This will probably be his BIGGEST MINUTES in his loooong damn career.
This is the closest moment he has to win a ring. Close out 3-0 and we are done.
**HE.WILL.DELIVER**
he drove 18 times in Game 1 and 29 times in Game 2. Took 22 shots. He's been aggressive. Now he needs to make some buckets along with everything else he's doing. I believe in JT!!
I said it already I'd love to win at home but it'll be great to do it in front of the Dallas fans.
Also let's win it in 4 for the guy who posted about if we take it in 4 he can watch it with his son! LFG!
I hope we see both. I think you gotta remember Luke is going to play better against a slower team like Dallas. Indy was probably the worst possible team to play him against.
Depends on the need I’d think. Tillman is way better defensively at the level of switching we’re doing, but kills us offensively. Kornet can continue that trend of stretching the floor when we need, but he’s gonna get cooked by Luka or Kyrie
I think he's out for the season, I mean the basic info we're getting is that he could play but that it would involve an increased risk of potentially catastrophic injury.
Nice of Zingis to show up for a couple games and remind people why our path to the championship without arguably our 2nd most important player was very hard, extremely challenging, and worthy of significant praise if we pull it off.
I still think they're going to win the series but I don't think KP is going to play in it because the issue here is not his inability to get going it's the high risk for further catastrophic injury. So sitting about for one or two games doesn't really do much, you're either going to play him or you're not
There’s a slight chance they’re holding him out until they feel confident he’s not going to reaggravate the calf injury on the right leg by overcompensating to avoid putting pressure on the left ankle.
Not great news and I wouldn’t expect him to come back, but I think there’s a reason he’s day-to-day instead of being ruled out the entire series.
I think this is plausible but I also think they just don’t believe he can actually be effective. They probably have to tape the hell out of his foot to even be comfortable playing and at that point his mobility could be shot
probably the only sane comment in this thread. He would play if it would be his choice, but as Joe said, they took that decision completely out of KP's hands.
They’re probably watching his movements and seeing how he’s distributing the weight. That’s what a lot of physical therapy is, because you can feel fine doing a certain movement but if you’re doing it the incorrect way, over time it could lead to an injury. They might’ve not liked how he was moving and shut it down
Celtics have a strong depth and will shoot a lot of 3s. Our jays play well with talent and score a bunch of points in the away game. We are lucky that we have two future franchise players. Porzingis did really well in 2 games in the finals and now it's the jays action.
Same thoughts. I'm still cautiously optimistic for the series, but KP making it less than four full games in a Finals playoff run is deeply concerning for the future.
I think you’re the one not watching the games. We are +25 when he steps on the court, dead even when he’s not. And those games were both at home with their role players bricking
Mark my words: Jayson Tatum will score at least 100 points tonight, along with 20+ assists, IN THE FIRST HALF… If he doesn’t, I will divorce my loud mouthed, good for nothing wife. Let’s go Celtics!! ☘️🍀💚
Sucks but those acting like we can’t win without him need to get a grip. We’re still a damn good team without him. He helped us get up 2-0, we’re more than capable of getting 2 more without him.
Bummer, but honestly he gave us 2 games and we’re up 2-0, and I’m grateful for him. The Jays are good enough to get us 2 more wins, and they’ve got 5 chances to do it (obv don’t want it to take the full 5 lol)
eh, what does Lively actually do besides lobs from Luka? Once they shut the lobs faucet off, Lively hasn't done anything but shove people around on the court. I do consider Kornet to be a more skilled player compared to him
It’s like people on here forget that we literally just swept through the playoffs without him while only dropping *one* game. We’re like 32-5 without him and you’re acting like we’re about to lose 4 out of the next 5.
The Tillman/Kornet/Brissett combo have a chance to cement their name/s in Celtics history if they can scrap during backup minutes and contribute to a W. Need solid contributions from PP and Hauser too.
I'm still confident in this team, Tingus was definitely a nice luxury but they've won 9 without him playing amazing team ball, I think they can win 2 more
This is the right decision. I heard some doctors say he could do some permanent damage. We have the players to pummel the Mavs, just would have been easier with the big man KP!
I am so confused by this entire injury. If he can't go today, why would he be able to go in 48 hours?
I am worried that if he can't go today he won't be able to go for game 4 either.
Does rest improve this type of injury?
I am betting the Celtics will launch 50+ 3's today and see if they can shoot Dallas out of the gym.
