The Boston Celtics' season ended in a way no one predicted. Not only did they fall short of repeating as champions, but their superstar forward, Jayson Tatum, ended his season with a torn Achilles.
The Celtics were the favorites to repeat, but that quickly changed as the New York Knicks proved to be the better team throughout a seven-game series. Boston will now shift their attention to the next season, although it is filled with uncertainty.
Nonetheless, the NBA is down to its final four teams: the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Indiana Pacers and the Knicks. One of the three teams will win its first title: the Timberwolves, Pacers or the Thunder (a Thunder title would be their first in Oklahoma City). Or it will be the Knicks, who have gone 50 years without an NBA title.
Celtics reporter Noa Dalzell from CLNS released a poll to Celtics fans on who they would want to see win a championship, and the results are unanimous.
Celtics fans prefer the team they beat last season to get to the Finals, the Pacers, by a whopping 62.8 percent.
The next three teams, by order, are the Timberwolves, with 19.2 percent of the vote, the Thunder, with 19.2 percent of the vote and the Knicks, with only 4.2 percent of the vote.
On Friday, the Knicks defeated the Celtics to reach their first conference finals appearance in 25 years. Last season, the Celtics defeated the Pacers to reach their 23rd NBA Finals appearance and eventually won their 18th title in franchise history.
The Pacers entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed and have made an incredible run to the Eastern Conference Finals, a position they were in last year. While last year's run was fun, there are real expectations for the team this time around, at least internally.
Indiana has the tools to be the last team standing. They may not have an elite superstar, but they are the ultimate team. As many as six players can do their part and be the best player on any given night.
While the Celtics have a performance, the reality is any four of these teams can be the last team standing, especially the Knicks.
The Celtics would love to be in that position, but instead, there will be a seventh different champion in as many years.
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