2025 NBA Season

[Vaculin]

The Denver Nuggets just had the better team.  The Lakers had no answer for Jamal Murray or MPJ.  Not to mention the Lakers were a team thrown together at the last minute who barely played together while the Nuggets have been building their team for years.  I think if the Lakers had a healthy LeBron for an entire year and were able to address some of their weaknesses in the offseason, they could have a shot.  It'll be tough though with teams like Denver existing, who are still very young and could be a new dynasty.

There's no doubt the Nuggets are better than the Lakers, as they didn't even give them a chance to come back in that series. However, we should also give credit to the Lakers, as they've done surprisingly well this season, especially in the playoffs. Honestly, I think getting rid of Westbrook was a turning point for the Lakers because that's when they started to perform much better.

Yeah man I mean when your best player has been in the league for 20 years, and you still make your way to the conference finals, that's damn impressive.  I didn't expect them to take out the Golden State Warriors, even though I was certainly hoping that they would.

It was a positive year for them despite not making it on to the championships.  Hope Lebron comes back.  I think he will though.

Yes, I definitely agree. There might be a lot of people who don't like him and criticizes him for what he does, but fact is, there's nobody in the league or even in the history that played impressively for 20 years consecutively. Some would argue and some will not but LeBron James certainly deserved to have some credits because with his age, he was still able to give the team a heads up with AD's help towards the Western conference finals.

About his statement and rumors, I think he will rest for at least one season because I do recall that he got an injury before the post season commenced. He needed a surgery for that one to fix his foot but he intentionally delayed the surgery because his team badly needed him as that kind of surgery is a season ending injury.

[yazher]

They will certainly make adjustments after being dominated in Game 4. It cannot happen again, especially on their home court. However, knowing the Heat, they are a good team on the road, as they won the first 2 games. So, the Celtics still need to continue playing with high intensity. At least the Celtics weren't swept, as it would be embarrassing for a team at the top to be swept. They might have a similar fate as the Bucks.

That's what the Miami Heat need next game, they need a stoppage because they cannot afford to lose two straight games in this round they cannot afford to put their chance to get to the Finals on the like just because they were easily beat those Celtics guys in their first 3 games, Looks like the Celtics are not gonna give up either and obviously they will be a more intense game in their homecourt and the and will also be cheering loud for them to boost their hearts and hoping will probably be the first to survive a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoffs.

[Maslate]

They will certainly make adjustments after being dominated in Game 4. It cannot happen again, especially on their home court. However, knowing the Heat, they are a good team on the road, as they won the first 2 games. So, the Celtics still need to continue playing with high intensity. At least the Celtics weren't swept, as it would be embarrassing for a team at the top to be swept. They might have a similar fate as the Bucks.

That's what the Miami Heat need next game, they need a stoppage because they cannot afford to lose two straight games in this round they cannot afford to put their chance to get to the Finals on the like just because they were easily beat those Celtics guys in their first 3 games, Looks like the Celtics are not gonna give up either and obviously they will be a more intense game in their homecourt and the and will also be cheering loud for them to boost their hearts and hoping will probably be the first to survive a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoffs.

It's not certain that they will win the next game as the Celtics will surely play harder on their home court. However, in case Miami loses again, they need to treat Game 6 as if it were Game 7 because the pressure will be on them if they allow that to happen. Miami looked bad in that game, but they are still ahead 3-1 in the series, so there's no need to worry about their status. They just need to correct their mistakes, and they'll be fine.

In Game 5, I have a feeling that the Celtics will be heavily favored, so why not bet on the Heat to win the game? The moneyline odds would be attractive, similar to Game 1 and 2.

[ultrloa]

They will certainly make adjustments after being dominated in Game 4. It cannot happen again, especially on their home court. However, knowing the Heat, they are a good team on the road, as they won the first 2 games. So, the Celtics still need to continue playing with high intensity. At least the Celtics weren't swept, as it would be embarrassing for a team at the top to be swept. They might have a similar fate as the Bucks.