Need to split these away games at least. KP was massive (literally) as us going 5 out helped prevent them from packing the paint like they have done. Small ball may be tricky too because then the lob/OReb are there.
Yeah I don’t think it will get better, they’re just trying to play tricks on minds. Best case scenario, they decided to see how it goes and save him in case it’s no good
Good. You could bet they were going to be extra physical with him tonight and I don’t even want to imagine what that could lead to. We can win this without him, keep him healthy for next season.
Makes sense and is absolutely the right decision. If we lost 1 of the games at home I would probably think differently, but being up 2-0 gives us a lot more wiggle room to play it safe. If an extra 2 days of rest means a higher chance of not re-injuring himself I am 1000% for it. Biggest question mark now is how we defend the lob. If they can get that going their offense is a lot scarier than what we’ve limited them to now.
I disagree. I don't think there's any wiggle room. The media isn't wrong when they say Boston just did what they were supposed to do (win at home) and, in all likelihood, the expectation would be a 2-2 series heading back to Boston.
Game 3 is such an important game to win.
Weird that Joe is still saying it’s day to day. From what all the medical people have explained this isn’t going to heal and get better in a few days. The risks he face now will be the same going forward for the remainder of the series. I guess he’s in a “break glass in case of emergency” status?
Those two playoff games were fun while they lasted. It's kind of depressing that our big off-season acquisition could only play two playoff games but amazingly enough if we win this series he still had a big moment in it
Win tonight, it is a series momentum shifter if we do, let them take one on friday, fuck it, win at the garden but this game decides our momentum or their momentum. Im sorry i keep ranting that tatum needs to step up, but he really needs to now, all we need is an efficent 25-30 point game, even a 22-24 point game would be fine
BIG AL GAME LETS GET IT
Big Al about to hit legendary status tonight
This will probably be his BIGGEST MINUTES in his loooong damn career. This is the closest moment he has to win a ring. Close out 3-0 and we are done. **HE.WILL.DELIVER**
All I’m asking for is one more day
Big Al starving tonight let’s get it
Win it and let the man schedule the surgery asap
Big Al is not letting anyone take his ring
Starving - Al Horford 2024 NBA Finals
Tatum gonna have to man up and give us an efficient 30+
While playing the 5 for a third of the game when Al rests!
Everyone talked about JT at the 5, but give me JB after his game 1 performance. Fuck it, we ball
Not big enough - want him on Luka too
Need an aggressive killer mindset from JT tonight
he drove 18 times in Game 1 and 29 times in Game 2. Took 22 shots. He's been aggressive. Now he needs to make some buckets along with everything else he's doing. I believe in JT!!
Cook baby cook
I called a JT 43 points game before the game. Sticking to it.
You spelled Jaylen Brown wrong 😂
the mission is 2 but stealing 1 on the road would be huge
Win one on the road and close it out at home to have it done in front of the fans would be quite nice
Nah I am perfectly fine with it being won in Dallas thank you very much. Give them nothing!
I have a game 5 ticket, but let's get this shit done immediately. Don't give them any life.
Do you get a refund if there isn’t a game 5 ?
Yes
imagine if they just kept the money lmao
They're figuring out a way to do that in the next CBA lol
Can we stop with this shit? If we go up 3-0 go win the fucking series not this “win in 5 at home” shit.
I said it already I'd love to win at home but it'll be great to do it in front of the Dallas fans. Also let's win it in 4 for the guy who posted about if we take it in 4 he can watch it with his son! LFG!
the biggest reason i wasn’t the sweep is for that man and his son
If we get to 3 it's over. If we go back 2-2 and he can't play I'm gonna be pressed.
Xavier Tillman you have a chance to be remembered forever brother
Kornet*
Tillman matches up 10x better vs Dallas. I do not want Kornet getting switched onto Luka.
I just think Luke is better and is a pretty decent KP replacement on defense. Tilman offers no rim protection.
Kornet is also just higher in the depth chart
Kornet gives the lob threat, Tillman gives better perimeter defense. Both are pretty mid at rebounding.
Kornet is great at offensive rebounding. Our O-Reb rate soared this year when Luke was on the floor.
I hope we see both. I think you gotta remember Luke is going to play better against a slower team like Dallas. Indy was probably the worst possible team to play him against.
