"The Boston Celtics Are GUARANTEED To 3-Peat!" - Reacting To Hot Takes!

[@tylerjloce]

The warriors didn't even 3 peat man there are just too many factors at play with a very talented league

[@kodytichenor4150]

It’s almost like it’s a hot takes video

[@krsnavigliotti4611]

That 3rd ring was so close, everything that could’ve gone wrong did lol so many injuries in 2019

[@elijahqueen8778]

the whole “take x player off this team and look how bad that team gets” is a lazy argument for an mvp case, of course if you take the best player off of a team they’ll get worse, you can apply this to all 30 teams yet not all 30 teams have a player worthy of mvp

[@alphabrother6823]

The same applies to taking a co-star away from a team with a superstar. "MJ never won without Scottie!" "Steph can't win without Klay!" well yeah? Take the 2nd best player away and the team gets worse

[@Daxter4720]

Hot Take: If the NBA does Expand by 2 teams, both expansion teams should be Western Conference Teams and 2 of the Timberwolves, Pelicans, or Grizzlies should become Eastern Conference Teams. This makes geographical sense and would somewhat balance the disparity between the Eastern and Western Conferences.

[@SleeperGuy23]

This isn't even a hot take but already existing common discussion on the expansion. This is like saying "if Wemby reaches his ceiling then he would be an all time player" is a hot take.

[@thehumburger6009]

You would only move 1 team from the West to East but yeah this makes total sense.

[@fortynights1513]

Hot Take: If the NBA brought back the Sonics they’d have something they’ve lacked outside of Lakers-Celtics, and maybe Sixers-Celtics: A team on team rivalry that is very likely to be paid attention to by both fanbases for more than one generation of players (in this case with OKC). Correct me if I’m wrong but most others seem to be only in the eras of particular players (ex: Who talks about Bulls-Knicks these days?)

[@DanVideos]

Hot Take: Giannis and Jokic are already top 20 and arguable top 15 players of all time ahead of players like Kevin Durant. Giannis has surpassed Dirk by being a far more consistent playoff performer and defender, and also edges out KG as a higher volume scorer with similar playoff success. Duncan is the only PF in history better than Giannis, and if he can somehow manage to win another title or two he could close the gap (somewhat unlikely but let me dream). Jokic meanwhile has surpassed every center not named Kareem/Bill/Wilt/Hakeem/Shaq. As the best passing bigman ever who has taken his scoring game to another level this year, I won’t be surprised if in just another few seasons we are debating his entry into the top 10.

[@SDesWriter]

Dirk was a shooter. Giannis is a thin (taller) version of Barkley. He dominates inside, but you can't compare him to Dirk because they have completely different games. Jokic is already better than Russel, Hakeem, and Shaq. He hasn't accomplished as much, but none of those 3 could touch Joker in terms of offensive production or the way he dissects the other team's offense and defense through sheer basketball IQ. And anyone trying to cheer-lead for Russel, he wasn't as good a rebounder OR scorer OR passer as Joker. He also couldn't do as much to carry his team because he was a mediocre offensive player (even against inferior competition). The only centers Joker can't surpass is Wilt and Kareem. They had too many years with huge production and leading their team. He might be better than them, but it's impossible to establish it so the best you get is he is on their level.

[@programme9363]

Hot Take: Adam Silver's bad eye for aesthetics is part of why the league is getting worse. From the new MVP trophy to the hideous NBA Cup courts and the terrible Nike jerseys, this all adds up to one of the many reasons modern NBA is getting worse.

[@WadaMalone]

Don't flatter adam silver. Uglification seems to be a universal thing these days. It applies to everything really. Architecture, vehicle design, fashion and other consumer goods, beauty standards, and apparently nba courts, jerseys and trophies. No matter what you're into, odds are it's been getting uglier for a while now. It's definitely not just the nba and adam silver did not come up with it.

[@davidmartinez52420]

Nice, I finally made a Hot Takes video. Appreciate it, Rusty. Also, I meant "eras" when I typed "ears" and didn't notice it until I saw you liked my comment but I liked how you used it to segue into an excellent analogy.

[@FRAFnick]

Hakeem is objectively a better player than Kobe. You can rank Hakeem anywhere in the top 10, but in my opinion he should always be above Kobe. Hakeem had a very similar offensive skill set to Kobe (consistently above average tough shot making in the mid to low post) which is inherently more valuable at the center position as it opens the floor up for the rest of his team on the perimeter. It's also a lot easier to build the team around Hakeem by spacing the floor with four shooters and perimeter defenders than building a team around a 2 who almost entirely plays inside the arc. That's all on top of providing DPOY defense at the more impactful position.