That's what the Miami Heat need next game, they need a stoppage because they cannot afford to lose two straight games in this round they cannot afford to put their chance to get to the Finals on the like just because they were easily beat those Celtics guys in their first 3 games, Looks like the Celtics are not gonna give up either and obviously they will be a more intense game in their homecourt and the and will also be cheering loud for them to boost their hearts and hoping will probably be the first to survive a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoffs.

Celtics is on fire earlier and they connect to many shoots compare to Heat where they struggle to much to defend the shooters of Celtics. They need a huge adjustment because for sure Celtics will work hard to extend this series and they gain momentum as they win today's game against Heat.  If they want to defeat Celtics they need to be more aggressive inside the paint and double team Tatum and Brown when they touch the ball so that they can pressure those guys and cannot heat up the game.

[btc_angela]

They will certainly make adjustments after being dominated in Game 4. It cannot happen again, especially on their home court. However, knowing the Heat, they are a good team on the road, as they won the first 2 games. So, the Celtics still need to continue playing with high intensity. At least the Celtics weren't swept, as it would be embarrassing for a team at the top to be swept. They might have a similar fate as the Bucks.

That's what the Miami Heat need next game, they need a stoppage because they cannot afford to lose two straight games in this round they cannot afford to put their chance to get to the Finals on the like just because they were easily beat those Celtics guys in their first 3 games, Looks like the Celtics are not gonna give up either and obviously they will be a more intense game in their homecourt and the and will also be cheering loud for them to boost their hearts and hoping will probably be the first to survive a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoffs.

It's not certain that they will win the next game as the Celtics will surely play harder on their home court. However, in case Miami loses again, they need to treat Game 6 as if it were Game 7 because the pressure will be on them if they allow that to happen. Miami looked bad in that game, but they are still ahead 3-1 in the series, so there's no need to worry about their status. They just need to correct their mistakes, and they'll be fine.

In Game 5, I have a feeling that the Celtics will be heavily favored, so why not bet on the Heat to win the game? The moneyline odds would be attractive, similar to Game 1 and 2.

They will be the heavy favorite as it will be in their home court, the Boston Garden. But the question is that if they can still go and win the next game, at least that game so that they can force a game 6 and game 7 to boot because as I have said previously, no team has ever comeback from 3-0 deficit and win the series in a playoff.

And when we thought that the Heat will win and close out the show and put their showdown in the finals with the Nuggets, they still give a breathing room for the Celtics. But it will be a dog fight next game, for sure Jimmy Butler will take over or will Tatum lead the Celtics again, we will see.

[carlisle1]

They will certainly make adjustments after being dominated in Game 4. It cannot happen again, especially on their home court. However, knowing the Heat, they are a good team on the road, as they won the first 2 games. So, the Celtics still need to continue playing with high intensity. At least the Celtics weren't swept, as it would be embarrassing for a team at the top to be swept. They might have a similar fate as the Bucks.

That's what the Miami Heat need next game, they need a stoppage because they cannot afford to lose two straight games in this round they cannot afford to put their chance to get to the Finals on the like just because they were easily beat those Celtics guys in their first 3 games, Looks like the Celtics are not gonna give up either and obviously they will be a more intense game in their homecourt and the and will also be cheering loud for them to boost their hearts and hoping will probably be the first to survive a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoffs.

It's not certain that they will win the next game as the Celtics will surely play harder on their home court. However, in case Miami loses again, they need to treat Game 6 as if it were Game 7 because the pressure will be on them if they allow that to happen. Miami looked bad in that game, but they are still ahead 3-1 in the series, so there's no need to worry about their status. They just need to correct their mistakes, and they'll be fine.

In Game 5, I have a feeling that the Celtics will be heavily favored, so why not bet on the Heat to win the game? The moneyline odds would be attractive, similar to Game 1 and 2.

They will be the heavy favorite as it will be in their home court, the Boston Garden. But the question is that if they can still go and win the next game, at least that game so that they can force a game 6 and game 7 to boot because as I have said previously, no team has ever comeback from 3-0 deficit and win the series in a playoff.