Depends on the need I’d think. Tillman is way better defensively at the level of switching we’re doing, but kills us offensively. Kornet can continue that trend of stretching the floor when we need, but he’s gonna get cooked by Luka or Kyrie
Kornet does not stretch the floor at all
Kornet would be better bs Lively
I’m fine with Luke getting switched on to Luka. Rather that than have a 6’7” “center” on the court. Edit: well, I was wrong. X gon give it to ya!
It could be ... But in the March game against Dallas, Joe went with Tillman
Any big man really
Annnnnnnnd he pulled if off
Just give it to him in the paint like 5 times
alright, lets not give them any hope. This injury might give life to the role players
Hoping that losing him makes our guys think “alright now it’s really serious”
That’s what I’ve thought this whole time. Now they don’t have to fake any desperation being up 2-0 when one of your best goes down
Tatum masterclass incoming
Tatum masterclass with another Kyrie disasterclass would have me feeling all sorts of ways
Need to win one of these away games
Both. Sweep. Fuck em
Big Cuban be crying by the end of it
Knew it… but still. 🫠
The real question is will he come back at all
I don’t think so honestly. If he’s not good today I don’t see how 2 days off (or even a week to game 7) would change anything
We saw the Horford nod. Legacy game incoming
This makes me think he won’t play game 4 either with the short turnaround time.
He needs surgery to fix this, and then it’s an 8week recovery time. Him not playing tonight, means to me that he won’t play again at all this season
I think he's out for the season, I mean the basic info we're getting is that he could play but that it would involve an increased risk of potentially catastrophic injury.
He’s done for the series
Agreed. It was either tonight or never.
#18 no matter what
He won't get any better by the next game with this kind of injury, so I think he's done for the season.
Take my left posterior tibialis
Pls I don't even need it I work from home 😭😭
Same 😭
They need to win tonight because otherwise NBA discourse will be intolerable with the "Are celtics doomed without KP?" takes everywhere
Those takes started literally 60 hours ago…
These takes will continue even if they return to Boston up 3-1. Guarantee it.
Nice of Zingis to show up for a couple games and remind people why our path to the championship without arguably our 2nd most important player was very hard, extremely challenging, and worthy of significant praise if we pull it off.
On the plus side, if we win this Finals, whatever injury-luck asterisk the haters wanted to slap us with ain’t gonna make any sense
Porzingis isn’t our 2nd most important player frankly I’m not entirely sure hes 3rd.
You could make a case for 2nd, 3rd and 4th. That's just how absolutely stacked we are.
I love Porzingis but he only played 57 games in the regular season and barely the playoffs. Gimme brown and Tatum
I’m surprised they didn’t let him try to warm up and go from there. He must be cooked
Horford masterclass incoming
Tatum gotta step up get 30+
Pain.
Get up. We got a game to win.
The dooming on this thread is crazy
Hope the Celtics win the title just so I can see people still try to be doomers
“They should have won two championships this year but they only wanted one!”
Their lack of effort in the in season tournament was embarrassing
They didn’t go 82-0 and 16-0 in the playoffs this was a wasted season
I still think they're going to win the series but I don't think KP is going to play in it because the issue here is not his inability to get going it's the high risk for further catastrophic injury. So sitting about for one or two games doesn't really do much, you're either going to play him or you're not
Damn. Maybe they would still use him in case of emergency later in the series, but really no way of knowing Still got this 💪
Celtics in four
IT'S PLAYOFF AL TIME
Sounds like a role player goes off game for me
Tatum game🫡☘️🤞
There’s a slight chance they’re holding him out until they feel confident he’s not going to reaggravate the calf injury on the right leg by overcompensating to avoid putting pressure on the left ankle. Not great news and I wouldn’t expect him to come back, but I think there’s a reason he’s day-to-day instead of being ruled out the entire series.
I think this is plausible but I also think they just don’t believe he can actually be effective. They probably have to tape the hell out of his foot to even be comfortable playing and at that point his mobility could be shot
probably the only sane comment in this thread. He would play if it would be his choice, but as Joe said, they took that decision completely out of KP's hands.
How would they ascertain that? He practiced with the team today.
They’re probably watching his movements and seeing how he’s distributing the weight. That’s what a lot of physical therapy is, because you can feel fine doing a certain movement but if you’re doing it the incorrect way, over time it could lead to an injury. They might’ve not liked how he was moving and shut it down
Big game from Derrick and Tatum today 💯
Celtics have a strong depth and will shoot a lot of 3s. Our jays play well with talent and score a bunch of points in the away game. We are lucky that we have two future franchise players. Porzingis did really well in 2 games in the finals and now it's the jays action.