[@justsomejusstsome8994]

If we talk pure skill, yeah Hakeem is better than Kobe by quite a margin

[@kjjr3270]

You can NOT rank him anywhere in the Top 10🤦‍♂️, just stop it. He ain't getting into the Top 5, even if you tried to.

[@meeeplo]

@@kjjr3270 dont tell me you are talking about hakeem?

[@moonshinei]

Hakeem is in my top 3

[@Mrballerize]

Hakeem had maybe a better peak than Kobe, but he is NOT "objectively better" if we are talking careers. Kobe, imo had better longevity and overall accolades/winning. Hence why I have Kobe over Hakeem all time.

[@gugga2745]

Hot take: the issue isnt the 3s its the way people watch basketball. a lot of people watch and tend to ball watch and/or think mostly abt the shot and not watch the entirety of the play. if u watch the celtics knicks opening night game it wasnt like the celtics were taking a million heat checks a lot of the 3s before they hunted the record were just open shots from well worked plays. if the nba had a more nfl like discussion where plays were talked about at large that wouldnt be the issue. obviously that goes back to the whole whos on tv and who watches the game discussion but at large, people need to stop focusing on where the shot is taken from and more on how they got the shot

[@Spawnamvs]

Tbh, not a very hot take

[@coffeecupcupcupcoffee]

Hot Take: Being clutch is the worst determination of effectiveness in basketball. Being clutch is inherently being Lucky in a basketball game. millions of little decisions are being made all the time on the court, leading to a moment where someone looks really cool and impactful. But in money situations, a clutch decision going wrong is not the fault of the player but instead luck just not being on their side. Yet so often, a player is deemed as not effective if they don't have these cool moments on their resume. I prefer a player who, most of the time, can lead to sustained winds rather than a player who can occasionally win a really competitive game. (I completely understand if anyone disagrees though)

[@jamesh.8632]

It was pretty cool to see you reference Drew Gooden’s SNL video. I love that video as well for how he talks about how we look at the past

[@galaxyvita2045]

The reason the OKC defence is so good is because they take advantage of the fact that the shooting guards are all now playing point guard but they can't really dribble/pass good enough to handle the suffocating defence.

[@konzza]

That is truly a hot take. Just out of curiousity i have to ask, are they only doing that against OKC in your opinion? If not, how is this a OKC thing?

[@Jfloo-r9k]

@@konzzawhat?

[@kiejones9474]

Hot Take: Using LeBron for the "Bigger stronger and faster" argument in the GOAT debate pretty much props up the 2000s NBA more than anything since LeBron is about to 40 and even the 2010 draft is barley hanging on by a thread. Yes there's select players in the 2010s that could be in the Top 10 all time by the time they retire but for the most part, Players drafted 2010 and beyond sit more and get hurt constantly.

[@mihacebin4341]

The best defensive teams of today like OKC and Boston would lock the shit out of the teams of the retired NBA players who like to criticize the lack of defense in today's NBA so much

[@awethinic8379]

True, I’m an okc fan and they change their defense constantly. Switch or fight over screens or where the double team comes from and they rotate like crazy. The ball pressure is abnormal. Two way teams are the future and the only way to beat them is to shoot before the defense can set up.

[@kevincampbell4708]

Counter Hot Take:Blaming the fragmentation of current media consumption for declining NBA TV ratings is misguided, as there is actually less competition for live sports now than in the past. In the 1990s and early 2000s, non-sports television programs consistently achieved high ratings for networks. Today, however, TV networks and streaming services are eagerly signing lucrative contracts with live sports leagues, even though leagues like the NBA are struggling with low ratings. Additionally, other leagues, such as the NFL and WNBA, are experiencing record TV ratings due to the recent inclusion of outside households, like bars and gyms, in Nielsen TV ratings for sports.

[@konzza]

Hot take; People getting exited about Stephon Castle does nothing, but highlight 2024 draft class truly being historically bad.

[@urbaindelva7869]

That makes no sense. Stephen Castle has been good this season.

[@ReillyQuizzle]

Celtics getting criticized for being too much better than the rest of the league will never cease to confuse me. And maybe when we’re talking about injuries to other teams on their run, can we also emphasize that Tingus Pingus was out for like a third of the regular season and essentially the entire playoffs.