And when we thought that the Heat will win and close out the show and put their showdown in the finals with the Nuggets, they still give a breathing room for the Celtics. But it will be a dog fight next game, for sure Jimmy Butler will take over or will Tatum lead the Celtics again, we will see.

The chance of winning is always possible as they will try it harder to extend the series. I'm also one of those fans who
believe that Heat will end this at home, but it didn't happen.

Boston manages to win and now they will again try for another one. As you mentioned, there's no team who manages to make a comeback from
3-0 deficit.

Let's see the fate of both teams now, one game away for Miami while Boston will try to win for another extension of the series.

[Yamifoud]

Do you guys think that Denver might be the strongest now knowing that they swept the Lakers?

I don't think so. Maybe they'll win the NBA Finals, but I believe they won't be able to dominate.

If we compare the journey of the Heat, assuming they'll advance, they have had tougher battles compared to the Denver Nuggets. So, although the betting lines guarantee that the Nuggets are the heavy favorites, I think Miami will be underrated, so I like to take their underdog odds.

This will likely reach a minimum of 6 games.

The only reason why Heat journey looks like more tougher than Nuggets because Miami is 8th seed while Nuggets is the top seed on the west that means Miami is the underdog while Nuggets is known strong. West team is much more stronger than East team. I doubt Heat can sweep Lakers with healthy LBJ and AD while Nuggets can beat those team that Heat beat on the East.

Nuggets shows how dominant they are from regular season to playoffs. If their record seems not appealing to you for categorizing them as dominant team then I don’t know what’s dominant team looks like in terms of records.

Nuggets has the most balance roster that even a super team got sweep.

Not really, even if we will based it on the championship odds before the playoffs, the top 2 teams belongs to the east which are the favorites to win.

1. Boston Celtics: +550 2. Milwaukee Bucks: +600 3. Golden State Warriors: +650 4. Los Angeles Clippers: +700 5. Brooklyn Nets: +800 6. Phoenix Suns: +1000 7. Philadelphia 76ers: +1400 8. Los Angeles Lakers: +1800 9. Miami Heat: +1800 10. Denver Nuggets: +2000

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/nba-finals-odds-2022-23-season

So the Heat will liikely beat the top 2 if they'll be able to finish the Celtics in this series, beating the top 2 teams, I called that a tougher journey. And that betting odds are created by bookmakers who are experts on sports, so we cannot question that.

[jeraldskie11]

They will certainly make adjustments after being dominated in Game 4. It cannot happen again, especially on their home court. However, knowing the Heat, they are a good team on the road, as they won the first 2 games. So, the Celtics still need to continue playing with high intensity. At least the Celtics weren't swept, as it would be embarrassing for a team at the top to be swept. They might have a similar fate as the Bucks.

That's what the Miami Heat need next game, they need a stoppage because they cannot afford to lose two straight games in this round they cannot afford to put their chance to get to the Finals on the like just because they were easily beat those Celtics guys in their first 3 games, Looks like the Celtics are not gonna give up either and obviously they will be a more intense game in their homecourt and the and will also be cheering loud for them to boost their hearts and hoping will probably be the first to survive a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoffs.

It's not certain that they will win the next game as the Celtics will surely play harder on their home court. However, in case Miami loses again, they need to treat Game 6 as if it were Game 7 because the pressure will be on them if they allow that to happen. Miami looked bad in that game, but they are still ahead 3-1 in the series, so there's no need to worry about their status. They just need to correct their mistakes, and they'll be fine.

In Game 5, I have a feeling that the Celtics will be heavily favored, so why not bet on the Heat to win the game? The moneyline odds would be attractive, similar to Game 1 and 2.

They will be the heavy favorite as it will be in their home court, the Boston Garden. But the question is that if they can still go and win the next game, at least that game so that they can force a game 6 and game 7 to boot because as I have said previously, no team has ever comeback from 3-0 deficit and win the series in a playoff.

