Are you a Boston Celtics fan who's disappointed that your team blew a 3-1 lead in the first round of the NBA Playoffs to an inferior team? Stop acting so spoiled.
Are you upset about a first-round exit after being given the top odds to win the Eastern Conference at the beginning of the playoffs? Your privilege is showing.
That's what so-called "cap expert" Ryan Bernardoni would have you believe. He joined Chris Forsberg on the "Celtics Talk" podcast to discuss what he believes is a Celtics season that exceeded expectations.
"The Celtics are paying the price for winning the title, which every single fan should be absolutely happy to pay," Bernardoni said. "You look around the league, this is a really hard part of the rebuild to navigate."
He points to the fact that the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets have struggled to replicate success after winning their respective titles. Which is an understandably easy position to take.
In a league whose history is dominated by dynasties and repeat championship runs, 2026 will be the ninth straight season that a unique champion will be crowned. There has not been a back-to-back winner since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.
But Boston was in a perfect position to at least make another run at a Finals appearance. Losing in the first round to that Philadelphia 76ers team is unacceptable; it does not matter how recently you have won a title.
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