[@bnsz8704]

I still feel like the or at last one of the main reasons that there isn’t a face of the young nba is that all the best teams are deep and not heavily reliant on one or two player. Celtics have like near 6 all star level players, Cavs have 4, rockets have 2-3, Thunder have 3, grizzlies have 3, etc. The two best players are in mid af teams. And it doesn’t help that they are European and both kinda weird. If Ant or Tatum were clearly the best players in the world they would be the faces of the league but they aren’t and that’s just not how the league works anymore with how good and impactful role players are now.

[@bucksin6always]

Hot Take: The NBA Cup is not pointless and actually gives players a golden opportunity to make a statement and possibly even swing votes for awards. Having success in a playoff-like atmosphere will leave a good taste in voters mouths and show that they actually care about the regular season. Not the biggest deal in the world but something that will stay in the back of people’s minds for sure. It also has the potential to start rivalries which is a good thing for the league imo.

[@RadicalEduction]

15:30 I would counter to say defensive skills are underrated and under appreciated. Effort is 100% a major factor, but being able to combine movement skills, understanding offensive scemes and playstyles, is more important. Effort is what happens when we star plays show random flashes of good defense, but some players don't know how to implement the same skillsets on offense onto defense.

[@evanwrenn402]

Chet, Caruso and Hartenstein are all in the top 5 of Defensive EPM

[@andreh1888]

Hold up, they have to win #2 first. The Mavs are currently putting belt to ass.

[@theg1714]

Hot Take: Every team in the NBA will eventually win a title. It will be certainly in this century but some might be in 20, 30 or 40 years. It is a matter of time and circumstance.

[@CJ_Espinoza]

That’s not really a hot take, over a long enough period of time it’s guaranteed every team will eventually have things go right

[@kjjr3270]

There are 30 NBA teams and many of them aren't really looking like they be sniffing a title. This is not happening.

[@dicktrickle741]

Every team will have a period where things go pretty right, but maybe not quite right enough. There will always be hard luck teams.

[@Jell0Mode]

9:35 (the "question" underneath LOL)

[@pacquac9958]

Hot take: The complacency of stars and/or former stars has risen exponentially, or maybe it's just become more apparent. Specifically, Zion and to a lesser extent Embiid, who had a genuine All-star level floors and had limitless ceilings, have and are straight up wasting there potential it's genuinely sad but also unbelievably insane.

[@CanadianWizard99]

Literally most metrics of TV are down. I see these arguments in wrestling discussions all the time. While yeah, viewership is down for the nba, you can say that about most stuff on TV.

[@LaMasia108]

hot take: whatever team LeBron plays on eventually becomes very toxic yes he might bring you a championship or two but playing with him must be draining and toxic. the only franchise he played for that wasn’t toxic was the heat cus they have a culture and with pat riley, spo and d.wade he was never gonna be in control like he was in cleveland and LA

[@NiteOwlVibes]

Jimmy is ruining the Heat more than Lebron ever could.

[@LaMasia108]

@ jimmy’s ruining them how? i think the only problem with him is that he doesn’t take the regular season seriously and thinks he can always turn it on during the playoffs and it has worked for him a couple times but i think his disinterest in the regular season is one of the reasons why miami is trying to move him

[@kjjr3270]

This doesnt matter. If you have the chance to get a prime Lebron, you do everything to build a good roster around him. Thats just what you do with a player like him. Most organizations would risk a potential championship, even if that means falling of for the next few years if Bron leaves

[@LaMasia108]

@@kjjr3270 not saying you don’t do everything to get a prime Bron because like i mentioned he’ll bring you a championship or two. my whole point is that the environment eventually becomes toxic. lmaooo READ

[@urbaindelva7869]

​​@@kjjr3270It would be easier without all of that extra baggage, though. Imagine how many more titles LeBron could have won if he had stayed out of the front office affairs and just played basketball.

[@marcgreen1-q2x]

If jordan had played point guard he would have been the undisputed goat in his time as a pg he had 10 triple doubles in 11 games and averaged 33.6 points,11.4 rebounds,10.8 assists and 3 steals with a block while winning alot

[@ManlyMovingYoutube]

Hot take: you can’t be a top 10 all time player if you don’t have 3 mvps…the argument that a player (Kobe ) can be top 10 is flawed because the showcase of such overwhelming dominance shouldn’t be overlooked if you are actually a top 10 all time

[@mezzb]

"have 3 mvps" really not your fault if the league is top heavy during your peak (or you spend too much of your peak on a mid team). I'd rather go with 5+ seasons in the top 3 in voting.

