2018 / 2019 Celtics Open Discussion

[Hyped]

If by "TOUGH out" you mean dropping 4/5 to whomever of TOR/MIL/PHI they face in the 2nd round, then you are correct.

I am thinking either Boston or Philly grabs the #3. That means the Celtics will either visit/host Indiana or host Brooklyn.

Those two teams are playing well right now, but in the playoffs when rotations are shortened...talent/adjustments take over as players see the same players 7 times in 11-12 days. Your bag of tricks is emptied after 3-4 games...and talent reigns supreme.

It will still take 7 to get out of the first round. Then I see us going to Toronto (preferably)/Milwaukee and trying our best to split the first two roadies.... I like our chances at doing so. This is about 50 days and 25 games from now. Playoffs don't even start until mid-April... A LOT of time left to get rolling again.

My ideal scenario is us at #3.....Philly #4/#5.

Boston over Brooklyn, Philly over Indiana, Bucks over Hornets/Magic/Etc.., Raptors over Detriot/Etc.

Round 2:

Philly @ Milwaukee - Embiid can slow down Giannis and make the Bucks win with Brodgan/Middleton/Bledsoe.

Boston @ Toronto - We will have to play a full game...Toronto is deep like we are. But coming down to it..who is the better closer?...Kawhi vs. Kyrie...I like our chances..gotta be 50/50 at least.

Round 3: Boston hosts Philly for a ticket to Oakland!

 

[borg]

b.) Kyrie will close when he needs to.

d.) Yep, Hayward is getting a lot of minutes for a 6th man...I'd guess about 30 a game. That's why I said he should be OK next year...but he's still a very useful 6th man.

e.) We snapped our losing streak...now a BIG week with HOU, @GS, and @Lakers with me in attendance! We remain 3 behind...but Philly plays GS today. Indiana can't keep it going. The key here is to AVOID Philly in round 1....if we can do that...we can handle Indiana/Brooklyn in a 7 game series. So, either us or Philly has to finish #3 to make it happen...both are 2 and 3 games back with 19 or so to play. Still in play....

f.) That's like my point...a lot of weird fluky losses. We just need consistency.

g.) No argument there, but Tatum could be better...he has the length.

h.) Because they can adjust from game to game. The 2nd unit in particular is a huge advantage for us. When rotations tighten to 8 men, it comes to adjustments. We have more talent 8 deep than any other team in the EC, IMO. I mean we have Brown and Hayward coming off the bench...Rozier is due for a big pay day...and I absolutely love Theis' game. Baynes playing later will help a lot too, IMO.

b) Interesting way to rationalize failure.
d) Believing Hayward is a "very useful" sixth man makes me wonder if you believe the term "very useful" means defensive liability/inaccurate shooter
e) Bruins players use smelling salts to wake up their senses. Just a thought
f) terrible shooting and zero defensive commitment/rebounding night after night has nothing to due with "fluky".
2-9 vs good West teams....lots of fluke....right?
g) Tatum is unique. I don't see a very athletic body (that was his scouting report) but he has offensive skills.......Too early to pigeonhole him...but....but my initial comparison is Carmello. I have hopes he will be more complete than franchise killer Carmello.

 

[Hyped]

b) Interesting way to rationalize failure.
d) Believing Hayward is a "very useful" sixth man makes me wonder if you believe the term "very useful" means defensive liability/inaccurate shooter
e) Bruins players use smelling salts to wake up their senses. Just a thought
f) terrible shooting and zero defensive commitment/rebounding night after night has nothing to due with "fluky".
2-9 vs good West teams....lots of fluke....right?
g) Tatum is unique. I don't see a very athletic body (that was his scouting report) but he has offensive skills.......Too early to pigeonhole him...but....but my initial comparison is Carmello. I have hopes he will be more complete than franchise killer Carmello.

Hayward is useful as a scorer off the bench right now. Ainge didn't give him a max contract for nothing. IMO, next year he should be a starter again.

The Celts are 1-3 vs. Bucks with one being an one point loss on the road. 2-2 vs. Raptors. 3-0 vs. Sixers. In addition, they lost to GS by 4 and will be in Oakland on Tues. So, they are 6-6 vs. teams they will have to beat to win the championship AND they have been playing under par all year. After this brutual west coast swing...the schedule is a lot easier and has 1 more vs. philly and 2 more vs. Indiana. The #3 seed is in reach.

Tatum can't even buy beer until tomorrow! He just needs to bulk up to create more contact for fouls and to impose his will on defense, IMO.

 

[borg]

Fun with Numbers:

On the road, the 5th seeded (East) Celtics are:
3-12 vs the 15 current playoff seeded teams
2-7 vs East seeded teams
1-5 vs West seeded teams
1-4 vs Top 4 East seeded teams

Current Path to Championship:
4 road series

Celtics vs current seeded teams:
13-18
Celtics vs current non seeded teams:
25-7

When Celtics went on 10 game winning a streak in Nov-Dec:
0 games vs playoff seeded team

Conclusion: If betting on Celtics, demand huge odds and don't use kids' college money. Maybe throw a few bucks on prop bets that involve Kyrie's health and ability to play a full series. Hint: under

 

[IllegalContact]

Whatever they’re doing is not working

 

[Boston Boxer]

i wish the announcers would quit saying "euro step". In America, we call it travelling and it should be called.