And when we thought that the Heat will win and close out the show and put their showdown in the finals with the Nuggets, they still give a breathing room for the Celtics. But it will be a dog fight next game, for sure Jimmy Butler will take over or will Tatum lead the Celtics again, we will see.

The chance of winning is always possible as they will try it harder to extend the series. I'm also one of those fans who
believe that Heat will end this at home, but it didn't happen.

Boston manages to win and now they will again try for another one. As you mentioned, there's no team who manages to make a comeback from
3-0 deficit.

Let's see the fate of both teams now, one game away for Miami while Boston will try to win for another extension of the series.

Something happened that they won from 1-3, the Cavs then. It will be difficult for people to come back because they still need to win three straight times to become champions. It`s definitely not easy because it's the NBA finals, and it's the best team they've ever fought against because they won their conference finals but CAVS came back and win the championship.

Now, it's the Heat and Celtics, they need to win a 4 straight to win the championship. It's a bit impossible but we can't predict the time they might still win, and it will become history if it happens.

[Hypnosis00]

Now, it's the Heat and Celtics, they need to win a 4 straight to win the championship. It's a bit impossible but we can't predict the time they might still win, and it will become history if it happens.

Nope, the Celtics only need to win three straight games because they have already won one game. It's not impossible, though based on the record, no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit. It would be the Celtics who would be the first to do so, but I doubt this series will reach Game 7.

[Pamadar]

Now, it's the Heat and Celtics, they need to win a 4 straight to win the championship. It's a bit impossible but we can't predict the time they might still win, and it will become history if it happens.

Nope, the Celtics only need to win three straight games because they have already won one game. It's not impossible, though based on the record, no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit. It would be the Celtics who would be the first to do so, but I doubt this series will reach Game 7.

A big comeback if ever Boston will manage to snatch this series after that 3-0 standing.

After this win, the game will be on their home court. Maybe they can push another one, but we also know the capabilities of Miami,
they can upset their opponents in a road game. It's now a battle of great adjustment between the two coaches and how the players
will execute the design play,Superstars together with all the role players who'll going to have the chance to play are all expected
to perform all the best to win the game.

[Shamm]

Now, it's the Heat and Celtics, they need to win a 4 straight to win the championship. It's a bit impossible but we can't predict the time they might still win, and it will become history if it happens.

Nope, the Celtics only need to win three straight games because they have already won one game. It's not impossible, though based on the record, no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit. It would be the Celtics who would be the first to do so, but I doubt this series will reach Game 7.

A big comeback if ever Boston will manage to snatch this series after that 3-0 standing.

After this win, the game will be on their home court. Maybe they can push another one, but we also know the capabilities of Miami,
they can upset their opponents in a road game. It's now a battle of great adjustment between the two coaches and how the players
will execute the design play,Superstars together with all the role players who'll go to have the chance to play are all expected
to perform all the best to win the game.

3-1 standing for this series seems very hard to critics cause as we all know that there are many changes to the plan from Miami and also they need to win Another 3 consecutive game in order to do a big comeback but I think Miami will not give that easily as they are needing 1 game to win and claim the champion and a chance to face Denver Nuggets.  and for critics there a chance to win another 1 game because the upcoming game is in their home court which is a big advantages.

[Yaunfitda]

Now, it's the Heat and Celtics, they need to win a 4 straight to win the championship. It's a bit impossible but we can't predict the time they might still win, and it will become history if it happens.

Nope, the Celtics only need to win three straight games because they have already won one game. It's not impossible, though based on the record, no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit. It would be the Celtics who would be the first to do so, but I doubt this series will reach Game 7.

Yes, it's really hard to do it, with the way the competition is against a very tough team like the Miami Heat who stole 2 games from them in their own Boston Garden. So the Celtics will still be the favorite in game 5, however, that has been the case since game 1.

Not discounting the fact that they can do it, but then against the statistics are not favoring them here. So it's going to be a very close game in my opinion in the next game and its hard to predict who is going to win. But perhaps at the end of it all, the Heat is going to the finals.