[@mightbejimi]

11:00 bro that was really funny you should have done another take

[@davidmartinez52420]

In regards to the "Jordan social media" take, I would agree that there is a good amount of Jordan fans that go to bat for him but didn't really watch him play to any significant degree but it is definitely not ore than half. Conversely, there are tons of LeBron fans that trash Jordan that never watched him play to any significant degree as well. They just go off the media pundits and what they say about Jordan as well as the older fans that did watch Jordan and still trash him but very likely hated him even back then.

[@DiagonalByte]

Here's my hot take: Kareem is the GOAT. Full stop.

[@ianardell4660]

Can’t be the goat when you weren’t the best player on your own team for most of the championships.

[@christopheroconnor8057]

Hot Take: rebounds as a stat have lost significance. In older eras before the 3pt revolution, rebounds were much harder to get because there were always more bodies packed within the arc and the lane, and there were far less long rebounds off of three point attempts. Today, because of the rate at which players are chucking up 3’s and the extreme spacing even big men have had to adapt to, getting 8-10 rebounds in a game is wayyy easier then getting 8-10 rebounds in the 00’s or 90’s etc.

[@StefIsCold]

Facts

[@dicktrickle741]

There's a video of LeBron rebounding, its hilarious. LeBron never plays defense, he just stands by the baseline with his hands on his knees and never moves. Anyhow in the game he gets 10 rebounds, all uncontested and he never jumped.

[@kjjr3270]

You guys really need to learn what tf a hot take is

[@rabeechowdhury]

In the older era, steals and blocks weren't counted on the stat sheet. That may have played a part in it. People had to recount those numbers manually via a mental note or pencil and paper at the game because no official would do it for them.

[@mr.crispyfriedchicken3946]

Forgot to mention how pace has increased, but that only adds to your argument

[@RelaxedPotato-02631]

Hot take: the bucks have the best rotation in the nba. Giannis, dame, brook, middleton, andre jackson jr, taurean prince, bobby portis, aj green and gary trent jr

[@j.s.2958]

13:00 let this man cook

[@шизашиз]

18:27 They didn't get swept. It was a 6-game series.

[@GriffinK10]

Hot take: Jordan got lucky & if the history of the NBA was redone 100 times, 95/100 LeBron would have the best career

[@urbaindelva7869]

The same could be said for LeBron. They both got lucky in certain aspects, but in the end, they are both responsible for the careers that they had.

[@owenjarosz7207]

What should the bulls expect back in a vucevic trade

[@paladinbard]

Minus 7 first rounders and diddy

[@urbaindelva7869]

Hot take #1: OKC is still a couple of years away from truly contending. Their current core only has one postseason run under their belts, meaning that they still lack the necessary experience that teams usually go through before getting over the hump (i.e. The Jays' Celtics). I believe that they can win (a) championship(s) in the near future, but it further off than a lot of people think. Hot take #2: Hypothetical arguments about past occurrences are too one-sided. "The Rockets would've beaten the Warriors in 2018 if CP3 didn't get injured." "The Heat would've won the 2011 Finals if LeBron had played better." The arguments that people make for occurrences such as these only talk about what would've happened on one side, but not the other side in reaction. There are two sides to every story.

[@JeffersonSteelflexx]

Hot take: Raymond Felton is incredibly underrated and might (IS) be the greatest pg (arguably player in general) of all time

[@konzza]

Hot take; Beatles didn't really "create" as much as Rusty gave them credit. Rather they were "Taylor Swift" of their. Generic enough to capture the masses, but "creative" enough to turn too many people away.

[@urbaindelva7869]

I'm sorry. The Beatles and Taylor are not creative? Then why are they as successful as they are? They have to have some level of creativity to do what they do, right?

[@maxtheedawg]

bro the beatles were incredibily creative, you may not like their music, but to say they aren't creative? listen to strawberry fields or lucy in the sky, their creativity had so much depth compared to todays music

[@Jack-uc6nm]

Got clickbaited by title

[@gugga2745]

theres totally an argument to be made between the beatles and tyler the creator fym

[@meep7895]

Am i just making shit up or wasnt there one season in minnesota where dlo was a pretty good defender

[@justsomejusstsome8994]

12:50 The Beatles dont got shit on Tyler? Bro thats a crazy comment lol. Love Tyler tho fr

[@ianardell4660]

I think he was talking more so regarding the rudimentary nature of especially early Beatles music. Not helped by the fact that none of the Beatles were significantly talented at their instruments. John Paul and George are mainly remembered as great songwriters

[@tylerjloce]

Jrue on Worthy is interesting

[@Mr.Sax.]

