DNHQ Rooting Guide: ECF Boston vs. Indiana; plus open thread

Boston up 3-0 but maybe ought to be down 1-2

See the master index at Dub Nation HQ Rooting Guide For Other Teams.

Boston Celtics

Ex-Warriors

• None.

Friends

• Jrue Holiday. Hard working, great defender, two-way talent. Fierce rival, but also a big public fan of Stephen Curry.

• Steph Curry and Jayson Tatum seem to have some mutual respect.

Warriors Villains

• None.

Petty Rivalries

• Jaylen Brown went to Cal if you care about that.

  • Abaddon writes: in the great Steph/Kyrie duel in 2018(?) Steph was seen visibly flapping his right hand at Brown after hitting a three over and around his defense. He also was jawing at Brown. It was a while ago and I’m not sure if there’s been anything since, but it is so rare to see Steph directly taunting someone that it sticks out in my memory.

  • Jaylen seems to drifting into Kyrie-lite territory. He also seems to be sowing all kinds of internal turmoil in BOS, which you may regard as uncool or helpful for GSW.

Team Grudges

• The 2022 Finals were bitterly fought and the BOS fans really brought the bile in antagonizing Draymond Green. But that’s sports for you. It worked to throw Dray off his game and also made Steph elevate his game in the legendary Game 4.

• Long history of racism from Celtics fans.

• Isaiah Thomas played through his sister’s death and various injuries at the cost of his career and was immediately dumped by BOS for Kyrie Irving. Pretty shocking move even if the league’s motto is “It’s Just A Business”.

• Celtics fans talk a lot about their many championships, omitting the fact that they’ve won 1 championship since 1986, and most of the previous ones came from Red Auerbach ripping off other hobbyist owners when the league was eight teams that could barely get a highlight on TV.

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Indiana Pacers

Ex-Warriors

• None.

Friends

• None.

Unrequited Love

• Tyrese Haliburton is famously Dub Nation HQ's choice in the 2020 Draft. No really, this isn’t some 20-20-hindsight yapping, we did a whole pre-draft tournament and the group vote was for Haliburton.
  
  I wrote: Tyrese Haliburton just seems like the most Warriors player in the draft, with his high character, shooting, defensive effort and smart playmaking, and his weakness of poor shot creation seems less urgent in Kerr’s motion O and with Steph Curry passing to you. This season revealed that without Steph and Klay Thompson, the Warriors were the worst shooting team in the league, so Dub Nation is pining for players who can hit an open shot.
  
  Before we get too high on ourselves, I note that Haliburton beat Wiseman in our semifinals by 1 vote. I also had Haliburton over Edwards which could be questioned.

  I wrote: Haliburton over Edwards. Edwards could be the next Oladipo, but Oladipo took a long time to become Dipo and Steph isn’t getting younger. The Haliburton dream is that his flaws (not explosive creator) aren’t relevant in Kerrball.
  

• Myles Turner is on the all-time list of Dub Nation Unrequited Love. He’s been mock traded endlessly as a tough shot blocking big who can hit a three. It’s part of the DNA of Dub Nation to be endlessly pining for a great big man and being endlessly disappointed.

• Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, Ben Sheppard and Andrew Nembhard are all sleeper draft crushes at DNHQ.

• Oscar Tshiebwe is the kind of bruising big guy that DNHQ always wants as a two-way.

• Pascal Siakam was a target of GSW trade interest at the 2024 Trade Deadline.

Warriors Villains

• None

Petty Rivalries

• Pacers have been thoroughly off the GSW radar for a while now except maybe when Monta Ellis landed there, except to serve as foils for highlights.

Team Grudges

• There was a hint of friction after the 2021 Draft when Indiana sources claimed that GSW was crushed when IND drafted Chris Duarte one spot ahead of GSW’s pick (which ended up being Moses Moody), and that GSW was phoning IND with tears in their eyes to trade for CD. If this is the best I can dredge up, it’s been a pretty drama-free relationship.

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