"Goddamn we really were the only team to get swept huh", "Just like the 18 Raptors were the only team not to take LeBron to seven" - Reddit reactions to Boston Celtics beating the 3 teams that eliminated them in the last 3 years
The Boston Celtics eliminated the Miami Heat from the playoffs, as they took Game 7 of the Eastern Conference, 100-96.
Jayson Tatum posted a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double to take home the Eastern Conference finals MVP. Marcus Smart scored 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and Al Horford added five points and 14 rebounds in the win.
Despite Jimmy Butler's 35-point effort and Bam Adebayo's 25-point, 11-rebound double-double, the Miami Heat just couldn't reach the finish line. A Jimmy Butler 3-pointer in transition is what it came down to in the final minute of the fourth-quarter. Had it gone in, Miami could very well have been in the NBA Finals today.
To the Boston Celtics' credit, they finally overcame a hump they had been stuck on for quite some time now. Having made it to the conference finals four times in the last six seasons, they managed to secure their first finals berth since 2010.
r/NBA reacted to the Celtics' berth in the playoffs and reminisced on their tough road to the penultimate stage of basketball greatness.
A Nets fan came to a grim realisation:
The Cleveland Cavaliers' fans reminded them of their past failures. However, in all honesty, Jayson Tatum made it to seven games as a rookie against LeBron James.
On Sunday, Ime Udoka became the first rookie head coach to win multiple game sevens in a playoff run.
How do the odds fare for the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals?
FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR projects that the Boston Celtics have a whopping 84% chance of winning the NBA Finals over the Golden State Warriors. The metric supposedly gives Golden State just a 17% chance of winning the NBA Finals.
Although the advanced metrics and statistics might put the Celtics over the Golden State Warriors, Caesars Sportsbook is still taking the Golden State Warriors by a pretty hefty margin.
Of note here is the fact that compared to the pre-season odds, the Warriors have lived up to the hype and the Celtics have beaten the odds by a long way. The Warriors were +1000 coming into the season, and the Celtics were +5000.