cavs is so stupid. It's textbook desperation coming from the hype train. But like I also kind of like it? Here goes. The Cavs front office is in full-blown panic mode thinking LeBron is going to leave for LA (he will) that they're willing to do anything to keep him. Literally anything. Even mortgaging their rebounding and member of their core group of a year ago, for a guy who is absolutely leaving for LA even more so than Bronny. Not to mention destroying their organization's foreseeable future (and even distant with the picks they're sending out). Yes, George is a cut-price asset at this point, and yes, trades are the only way they can get better with the negative infinity cap space they're sporting, but this one just doesn't completely add up. Even if LBJ and George stayed past 2018 (they won't, have you been to Cleveland?), it's just a weird mix of players. Irving and LeBron need the ball to succeed. Love adjusted so well to coming off the ball, being a solid pick man and utilizing his on-ball time in the post and facilitating. But George needs the ball much more than Love. He's a creator off the screen, and uses a lot of his pump fakes to drive. So who gives up the touches? Kyrie? Probably not. LeBron? LOLOLOL. No chance. Who plays the third fiddle? Kyrie or Paul? Offensively, it feels like this could go into clusterfuck mode really fast. And this isn't even mentioning rebounding. They're trading away their best rebounder for George, who isn't shabby, but he's not a double-double guy. But on the other hand... I kinda like it. No it doesn't make sense with the holes at rebounding and losing depth and size, but in the NBA, sense is usually just thrown to the wind. Crazy 3-pointers, small-ball lineups, and lengthy players all reign king now. So... I kinda like it. PG13 is a good, rangy defender. He can play the 2, 3 and 4, and gives the Cavs another guy who could guard Durant, Thompson, even Curry and Draymond. Not many guys can do that. The NBA is a star-powered league. As a Hawks fan in denial, always crying "Fuck you, basketball is a team game!", this is a big step for me (side note: thank fucking goodness we're going into rebuild mode, I'm tired of second round playoff losses, probably a blog shitting on Dwight Howard coming soon from someone at NBS). Let me take these baby steps slowly. But from that perspective, you've gotta love the added length, versatility and defense that PG13 brings. He can create and shoot. He's a bona fide superstar. All you have to do is totally forget about rebounding, who actually gets touches on offense, the fact that he and LeBron will probably just go team up on the Lakers (so fucking excited for that). If it happens, this move is something you can waffle back and forth on all season long, and then claim you knew it all along from the beginning, regardless of what happens. |