I mean they struggled in the playoffs every year but that one so seems like a reasonable take? And until recently the east was a very weak conference.
Every playoffs have mad injuries, so I wouldn’t say they only got it because they were lucky. I just think its a little less impressive because it was the most injured playoffs ever.
I mean I still think they’re a top 5 team, but I think the celtics smack them up. Watching them they just don’t seem that impressive outside of Giannis. Their defense this year was ranked #15
They have 18 more regular season wins than any other team over the past 4 seasons. They have 9 more or 36% more playoff wins than any other NBA team over the past 4 seasons. The only team with a higher playoff winning percentage than the Bucks is the Lakers, which is based on them titling in the bubble but missing the playoffs two of the past four.
I don’t blame you for not realizing that the Bucks have been the best team in the NBA, because the media doesn’t seem to realize it either.
If it wasn’t for Covid, Bucks are probably 2x defending champs right now. They were the clear best team in the league during the 19-20 season prior to the Covid shutdown, and no team’s performance was probably as different between the season and the bubble as the Bucks. Probably hurt that Giannis didn’t even have access to a basketball hoop during quarantine.
My point is simply the fact that the Bucks are completely disrespected by the sports media and fans in general given that they are the defending champions and had the best regular season record in the two years prior to that. They also have the player who has been the most valuable cumulatively over the past four NBA seasons, and he’s only 27. But they are completely ignored due to coastal bias.
While I’m ranting about NBA media, I got something for the Boston Celtics. It’s complete BS that they are treated like NBA royalty with their one title in the past 35 years.
I like the idea that we should all normalize that NBA titles won pre-merger should be talked about the way NFL titles won prior to the super bowl era are. So the Celtics bragging about their 17 titles when only 4 are post-merger would be like the Cleveland Browns bragging about their 8 titles, or the Detroit Lions talking about their 4 titles.
I had assumed the Celtics were getting love because they ended the year going 28-7 with a PD of nearly 15 PPG and then swept a team that many thought had legit title equity.
The Celtics are at least winning. They aren’t stealing attention that should go to the Bucks. The Lakers and Nets are the teams who soaked up the undeserved spotlight.
This is a mischaracterization of what actually happened. The Bucks didn’t care who they played first round, and chose to rest their key players over fighting for a seed that didn’t matter. The Celtics had to try to win the 2 seed, because they were either going to be 2 or 4 and couldn’t risk the fact that their unvaccinated players wouldn’t be able to play in Toronto.
Oh my, no - the Bucks wanted nothing to do with the Nets. You remember last year the series went to 7 even with all the Nets crippling injuries? Bucks tripped all over themselves this year to try to avoid them. Might have been smart, Bucks might have a better shot against the Celtics.