 

[Boston Boxer]

our second unit is waaaaaaaay better than the starting 5 and its not even close. they may not be better talent wise, but they are a better team

 

[borg]

Update:
2-10 vs West's Top 8

Boston's "Closer" went o-1 in the 4th quarter, missing from 28 feet

 

[captain stone]

Firing Ainge and allowing Irving to walk Must be the first steps towards curing what ails this franchise.

 

[Boston Boxer]

I would be ok with letting Irving walk. I think Ainge has done a great job, but some moves have not worked out.

 

[IllegalContact]

Irving has turned into a cancer.....without him last year, the team didn’t need a leader .... he brings the soap opera with him

 

[borg]

Irving has turned into a cancer.....without him last year, the team didn’t need a leader .... he brings the soap opera with him

The evidence is piling up that the pretend closer wants to put Boston in his rearview mirror.....and I can't blame Kyrie for considering jumping ship. The Hayward injury has fouled this team's short and medium term plans and I wouldn't commit to a team that has a $30 mill anchor pulling it down for 3 more years.

 

[captain insano]

Firing Ainge and allowing Irving to walk Must be the first steps towards curing what ails this franchise.

letting irving walk I love. firing ainge? ridiculous. he took a shot with Kyrie. it didn't work out. it didn't work out for Cleveland either.

 

[borg]

letting irving walk I love. firing ainge? ridiculous. he took a shot with Kyrie. it didn't work out. it didn't work out for Cleveland either.

Mixed feelings about Ainge.

Pros:
The man always has a plan....vs most NBA teams content with their irrelevance.
The man is bold....unafraid to swing for the fences.
The man is fully invested in his job and the Celtics

Cons:
His "plans" create major highs and major lows.
His reluctance to draft/sign/trade for a shooter (since Ray Allen)
His belief that shooters can be built
His embrace of an arc reliant team
His reliance on PG scoring

His realities:
Boston is an undesirable destination for many desirable NBA players

Then there's his Deal with the Devil:
Casting aside 73 years of the Celtics Way to cater to one self important talent.

Note: Mormons should never place trust in the Devil

 

[IllegalContact]

Mixed feelings about Ainge.

Pros:
The man always has a plan....vs most NBA teams content with their irrelevance.
The man is bold....unafraid to swing for the fences.
The man is fully invested in his job and the Celtics

Cons:
His "plans" create major highs and major lows.
His reluctance to draft/sign/trade for a shooter (since Ray Allen)
His belief that shooters can be built
His embrace of an arc reliant team
His reliance on PG scoring

His realities:
Boston is an undesirable destination for many desirable NBA players

Then there's his Deal with the Devil:
Casting aside 73 years of the Celtics Way to cater to one self important talent.

Note: Mormons should never place trust in the Devil

given the resources of the team, the deal for Irving was an absolute must do even if you only wind up with him for 2 years........IT was not the answer or ever will be......and they have more 1st rounders than any team can use......at that point, it was also very easy to blame LeBron for Kyrie's trade demand.......but who he really is was hidden in LeBron's shadow.

I have zero issue with simply letting him walk......and moving on from the Kyrie/AD show......there's plenty of talent

As for players wanting to come here, there are plenty who would.

 

[IllegalContact]

The evidence is piling up that the pretend closer wants to put Boston in his rearview mirror.....and I can't blame Kyrie for considering jumping ship. The Hayward injury has fouled this team's short and medium term plans and I wouldn't commit to a team that has a $30 mill anchor pulling it down for 3 more years.

baahhh.....he's full of ****.....he says he just wants to play basketball and does not want any publicity.........but he has no problem being Uncle Drew

he's doing his best to get out while making it look like it's the team/media/fans driving him away........if I was calling the shots, I'd already be looking past him, and if he can't play the PR game while playing out the season, I'd consider sitting his arse down and basically going with last year's playoff team plus hayward......but I'd be sure to let him be the one who burns the bridge.

 

[borg]

for players wanting to come here, there are plenty who would.

Who dat?

Not Kevin Durant
Not Paul George
Not Kawhi Leonard
Not Jimmy Butler
Not Anthony Davis

5 needle movers that have shaken loose/made their desires public.......All spurning your Boston Celtics.

 

[borg]

but who he really is was hidden in LeBron's shadow.

Hidden?

During his last weeks in Cleveland, wannabe leader Kyrie stopped speaking with his teammates
And now, Bleacher Report reporting he only speaks with Tatum (same agent)

Kyrie Irving went days without talking to teammates

Report: Kyrie Irving Has Been 'Disengaged' from Celtics Since Knicks Comments

 

[IllegalContact]

Hidden?

During his last weeks in Cleveland, wannabe leader Kyrie stopped speaking with his teammates
And now, Bleacher Report reporting he only speaks with Tatum (same agent)

Kyrie Irving went days without talking to teammates

Report: Kyrie Irving Has Been 'Disengaged' from Celtics Since Knicks Comments

but at the time, it sounded like it more to do with lebron ... whether he knew lebron was leaving a year later or it was just optics from me never paying that much attention to other teams.....

 

[IllegalContact]

Who dat?

Not Kevin Durant
Not Paul George
Not Kawhi Leonard
Not Jimmy Butler
Not Anthony Davis

5 needle movers that have shaken loose/made their desires public.......All spurning your Boston Celtics.

they didn't spurn anything......Durant, Leonard, and Butler did not sign extensions.....and Davis is the same deal.......the only one of that bunch I would want anyway is George....I'd rather watch a home grown team develop

as for 'needle-movers'.....how many needles have these 5 moved?