Celtics did not retain most of their core, they retained it entirely.

[@mamadoubarrie6607]

Hot take: awards such as mvp, fmvp, dpoy, 6moy, are overrated not saying they don’t matter to the players but in terms of comparing players it doesn’t matter because awards are voted and are opinion based their is never a truly right or wrong answer like when arguing for top 10 we go off award but when arguing for 102 and 103 players how we gonna argue bout them

[@Brewbuu]

Soundwave superior

[@bpdmf2798]

The Celtics could realistically 3peat, but there could be easily be roadblocks. KP injury status on the playoffs especially could really hurt them even though they can win without him. Horford aging out (he'll be 40 for the 3rd chip), even Jrue Holiday becoming much more pedestrian because he'll be like 36 or 37 by the 3rd chip is a real concern. Tatum and Brown have basically been iron men their whole careers and it could be that bearing their 30's could see them missing more than he's due to injury (Tatum almost never misses games and Jaylen only missed one playoffs run for wrist surgery he decided to get because the team was .500 and they punted on the playoffs to have Jaylen back for the start of the following year). They really could just plow through all that and 3peat because they have their whole team under contract for at least a couple more years so they don't need to add this or move that, so they could just be destined to be the best team since the warriors in the 2010's.

[@xoirvinn]

Sga, Chet, and j dub are on the same level of kd, russ, and harden

[@urbaindelva7869]

Eh, Idk. KD, Russ, and Harden reached the NBA Finals in only their 3rd season together as a trio and before any of them had hit their peak. SGA is already entering his prime if he has not already, and J-Dub and Chet are not there yet. Individually, SGA is the only one of them who is a superstar; the other two are All-Star caliber at best.

[@xoirvinn]

@ just trying to give some hot takes. All the hot takes people leave are pretty lame. I’m trying to start a convo. Plus I think okc big three right now can reach them. Sga is right there with kd. Maybe not in scoring alone but he’s a great defender as well. Chet same thing. He’s good offensively but he really shows his value on the defensive end. And then jdub is just really good everywhere. Really like russ. I feel like they aren’t going to make the mistakes of splitting them up this time so they won’t win the mvps that russ harden and kd did but they will be up there with their production.

[@Basketballtalks-v7t]

Hot take: if jokic ends up winning this years mvp, i argue he has a better career and goat case then wilt chamberlain

[@julianuga]

3 peat? I'm from Boston. I bleed green. But 3 peat? They have one. Let's get 2 before we talk about 3. Love the confidence, though. Go C's

[@alfredfairchild1518]

Clutch moments are overrated when it pertains to a players career

[@ianardell4660]

Absolutely not. And besides they are kind of inevitable anyway. Unless a player is on a 2017 warriors team, playoff games will get close and your either clutch or lose.

[@fritzbautista1141]

Truth be told not when Jimmy Butler plays for Miami Heat in the game … I hope they do a three peat. I think the Heat will be a problem for them ❤

[@argentumoblinit7960]

Hot take: The way people use the acronym 'GOAT' as of recent, the default interpretation of its meaning should change to 'Greatest of a time'. As in, there's a good argument that they were the greatest (best in the world) for some period of time. Even though I dont like loosening what terms should mean willy-nilly, I'm okay with this change -- it would mean you could call curry and durant goats, for example, allowing all the young NBA fans who already call them that to not be flat-out wrong. But even using this relaxed interpretation of what 'GOAT' means, many players commonly referred to as such still aren't GOATS. For example, you can't go around callind Dame, Carmelo, or Kyrie GOATs. They never had an argument for being the greatest in the world, and Dame and Carmelo were never even the best at their positions.

[@oephry3253]

Sure

[@LaMasia108]

hot take: AD can be a number 1 option on a championship team. the lakers just haven’t properly build around him and LeBron will never fully accept being a second option even though he continuously says it’s AD’s team.