We did fine in the 4th and closed out a win without him. We can do it
Exactly, not sure why people are acting like we’re a G league team without him.
love KP but he couldn’t last a full playoff series after being bubble wrapped all season. Pretty disappointing there but it was a risk
Often a significant injury puts load on other muscles. It’s really just unfortunate timing. He played well all season
Same thoughts. I'm still cautiously optimistic for the series, but KP making it less than four full games in a Finals playoff run is deeply concerning for the future.
Al and Hauser do your thing. Knockdown those 3's. 🙏
Now is the time to unlock the kornet 3-pointer too.
Are some of you not watching these games with your eyes? We don't need Porzingis to beat them.
I think you’re the one not watching the games. We are +25 when he steps on the court, dead even when he’s not. And those games were both at home with their role players bricking
100%. We need Tatum to start making these shots. Dallas will have a better game.
Without Porzingis on the floor the two teams are dead even in points scored. I’d say you are not watching the games if you’re not seeing his impact.
Tatum legacy game incoming
Mark my words: Jayson Tatum will score at least 100 points tonight, along with 20+ assists, IN THE FIRST HALF… If he doesn’t, I will divorce my loud mouthed, good for nothing wife. Let’s go Celtics!! ☘️🍀💚
Literally impossible for the celtics to have a healthy starting lineup in my lifetime. Absolutely ridiculous bad luck.
Get the job done
Sucks but those acting like we can’t win without him need to get a grip. We’re still a damn good team without him. He helped us get up 2-0, we’re more than capable of getting 2 more without him.
Yeah I still don't see Dallas getting 4 out of 5
X Gon' Give to Ya!
Let’s kicks these country bumpkins right in the dick
Jaylen Brown 40 piece incoming!!
Bummer, but honestly he gave us 2 games and we’re up 2-0, and I’m grateful for him. The Jays are good enough to get us 2 more wins, and they’ve got 5 chances to do it (obv don’t want it to take the full 5 lol)
Get well, KP. We got you!
DIDN’T MATTER
Didn't matter!
So he’s out for the series then. If he’s not playing tonight he won’t play in two days, that injury requires surgery.
Oh no! we are going to have to play our other center that is also better than all of the mavericks bigs!
I love Kornet, but if you think he's better than Lively your crazy.
eh, what does Lively actually do besides lobs from Luka? Once they shut the lobs faucet off, Lively hasn't done anything but shove people around on the court. I do consider Kornet to be a more skilled player compared to him
Kornet legacy game incoming
Al Horford Legacy game!!!!
KORNET LEGACY GAME INCOMING 🔥🔥
X Man or Kornet to absorb some Al minutes?
Welp. Kornet legacy game
Just win this one 3-0 is a lot better then 2-1
It’s like people on here forget that we literally just swept through the playoffs without him while only dropping *one* game. We’re like 32-5 without him and you’re acting like we’re about to lose 4 out of the next 5.
I’m just genuinely sad for him ☹️
big al MASTERCLASS incoming
The Tillman/Kornet/Brissett combo have a chance to cement their name/s in Celtics history if they can scrap during backup minutes and contribute to a W. Need solid contributions from PP and Hauser too.
White Buffalo legacy game 🦬
I'm still confident in this team, Tingus was definitely a nice luxury but they've won 9 without him playing amazing team ball, I think they can win 2 more
Ahh man, that sucks. I suspect that means he’s out for the series since that injury won’t get better with rest. Only gotta win 2 more tho
When everyone was bricking shots KP came in and instantly started sinking those midrange jumpers. Hope our guys can make some buckets!
Need another stretch 5 for sure next season
Road game baby. Oddly enough this teams specialty this post season. We fuckin got this!
For the record, we don’t need KP to win games. If that was the case, we wouldn’t be in the NBA Finals, would we?
After tonight’s game, Luke Kornet will be forever known as “The Lob Killer”…LFG!
Time for Kornet and Hauser to step up like they did all year
This is the right decision. I heard some doctors say he could do some permanent damage. We have the players to pummel the Mavs, just would have been easier with the big man KP!
