(06-02-2024, 05:25 PM)HoosierDaddyKid Wrote: Not the best of that gauntlet? I don't know how you can make that claim when Boston was head and shoulder's the best team in the NBA this year. They had one of the largest point differentials of any team in NBA history during the season. They also blew more twenty point leads as well. Maybe they get bored and take their foot off the gas. I don't have a clue. But that definitely can't happen vs this Mavs team for sure.
I would argue that they are not "head and shoulder's the best team in the NBA this year." A team's record is a construct of their competition. Here's another way to look at it. If OKC had been in the Eastern Conference, I could easily imagine them winning 7 more games and being a 64-win team.
Boston had losses to almost all the playoff teams in the west - Minnesota, Denver, LAC, OKC, Golden State, and the Lakers. Dallas and Phoenix were the lone exceptions. While Boston is the East's best team by far, I would argue that they merely get lumped with maybe five very good NBA teams playing at the end of the season. They are certainly not the 2017 Golden State Warriors or even last year's Denver team.