[@kjjr3270]

Any Top 10 player can be the number 1 option on a championship team, its more about building you roster around them and most important staying healthy. They could definitely have won another one, but the Lakers messed up

[@LaMasia108]

@ correct

[@OliverGuiterman]

Two takes half related here: Hot take: First of all, Luka 2024 season vs Jokic 2025 season are extremely comparable. In fact, (this is hot) Luka's past season was BETTER than Jokic's. Luka's impact on winning last year was even better (not on/off numbers but impact on winning) than Jokic's this season. The nuggets are worse this year w/o Jokic than mavs w/o luka last year, but luka raised the mavs to another league than Jokic could raise his nuggets to (or raise a better team to(. The second part of my take is that this year Luka will prove that he is a better PLAYOFF player than Jokic. Jokic is the best player in the world, and Luka has not looked like the second best AT ALL, but in the playoffs he will prove that, in fact, he is better than Jokic.

[@kjjr3270]

Luka has Kyrie a all nba level player and Jokic is so much better than Luka in the playoffs. If the Mavs win it will be because they are the better team

[@noblue72]

Repeating is hard. 3peating has only happened a few times in NBA history. Jrue is aging. Al Horford is on his last legs. Porzingis is unreliable. The rest of the NBA constantly improves. There's definitely enough cracks in the Celtics where they could go from seemingly unbeatable in a weak East in the moment to being just really good in a year.

[@Manuel-04]

Hot take : Nick Calathes Goat passer better than cp3,stockton,lbj,nash,luka,jokic,teodocic,magic Johnson

[@thetwiggamingchannel9578]

Hot take: The reason NBA ratings are down has nothing to do with European players entering the league at a high clip, it's the perception of how three pointers affect the game. If you're shooting a lot of threes and making most of them, people will say there is no defense. If you're missing most of them, people will say it's a soft shot chucking team and it seems like there is no happy medium, hence why less people watch now.

[@ollieblass9370]

In comparison to what time period? If the highest point of ratings were closer to the pandemic than almost any form of entertainment experience entered its peak retention of popularity because people weren’t able to go outside consistently.

[@hydeseaick2587]

I think they could win 3 championships, but in four years, not consecutives

[@yaboyalaska7550]

Unhinged Hot Take: bad teams should be more willing to move their bad contracts around the league for no other reason than it would be fun and what have you got to lose? Embiid for Zion. why not? Lavine for Beal. let's see how it goes! Ben Simmons for Kawaii? Neither of them play anyway and a young socialite like ben should be in LA

[@konzza]

Yes!!! Let Adam Silver to spin the "wheel of chaos" once per month to see witch player gets randomly traded for who ❤ Salary caps ruined with team building... Who cares! Just deal with it as a part of the wheel of chaos!

[@batopopadic1071]

Not-so-hot take: the Jokic haters are so desperate to slander him, that they have to resort to comparing him to MJ ( some peeps goat ) and Lebron James ( some other peeps goat ) on a consistent basis. No other player gets slandered more for less legitimate reasons than he does. The fact that some people still can not ( after 4 years ) accept that Jokic is just better than anyone else is either because they are racist or they don't know ball ( its not about how much you can jump ). The funny part is, Jokic literally doesn't care about the blatant lies ( example: they are calling him a statpadder ) and hate he receives. He is not just an example of a superstar, but also of a stable and normal human being. Sadly, a lot of people can not see his overall character because they sre shallow and don't recognise real ones. 🤫 Guess I had more than one take, but who cares raaaah🦅

[@dbza4107]

0:38, this is some nasty munching, okc matches up perfectly against the Celtics and are the best team in the western confrence with the only team that can even say a word being the mavericks, no other team CURRENTLY before any major trade has been done will not take the thunder to 7 games in the west

[@urbaindelva7869]

I disagree. The Grizzlies are also a team that I could see knocking off OKC in a 7-game series. I think that you are forgetting that OKC is still pretty inexperienced compared to some of their fellow Western teams such as the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Warriors, and Clippers.

[@dbza4107]

@ the grizzlies are experienced? They went just as far as the thunder did, the warriors do not have the offensive fire power to get through this defense, the clippers just got waxed by Denver and if u think they are doing anything in the west with how injury prone kawhi Leonard is we dont watch the same sport i already mentioned Dallas and the grizzlies are looking good we just need more time

[@Questionsoftheday]

Hot take- Shai is on the same level as Luka?

[@kjjr3270]

Wouldn't say that yet, but the gap is definitely closer than most people think.

