The Boston Celtics are your 2024 NBA champions and Los Angeles Lakers fans aren’t taking that too well. The Celtics now have one more championship than their eternal rivals (18 to 17) and a Lakers fan took to X to discredit this title run by claiming it might have been the easiest ever.
“Celtics EASIEST championship ever?
– Heat without Jimmy Butler & Rozier
– Cavs without Donovan Mitchell & Jarrett Allen
– Pacers without Haliburton & they quit
– Mavs with PJ Washington & Kleber”
Celtics EASIEST championship ever? 💀
– Heat without Jimmy Butler & Rozier
– Cavs without Donovan Mitchell & Jarrett Allen
– Pacers without Haliburton & they quit
– Mavs with PJ Washington & Kleber
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) June 18, 2024
The post went viral and NBA fans had some interesting reactions to it.
One stated the Celtics should get no credit.
I speak for everyone when I say Celtics get no credit for this hospital ring
— #FireHarbaugh (@L4MARVELOUS) June 18, 2024
A fan stated LeBron James would have swept every team the Celtics played in this run.
Lebron sweeps every team they faced
— 👑 (@Lebronin1) June 18, 2024
One stated these Celtics are the most fraudulent champions since the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers.
Most fraudulent team to win the championship since the 2020 dodgers
— Ayiukd (@DeeboSmif) June 18, 2024
A fan stated an asterisk is needed next to this championship.
We need an asterisk
— Saul🔱 💅✨ (@ZenZ3n_s81694) June 18, 2024
One pushed back by stating that these same Lakers fans celebrate the “Bubble” championship.
lol this dude celebrated the Bubble Chip
— The DC Casual (@CHI2DC) June 18, 2024
It can certainly be termed ironic for Lakers fans to make such claims. Let’s have a look at the points that this user brought up.
First Round: Jimmy Butler And Terry Rozier Were Out For The Heat
The Celtics faced the Miami Heat in the first round, in a rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat had won that matchup in seven games but were brushed aside in five this time around.
A big reason for that was Jimmy Butler missing the series due to a sprained right MCL, which he suffered in the Play-In Tournament against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat were also without Terry Rozier, who missed the series because of a neck sprain.
Eastern Conference Semifinals: Donovan Mitchell Missed 2 Games And Jarrett Allen Was Out
The Celtics then faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Cavaliers had seen Jarrett Allen suffer a right rib contusion in the first round against the Orlando Magic and he wasn’t able to recover in time to play any part in the series against the Celtics.
To make matters worse, Donovan Mitchell then went down with a strained left calf and couldn’t play after Game 3. With their star guard out, the Cavaliers didn’t stand a chance and lost 4-1.
Conference Finals: Tyrese Haliburton Missed 2 Games
The Conference Finals saw the Celtics take on the Indiana Pacers, who had also benefited from some key players on their opponents suffering injuries. Unfortunately for the Pacers, it was now their turn to be struck by the injury bug.
Tyrese Haliburton suffered a hamstring injury in Game 2 and missed the rest of the series. The Pacers battled hard without their superstar point guard but ended up getting swept.
NBA Finals: PJ And Kleber Are Good Players
As for the NBA Finals, that fan ruthlessly pointed to P.J. Washington and Maxi Kleber being on the Dallas Mavericks’ roster as a reason why it was easy for the Celtics. The two certainly struggled in the series.
Washington averaged 10.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.6 blocks per game against the Celtics. He only shot 40.6% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc.
Kleber, meanwhile, put up 1.8 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. He shot a woeful 25.0% from the field and 16.7% from three.
They are still good players, though, with Washington, in particular, playing a key role in the Mavericks getting to the Finals. It just so happened that they played their worst basketball at the worst possible time.
On the injury front, Luka Doncic was clearly not fully healthy, but he was still out there and played at a fairly high level. Would the outcome have been different had Doncic not had to play through injuries? We’ll never know.
While it is evident that the Celtics did get some breaks along the way, I am not going to discredit their run. If you want to, you could point to every title-winning team getting lucky in some way or the other.
The Denver Nuggets last year lucked out by facing the Minnesota Timberwolves without Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid. The year before that, the Golden State Warriors faced a Nuggets team without Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray. Even Ja Morant had gone down when they faced the Memphis Grizzlies in the Conference Semifinals. Title-winning teams just almost always end up getting lucky at some point along the way.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