[OgNasty]

I was honestly surprised that the Celtics were able to win and stay alive here. Usually faced against those odds you teams give up halfway through the game and end up getting blown out. Now they’re delaying the inevitable but I’m glad for any extra games we get to watch this time of year. Seems like we are set for a Nuggets vs Heat Finals. Thursday will make it official.

[tusandii]

I was honestly surprised that the Celtics were able to win and stay alive here. Usually faced against those odds you teams give up halfway through the game and end up getting blown out. Now they’re delaying the inevitable but I’m glad for any extra games we get to watch this time of year. Seems like we are set for a Nuggets vs Heat Finals. Thursday will make it official.

Yes for the 4th game the Celtics won over the Miami Heat and in the 5th game I decided to bet the Celtics.
But for now the Miami Heat are still ahead of from 4 games with a 3 - 1 advantage and if in 3 games later the Celtics can get all the wins then they can add points to be in first place in the Eastern Conference standings.

[danherbias07]

Celtics finally got a win, but there is no way they can win 4 in a row. All they did was delay the inevitable IMO. I was hoping we seen history though and both series finals ended with sweeps.

That might be right. Well, it's just nice to see that they avoided a sweep because it really looks bad for a 2nd seed in the playoff rankings to lose that way.

Do you guys think that Denver might be the strongest now knowing that they swept the Lakers?

I don't want to assume yet. I want to see Game 1 first if ever it is the Miami Heat who will be the Nuggets' opponent. Just like how I didn't assume before they battled the Lakers. After I saw Games 1 and 2, that's when I said to myself that it was either a sweep or Game 5 ending because of how strong the Nuggets showed their skills and defensive adjustments when they faced the Lakers.
I didn't bet for the Lakers but I only won 2 games for betting with the Nuggets on all 4 games. Sadly, I lack 1 point to cover the spread on games 1 and 2.  But, my point is, I didn't bet for the Lakers on the whole series. I just didn't feel any instincts that they can withstand against the strong Nuggets.
And probably because this is a revenge game for them after being defeated in the bubble.

Have you guys watched this: Jamal Murray: The Return | Feature Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nlfjS7AizY
It's a summarized story of Jamal Murray and the Nuggets before and after his injury and the process. He said here "We can win this year, and next year."

[inthelongrun]

I was honestly surprised that the Celtics were able to win and stay alive here. Usually faced against those odds you teams give up halfway through the game and end up getting blown out. Now they’re delaying the inevitable but I’m glad for any extra games we get to watch this time of year. Seems like we are set for a Nuggets vs Heat Finals. Thursday will make it official.

Yes for the 4th game the Celtics won over the Miami Heat and in the 5th game I decided to bet the Celtics.
But for now the Miami Heat are still ahead of from 4 games with a 3 - 1 advantage and if in 3 games later the Celtics can get all the wins then they can add points to be in first place in the Eastern Conference standings.

I am also surprised that Boston Celtics were able to steal a game in this series and it was at Miami's home court. Miami better not feel too overconfident here because the next game is back to Boston again and another win might bring back their confidence and hope. They need to stay sharp and focused.

I also favor Boston to win game 5 but as a fan I want Miami to close the series and not give the Nuggets a lot of days to rest. Jimmy said that they will go to Boston for game 5 with a different mindset and they will enjoy the game.

[wheelz1200]

Heat just proven that ESPN's analytics is just another analytics but not the actuality of what can happen into the game and match ups.

Celtics has already gone even before this game started. It's like more of formality that they'll be seen on the game 4 and they should have just conceded to allow the win to Heat but I don't know if this is allowed as per NBA ruling.

I will also say that Miami Heat and Nuggets are going to be the finalists.

You're not the only one that sees that, most of us have it in our minds that these two will be the ones playing the NBA finals.

No ypu can't just concede a game and in the world we live in if it was even remotely determined they threw the game it would cause an earthquake in sports.  Being down 0-3 is not optimal but why wouldn't you think they wouldn't try.  I means it's for the right to go to the finals.  I'm throwing money on the Celtics it's tough to get a straight sweep in the playoffs.

