For the most part, the NBA (especially in its recent era) is a copycat league.
They were pretty open about how that trade changed everything.
When the Warriors Dynasty showed up, the game changed again.
Now you needed elite three point shooting, and a whole lot of it.
To win at a high level, you had to be able to match that key in of firepower.
No longer could you trade 3s for 2s if you wanted to reach the top of the mountain.
As a result, we saw teams try and replicate this, like the James Harden Rockets teams.
When the Denver Nuggets became a force and won their title, things shifted again.
Basically, the champs decide what the rest of the league is going to look like.
Enter the 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics (maybe you’ve heard of them).
All season long, I screamed it until I was blue in the face.
You’re just not.
The Cavs were trotting out Max Strus and small guards like Darius Garland.
They couldn’t stop the Celtics wings/guards from getting into the paint.
Their perimeter defense, led by their best player, was dogshit.
To beat the new Kings of The NBA, you have to be able to match up with them.
If it’s possible for you to’t, nothing you do or try is going to work.
In the playoffs, it all boils down to matchups.
Can you present a challenge that your opponent simply cannot solve due to their roster construction?
If the answer is yes, you will become a champion.
As I said, this is a copycat league that morphs into whatever the current champ is.
What have they done?
What has caused all this you think?
To beat the champs, you have to do your best to build a replica of the champs.
There were really only two teams thattrulygave the 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics fits.
One being the at the time defending champs Denver Nuggets, and the other the Minnesota Timberwolves.
What do both of those teams have in common?
They have elite size at every position and multiple legit perimeter defenders.
If you could’t keep Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum out of the paint, you are cooked.
It’s really as simple as that.
So to do that, you need elite wing defenders who can guard their yard without help.
How Brad Stevens has built his roster for the foreseeable future means things aren’t changing any time soon.
Sadly, it’s still not enough.
Deep down in their gut, Knicks fans know that.
That hole unfortunately still exists.