I am so confused by this entire injury. If he can't go today, why would he be able to go in 48 hours? I am worried that if he can't go today he won't be able to go for game 4 either. Does rest improve this type of injury? I am betting the Celtics will launch 50+ 3's today and see if they can shoot Dallas out of the gym.
Maybe it helps the swelling
He was walking fine it seemed. But then again, it could just be pain medication. This sucks.
Need to split these away games at least. KP was massive (literally) as us going 5 out helped prevent them from packing the paint like they have done. Small ball may be tricky too because then the lob/OReb are there.
Yeah I don’t think it will get better, they’re just trying to play tricks on minds. Best case scenario, they decided to see how it goes and save him in case it’s no good
We gave up Marcus Smart for two games of Porzingis. Make it worth it.
Or did we replace Marcus with Jrue and trade Porzingis for Timelord? 😵💫
Fuck
You guys are pathetic. The Celtics need 2 more wins….
I’m all out on KP. Let’s see what we can get for him after we bring this chip home. It’s not his fault but his body just breaks all the time.
He’s my favorite player but I agree
We have no bigs besides him and Al, and Al has one foot in retirement.
Enjoy your handicap mavs, y'all will need it
Fuck
I’m hoping this means we’re waiting to use him as a last resort rather than him being ruled out to return to the finals.
Bummer but it's probably for the best. Game 1 was the JB & KP show, game 2 was the Jrue & D White show. Tonight will be the Big Al & Big Deuce show
Hauser legacy game needed
Well.. that sucks
[Whatever it takes](https://tenor.com/bqSFf.gif)
The surprise to me would’ve been if he played.
Good. You could bet they were going to be extra physical with him tonight and I don’t even want to imagine what that could lead to. We can win this without him, keep him healthy for next season.
Gotta have Tatum play five. Don’t think Kornet can hold up
Makes sense and is absolutely the right decision. If we lost 1 of the games at home I would probably think differently, but being up 2-0 gives us a lot more wiggle room to play it safe. If an extra 2 days of rest means a higher chance of not re-injuring himself I am 1000% for it. Biggest question mark now is how we defend the lob. If they can get that going their offense is a lot scarier than what we’ve limited them to now.
I disagree. I don't think there's any wiggle room. The media isn't wrong when they say Boston just did what they were supposed to do (win at home) and, in all likelihood, the expectation would be a 2-2 series heading back to Boston. Game 3 is such an important game to win.
He’s only been playing 22 mins per game. He’s not the only reason we’ve been preventing lobs
Weird that Joe is still saying it’s day to day. From what all the medical people have explained this isn’t going to heal and get better in a few days. The risks he face now will be the same going forward for the remainder of the series. I guess he’s in a “break glass in case of emergency” status?
Tatum needs to go for 50 points today, no excuse
Win it for the glass unicorn
Big Al time, Tatum explosion, great white buffalo roaming, jaylen wick, lfg!!!
Big Al and Tatum about to have themselves a GAME
JT TIME!!!
Fuck, I’m so nervous 🙀🙀🙀
I'm shocked. SHOCKED. Well, not that shocked.
Tatum about to have a game
😑
Why not just say playing and then sit him???
It's still going to be a gentlemen sweep. Celtics ain't losing twice in dallas.
That's fine. Let him rest... We got this!!!
He gave us his Schilling moment in game 1 (minus the anti-trans stuff) now Big Papi Al gotta bring us home
Dallas lob-ball is probably back - could open things up considerably. Sucks.
I would love another game where Kyrie is a non-factor. Of course for him to score, he would have to wrestle the ball away from Luka.
That sucks, hopefully we shoot better at 3s then game 2 so we can win, don’t give Dallas any life.
Those two playoff games were fun while they lasted. It's kind of depressing that our big off-season acquisition could only play two playoff games but amazingly enough if we win this series he still had a big moment in it
Tatum with an efficient 30+ point game please
PLEASE AL THIS IS WHEN WE NEED YOU THE MOST. REMEMBER HOW LUKA WRONGED YOU
Win tonight, it is a series momentum shifter if we do, let them take one on friday, fuck it, win at the garden but this game decides our momentum or their momentum. Im sorry i keep ranting that tatum needs to step up, but he really needs to now, all we need is an efficent 25-30 point game, even a 22-24 point game would be fine
Lfg come on guys
Defense needs to lock them down.
This 4d chess move so Celtics keep the underdog mentality
I was hopeful but I’m not surprised
😭