When their ego and morale is down and it's been seen like there's a hint that they just want to end it up. I thought that by just not showing up to the game and they'll just give the win to the opponent by default is like the quickest way to do it. But I get the point and this is pro-basketball and as long as there's a chance, it should be played.

@livingfree,
Actually, I was a little disappointed, to be honest with the performance that the Lakers have shown.
At the start, I really did not think that these two are actually going to be the finalist.
That's why I am genuinely a little surprised.

When they're down by two, everyone expected by third game it will be theirs but we're all wrong with that expectation and that goes to show that we have the idea where this is going.

And this is why the games are played.  Past results don't equal future predictions.  This is for a shot at the finals did you really think they are just gonna lay down and say nah we'll give it a go next year you guys can take this one lol.  This isn't recreation sports.  This is the highest level in the world.  Not to mention these dude make millions a year to play

[Volgastallion]

The main problem of Celtics its they dont have any buffer, they cant lose any of the remaining games, and they cant lose any of their players, they are really bad positioning.

In the other hand the more lenghten the series the better for Denver, they are gonna arrive to the finals much more rest than the other teams.

[blockman]

The main problem of Celtics its they dont have any buffer, they cant lose any of the remaining games, and they cant lose any of their players, they are really bad positioning.

In the other hand the more lenghten the series the better for Denver, they are gonna arrive to the finals much more rest than the other teams.

It's certain that they're going to lose the remaining games. Good that they've won at least one while the Lakers didn't even have a chance to win against the Denver Nuggets. While the Nuggets are waiting, they're able to take a long rest and if Celtics will prolong this series with the Heat then that's also an advantage for the Nuggets. We have the same thought as for Denver, that's favorable to them so if the Heat won't end the game 5 then more time for healing and resting for the Nuggets.

[Japinat]

They will certainly make adjustments after being dominated in Game 4. It cannot happen again, especially on their home court. However, knowing the Heat, they are a good team on the road, as they won the first 2 games. So, the Celtics still need to continue playing with high intensity. At least the Celtics weren't swept, as it would be embarrassing for a team at the top to be swept. They might have a similar fate as the Bucks.

That's what the Miami Heat need next game, they need a stoppage because they cannot afford to lose two straight games in this round they cannot afford to put their chance to get to the Finals on the like just because they were easily beat those Celtics guys in their first 3 games, Looks like the Celtics are not gonna give up either and obviously they will be a more intense game in their homecourt and the and will also be cheering loud for them to boost their hearts and hoping will probably be the first to survive a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoffs.

It's not certain that they will win the next game as the Celtics will surely play harder on their home court. However, in case Miami loses again, they need to treat Game 6 as if it were Game 7 because the pressure will be on them if they allow that to happen. Miami looked bad in that game, but they are still ahead 3-1 in the series, so there's no need to worry about their status. They just need to correct their mistakes, and they'll be fine.

In Game 5, I have a feeling that the Celtics will be heavily favored, so why not bet on the Heat to win the game? The moneyline odds would be attractive, similar to Game 1 and 2.

They will be the heavy favorite as it will be in their home court, the Boston Garden. But the question is that if they can still go and win the next game, at least that game so that they can force a game 6 and game 7 to boot because as I have said previously, no team has ever comeback from 3-0 deficit and win the series in a playoff.

And when we thought that the Heat will win and close out the show and put their showdown in the finals with the Nuggets, they still give a breathing room for the Celtics. But it will be a dog fight next game, for sure Jimmy Butler will take over or will Tatum lead the Celtics again, we will see.

Either way, I'm still rooting to see a one entertaining game but my bets is saying the opposite thing as I surely do hope that the Heat will beat the Celtics in their next game and so that they can have some little rest before they proceed into the last phase where they will face the already rested and healthy Denver Nuggets. I reckon that the Celtics will give the Heat a good fight in the first half but in the long term, which is in the 2nd half, the Heat will continue to dictate the game and bring the win in their favor to close the series.