[@buenvidanadz1969]

Hot take (this is cheating 'cause I think a lot of people would agree on this but it's just that it's not that resonating: Teams that draft and develop their players well should be freed of penalty for being good. For example, the Celtics should be given a "bonus cap space" or allowance that doesn't consume the cap for them to retain their players. I don't care if a team ends up with five superstars due to good drafting or player development program, a team should be end up being able to retain them with multiple supermax/max contracts if they drafted them

[@MeemXDXD5]

Take: people either overhype or underappreciate young players just cause they like or don't like them. the way they talk about Paulo Bancharo, you'd assume he's already an All-NBA 1st team candite, but no he's around the level of player as Scottie Barnes (i don't wanna hear about Paulo averaging 29, he only played 5 games) another one, these guys aren't *young* young they're 25-26 but Tatum and SGA are about even. its just cause Tatum's a cornball and SGA has "Aura" that he gets more attention. im saying this as a Canadian, these 2 are nearly even. i wouldn't be mad if you said Tatum is better, I wouldn't be mad if you said SGA is better. another or 2 is RJ Barret and Tyler Herro get talked about like they're bums yet people talk about Jaden Ivey and Brandon Miller (Yes he's in a slump, but still) like they're the next coming of Scottie Pippen or Kyrie Irving.

[@Endless_Cola]

MJ just “got a year and a half off”?! Are you going to just ignore WHY he did that? How wildly disrespectful

[@urbaindelva7869]

I'm pretty sure that Rusty knows why. He probably felt like he didn't have to say it because it's well-known why Jordna retired early.

[@phillipschuman4307]

Why he did it? What did he ADMIT about why he did it? He wanted to be offered load management ('like Bill Cartwright'), take a lot of games off and such. That's what he told the NY Post sportswriter Pete Vecsey in an interview in his first retirement: "I would have stayed if Phil came up with something where I wouldn't have had to play a large portion of the regular season, like Bill Cartwright*. But let's face it. If I was allowed to sit out until a month before the playoffs, the media would have been all over me." *Cartwright was 35 (but his knees were 55!), and he played 63 games, averaging 19.9 minutes.

[@truman6914]

Hot take: (not talking about past greats) but we will never (in the next 100 years at least) see a player be as good at basketball as Nikola Jokic is right now

[@RelaxedPotato-02631]

Hot take: Hakeem is the best center ever in the context of building a team. I would take Hakeem over Kareem and Shaq.

[@phillipschuman4307]

You wouldn't say that if you saw Kareem's first 10 years, as I did. As a rookie, he took the Bucks to the ECF in their second year of existence as an expansion team, and the title in year 2. He clears Hakeem on offense and defense in his first decade of play. Most people don't know how great prime Kareem really was. 5 MVPs in 7 years great, for example. Sweeping all the advanced stats.

[@RelaxedPotato-02631]

@ ik he is technically better. Kareem is higher on all time list. But i made a hot take since hakeem is probably the most underrated all time great ever. Kareem had one of the best primes ever tho.

[@RelaxedPotato-02631]

@ and i like hakeem so

[@mr.crispyfriedchicken3946]

Hot Take: any comparison of two teams from different eras is doomed to fail. This is true with players too, to a certain extent, but specifically with teams. So much of a team's success depends on the circumstances that they arose from that comparing them, even on a year-to-year basis, almost seems foolhardy to me.

[@ollieblass9370]

Especially when it pertains to 3 point percentages when the league shortened the line for 3 seasons. Steve Kerr and Michael Jordan took most of their 3s during that era inflating their career percentages. Playing 2K with their inflated numbers really is disengaging since the basketball courts aren’t adjusted to that reality.

[@truepower3652]

Hot take: The 2004 pistons would lock up 2024 celtics and sweep them....

[@urbaindelva7869]

They would definitely give them problems and could beat them, but sweep them? No.

[@maxtheedawg]

the beatles might not have shit on tyler creator is one of the worse takes and opinions i have ever heard, and i love old tyler music

[@floresryan1997]

If Steph wins another ring, he’s top 3 all time

[@joeknapp9162]

Damn near unsubscribed after you compared the Beatles to Tyler the Creator

[@leimizhou9092]

SGA is the clear frontrunner for MVP this season and I don't understand how people don't see it. People nowadays think stats prove everything, but being the leader of one of the youngest teams in the NBA consistently averaging 30 on high efficiency and playing elite defense as the 1st seed in the competitive west makes you the MVP. I don't care how good Jokic's stats are, there's a reason Kobe didn't win the MVP in 05-06, and if Jokic played on a better team where he actually could be the 1 seed he wouldn't have stats this good. You cant be the MVP frontrunner and be in the play-in. EDIT: people don't seem to understand that jokic and giannis are going off BECAUSE they dont have a good enough supporting cast around them. i guess this is a second hot take, but carrying a bad team isnt "better" than leading a good team, they are just different. SGA's ability to consistently drive a good team is equally impressive in a different way than going bonkers on a play in team, and if you put him on a shitty team he'd average a more insane statline too.

