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All Takes

Loss
Zach HarperZach Harper

Ty Lue is the worst coach to ever win an NBA championship

The biggest mismatch of the series is Brad Stevens versus Ty Lue. Like, Tyronn Lue is a terrible coach. He's the worst coach to ever win a championship, and the fact that he's got to match Brad Stevens, like, that sucks for the Cavs.

While subjective, Lue has since been widely praised as one of the best tacticians in the league with the Clippers, making the 'terrible coach' label look very dated.
Push
Zach HarperZach Harper

Everything will fall apart for the Celtics later in the series

And then the Celtics will go back to, like, Terry Rozier won't be able to hit a shot anymore, and Jason Tatum will look like a rookie, and Al Horford will be with a Kardashian or something. Everything's going to fall apart.

While the Celtics did eventually lose the series in 7, Tatum actually played very well throughout, famously dunking on LeBron in Game 7. The 'falling apart' was more about LeBron's dominance than a total collapse by the Celtics' youth.
Loss
Zach HarperZach Harper

Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James will sign with Philadelphia, while Paul George goes to the Lakers

Kawhi Leonard will be playing for fill-in-the-blank. LeBron James will be playing for fill-in-the-blank. Paul George will be playing for fill-in-the-blank in 2018-19... Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Lakers.

LeBron signed with the Lakers, Kawhi was traded to the Raptors, and Paul George re-signed with the Thunder.
Win
Zach HarperZach Harper

I would trade Ben Simmons for Kawhi Leonard because Kawhi is the best two-way player in the world

I'd trade Ben Simmons for Kawhi... If you're giving me Joel Embiid for the next 10 years, LeBron for like three or four, Kawhi Leonard for like seven or eight, you can win three or four titles during that time... I think [Kawhi] is the best two-way player in the world.

In hindsight, given Simmons' later career trajectory and Kawhi winning a title in 2019, this take aged extremely well.
Loss
Zach HarperZach Harper

Isaiah Thomas is a mole sent by Danny Ainge to mess up the Cleveland Cavaliers

I'm of the opinion that Isaiah Thomas is a mole. I think that he has been sent to the team... I think this was all worked out. I think it's a fake feud between him and Danny Ainge... We need you to go over there, mess them up, call out Kevin Love, because LeBron's going to be mad because that's his job to call out Kevin Love.

The Cavs were a mess and IT was traded shortly after this interview (the next day) to the Lakers. While not a literal mole, IT's presence was disruptive.
Win
Zach HarperZach Harper

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in serious trouble because they have the worst defense in the league

Up until this week, they had a worse defense than the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns, who are actively trying to lose games. Cleveland is actually trying to win if they were that bad. So yeah, I do think they're in trouble because they can't defend anyone. And their offense, because Isaiah Thomas can't get a shot right now... isn't quite good enough.

The Cavs made the Finals but were swept by the Warriors. Their defense remained bottom-tier all season.
Loss
Zach HarperZach Harper

The Detroit Pistons might be a top three team in the Eastern Conference with Blake Griffin

They might have [become top three], because they don't have a ton of depth, but Blake Griffin is really good... between him and Andre Drummond actually carrying this season and a little bit of good coaching from Stan Van Gundy, Boston's up there... Detroit can get in there.

The Pistons finished the 2017-18 season as the 9th seed and missed the playoffs entirely.
Loss
Zach HarperZach Harper

The Milwaukee Bucks will win the Eastern Conference if they stay healthy

The Bucks, I'm going to go not fraud. Not fraud in the East because they got rid of Jason Kidd who was terrible... and Giannis is an alien. So if they get healthy, I actually think they go through the East and win. I think it's a lot like the 2007 Cavs where the East was very vulnerable and a young LeBron came through.

The Bucks lost in the first round of the 2018 playoffs to the Celtics. They didn't make the Finals until 2021.
Push
Zach HarperZach Harper

The Houston Rockets are frauds because they are trying to beat the Warriors at their own game

Fraud. Because they're going to try to beat the Warriors at the Warriors game. Fast pace, shooting threes, what they don't realize is the Warriors also play great defense.

The Rockets pushed the Warriors to 7 games in the WCF and famously missed 27 straight threes. While they didn't win, calling them 'frauds' was arguably harsh given they were the closest threat.
Void
Zach HarperZach Harper

Russell Westbrook is the new Allen Iverson: an amazing individual player but not a team guy

I think he's going to end up being like kind of the new Iverson. Amazing individual player, great highlights, real fun, but not quite equipped for analytics... because he can't shoot threes. And so there will always be this inefficient tag to him. And he's just more of an individual than a team guy.

Westbrook's legacy continues to be debated in exactly these terms—volume stats vs. efficiency and team success.

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