BOSTON CELTICS (3-4)
This was a really odd season in Boston. The Celtics, without Tatum, were supposed to tank or at least be mediocre but instead, as happens sometimes (reference the 1993 Bulls), retained their championship pedigree even without the face of the franchise. Then Jayson returned sooner than expected. In hindsight, even though he regained form quickly, that was mistake number one. The way dudes were playing, you shoulda let them the finish the season out as is. You see how they almost beat the Sixers, at full strength, in Game 7 without Tatum.
And while we're crying over spilt milk, let it also be known that I'm strong advocate of continuity. Age factors, salaries, injuries, etc., you don't breakup a proven championship-level team prematurely, just because the star of the show is unable to play or whatever, taking for granted that your braintrust will promptly recuperate. That's akin to quitting, besides betraying fans, and it's like the whole conclusive lesson of The Last Dance. I'm not saying that still having Holiday, Porzingis and Horford around would have made a difference. But we'll never know, will we?
You can't tell a team that it's better to just play a season out without a star if he misses important segments and then suddenly at the last second, emerges playable. Squads like the Sixers and Pistons also took such risks, and for them it paid off.
Embiid, hobbled he may be, emerged as the x-factor against Boston. So I guess the ultimate lesson in all this, as has been the case for seasons (even when they did recently win a championship), is please Celtics, try to acquire a consistent, playable, above-average big. Why they decided not to play Vucevic in Game 7, who knows? And I'm not taking anything away from Queta, who's an overachiever. But it's time to start taking the paint seriously again. You can't have like rookies and shit running all roughshod over you during the playoffs.
ORLANDO MAGIC (3-4)
I'm not convinced that the Pistons are the better team. Deeper, yes. But what I rather believe is that if Franz Wagner remained playable, the Magic would have took it in five or six. There really isn't much reason, based on this series, to believe otherwise.
Maxxing Wagner out was a controversial decision, one of the main reasons (besides the fact he isn't a superstar) being his unpredictable health. Health-wise, he's like a typical European in the NBA - an exceptional offensive force, but you wouldn't want to overplay (or overpay) him.
I'm also having a hard time understanding Orlando's fascination with Wendell Carter Jr. I've been saying for year and years, even back when the Warriors were still formidable and everyone was still on this smallball shit, that the Magic needed to upgrade in the post.
Instead, they went out and acquired Bane. I'm not going lie - that move panned out a lot better than I expected, if you consider barely making the playoffs and taking the number-one seed to seven games in the First Round an accomplishment. Now, Orlando is just a couple of moves away for real. They need to add a big who's actually effective and figure out a way to mitigate offensive deficiencies during those inevitable times when Franz can't play.
And ideally, they won't lose anyone in the process of rectifying those woes, as what ultimately did the Magic in against Detroit, more than anything, was lack of depth. About midway through Game 6, dudes just ran out of steam and never fully regained it, outside of Banchero and his skinnier, less-talented yet still effective clone, Anthony Black. Games 6 and 7, you could see Orlando came out hot (as usual); the Pistons really couldn't do shit about it, but the Magic couldn't maintain the pace.
And by the way whatever happened to Jonathan Isaac? Remember that dude, a defensive specialist? If he wasn't all banged up, the Magic would've won.
TORONTO RAPTORS (3-4)
As usual, despite their winning ways, the Cavs have failed to instill confidence in their fans. They're one of the top 5, if not top 3, deepest teams in the NBA. Yet the struggled to best a best an opponent with two of its starters missing the entire series.
Let's not forget that besides Ingram, who's a reigning All-Star, Quickley also isn't playable. So instead, we have dudes starting who I never heard of before, like this cat Shead, proving heroes against one of the most-talented rosters in the league. This series had sort of that Minnesota vs. Denver quality to it.
Right before that Game 7, I stumbled across a video arguing that the Beard is 'the worst-performing superstar in NBA history'. Until watching that clip, I didn't really know it was that bad. In Game 7, if you look at the box score, he didn't really fare well at all, as the only reason he got near 20 pts was due to freethrows.
I know this isn't supposed to be about Cleveland, but it hindsight, that Harden trade looks sorta like one step forward, two steps backwards. I won't go as far as to say that Mitchell is better at the point. Harden is a lot better at getting his teammates involved. But like his cohort, Donovan needs, indeed deserves the ball in his hand. And that's the dilemma - having two deserving, ball dominant points (similar to when Garland was around) - on top of James' tendency to fizzle out.
That said, out of all the teams eliminated in the First Round, I would say that Toronto is the one that least needs a major roster change (outside of maybe acquiring a Giannis or something like that). Their team is set, but damn those injuries, especially when it comes to the likes of Ingram.
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