[@Dimezprod]

Agree

[@justtimes9257]

by your logic tatum is the mvp

[@justsomejusstsome8994]

​@@justtimes9257 SGA is more consistent offensively

[@maximusorbis2548]

@@justsomejusstsome8994Tatum is a better defender

[@StefIsCold]

@@maximusorbis2548facts snd tatum leads his team in pts asts rebs and steals

[@jackwill3030]

Luka will only ever win one MVP similar to Kobe, situation and somehow what seems like voter fatigue even though he hasn’t won it will prevent him from winning more just like Kobe

[@oephry3253]

Ngl that globalization take was ass imo. I don't care about the face of the NBA part but globalization and the internet absolutely enables cult like followings

[@Jack-uc6nm]

Hell na

[@ogilow3291]

If the Celtics three peat everybody will quit watching the nba. They’re the most boring team to watch holy moly

[@urbaindelva7869]

Maybe YOU will. Don't speak for everybody else. You don't know what's in their heart. That's because people like you have created the narrative that they "do nothing but jack up threes," which shows that you either don't really watch them and understand their play style or you just dislike the 3pt shooting that much.

[@seanisabel]

The Celtics are at least getting 2 titles with this group staying together.

[@urbaindelva7869]

They could, but that is easier said than done.

[@CJ_Espinoza]

The NBA needs to replace the East-West conferences with 4 large divisions similar to conferences in the NCAA. It would maintain some regionality for travel purposes while fixing the competitive imbalance between East-West.

[@tylerjloce]

The nba has divisions already they just dont matter anymore. Also this messes with the playoffs a lot does it not?

[@CJ_Espinoza]

@tylerjloce I know, the idea is that divisions would matter more. As for the playoffs this would also include having it be the top 16 teams instead of the top 8 in each conference. Most of the East is so non-competitive that the conferences are painfully unbalanced.

[@Alex__T.]

I mean there were people a year ago that were saying a Nuggets repeat was inevitable, look how that went

[@CJ_Espinoza]

Probably would have had the CBA and bad management didn’t ruin the supporting cast after 1 year.

[@mayowaojutalayo853]

but this team is more cohesive than last years nuggets lmao plus they have a better defence than the nuggets

[@ianardell4660]

The difference is they had expiring contracts and uncertainty. The Celtics have locked down all their key players and are having bench players breaking out 😂.

[@CJ_Espinoza]

@ sure, but they’re gonna feel that pain down the road when they’re just as locked into their contracts. There’s a reason the owner is trying to sell.

[@beng4647]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ambGiqp6gs6VfdEsi=aOU82qYB8NkbXNVb

[@NoahExists]

Hot take: The notion that star players games wouldn’t translate to other era’s isn’t realistic as if a player such as curry were to go back and play in an era with less spacing, the league would adapt and players would learn to respect the shot, in a similar vein the notion that a player like Kevin mchale couldn’t play in the modern era is also faulty as it’s not unrealistic to imagine a player with such a talent can’t develop a shot with enough work put in, or that the play style couldn’t work in a coaches system.

[@ZeDsZeDs]

HOT TAKE: khris middleton is the best “3rd option” in the league based off ball knowledge alone, his chemistry with giannis is more valuable than anything the bucks roster could realistically add to improve their roster, look at how many shots giannis has been assisted on since khris has been back this year already, he also prime mj from midrange

[@Cam-wk6ty]

did i just hear the Mavericks over the Cavs in a championship contention conversation?

[@Katanagateri]

Mavs will beat the Cavs in the finals, mark my words

[@kjjr3270]

​@Katanagateriacting like both teams will make the finals 😂

[@MihoyMinoy-si8fb]

Cavs are a product of their schedule. They started off one one of the greatest hot stretches in history and are only one game ahead of the Celtics. Yikes..

[@Cam-wk6ty]

@ dude that’s the worst argument i’ve ever heard

[@MihoyMinoy-si8fb]

@@Cam-wk6ty Cope harder.

[@jalenperez2611]

First