Debatable: C's In Playoffs Next Year?

Sounds like some of the “analysis” is lacking analytical skills. The Celtics have a great chance to make the playoffs next year and if Oden is a Celtic, I think they could win a round, perhaps 2. Even with Joakim they are better than so many other teams.

They will make the playoffs with a different coach regardless of who they draft. They will not make the playoffs regardless of who they draft with this coach. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out….or deep analysis.

Playoffs next year if eveyone stays healthy, but thats what every team in the league can say so thats not saying much. And the youth movement is not that great only Big AL and rondo have potential to be stars.

Iowa Ployboy speaks the truth. And it looks like Celtics management would rather be in the lottery again next year than eat the last year of Rivers’ contract.

I suppose they could sneak into the 8th spot with 35 or 36 wins, as in 2003-04. But that (and another quick playoff exit) is the best case scenario.

Let me add that we should look at the bright side. Another two years of Rivers and we will have an excellent shot at Mayo or Beasley in the 2008 draft and Ricky Rubio in the 2009 draft. There will be more lottery excitement!!

I dont think MJD knows much about the Celtics, so took the negative spectrum. Shoals seems honest. This season was bad luck. No luck and we can make the playoffs..barely. With luck and we have one of the biggest turn-arounds in at least team history.

who’s OUT of the playoffs next season? Will the C’s have a better season than the Magic, Nets, Wizards? Maybe the Heat fall on their face again (they were more banged up than anybody this year though, self-imposed or not). If NJ loses Carter that’s a potential out, and who knows what the Magic are up to, and this is the same place that hosts those who believe Al is better than Dwight Howard, so surpassing them should be elementary :P

Oh Bullsblogger, stop with that common sense. How dare you pour saltpeter in the kool aid?

Playoffs absolutely; just look at the worst team last year, the Raptors, they draft big traded for small (I know I can be a annoyingly repetitous) and they were in the hunt the whole way.
No reason with the progress the Celts made last year in player development why they can’t be in the playoffs.

Also keep in mind that some of the current playoff teams may be folding it up and starting over again.

That MJD guy is clueless to the Celts assets and needs. “Tired of waiting”, to quote Tommy, “it takes centers and point guards 5 years to figure the NBA out”; the problem in the past years has been impatience for quick reward; trading Billups, Johnson, using all 3 picks one year, that was disgraceful; boy, does that MJD get my gander up.

The other thing that gets my gander up about MJD is how he speaks (relatively) highly of Big Al in one sentence, then says the youth movement isn’t panning out. I assume he means “other than Big Al, the youth movement hasn’t panned out”, but that’s sort of the whole point of the youth movement — bring aboard a bunch of rookies and hope one has what it takes….

“Even with Joakim they are better than so many other teams.”

You make it sound like Joakim would actually help.

And someone please help me if anyone is thinking about drafting OJ Mayo. The kid is an absolute headcase!!

C’s should easily make the playoffs next year. Problem is I am not sure that’s good for them. What good is the playoffs with a sub .500 record?

   We’d have to climb over not only the Nets, Toronto, Orlando and Miami, but teams that are ahead of Celtics in the lottery like Knicks, 76ers, Milwaukee. Who knows what a lot of these teams will look like, particularly Heat, Nets, and Knicks.
   Of course the perfect storm of drafting an all-star, Rondo developing a killer J, West becoming ambidexterous, and Perk losing 25 pounds and staying on the floor 40 minutes a night turns us into a real contender

Who cares??? Even though I believe the playoffs should be the team’s goal every year (if not advancing), it’s a silly point of discussion, as if we’re reaching for subjects that can give us any form of optimism. (Hey, we might not suck as much next season! Coooool!!!) It also springs from the persistent fear we WON’T land one of the treasured top-two picks. Fine.
But sheesh, are we really that desperate for topics that we theorize about next year’s playoffs? Puh-leeze.
And yes, the middle argument is flawed because the Al Jefferson at the end of the season sure as heck wasn’t the same as the one at the beginning. But there are so many variables about next season it’s too soon to discuss the playoffs. In fact, JANUARY is too soon to talk about the playoffs.
Miles to go…

Big Easy, well to be frank aren’t we desperate for topics? You can only hash out the draft & trades for so long and nothing of significance can happen until the lottery takes place.

But to project, that is fun too. To me the NBA is about matchups and I was in for the last time Toronto was in Boston and there was something about our big guys in that game; they had the look that they were going to beat their matchups and they did. They took Bosh and their big men right out of the game; the key matchup for Toronto was Ford against Rondo; they kept on running the high pick from left to right and Rondo couldn’t stop him from pentrating; I’m not worried about Rondo in the future, he’ll start muscling Ford, he is so much thicker and maybe not as quick but pretty damn close. Celts won that game, good game and I think going into the future that the Celts believe they can handle Toronto.

I think that is going to be one of the great future matchups in the East; barring injuries to each teams’s star players it will be a battle between teams and styles; the Celts with a classic American style (Celtic invented) of fast break (and the other facets of Celtic basketball) and the European 3 point style of the Raptors.

Thats true, Big Easy, but this team was talking draft since January, and we’ve beaten that horse to death. Its a natural progression

the current celtics roster does not have an established PG….if you have watched any playoff games in the last 2 weeks, please tell me which of the 16 teams doesnt have a legit PG.

trade the kool aid for a PG and another vet big…then talk about the playoffs.

insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

After this year, if we dont see something distinctly auspicious, the Celtics must officially stop building through the draft and touting “the youth movement”. I dont care who they trade, just break – it – up! Starting with the coach.

Let’s face it folks, the hope of landing a top two pick, and the addition of an Oden or a Durant dramatically changing the caliber of this team, is the only thing that keeps us going.

I don’t get the negativness towards the coach in this blog;
the point guard can be traded for (you have Gerald Green and future drat pics to give up);
the big man can be drafted in this years draft; don’t need the big ones old just good and they’ll have that; you do need some PG experience

Your all too pessemistic, we were absolutely devastated this season with injuries. Chances of it happening again are not high.

PP will finally get to play with a real prescence inside (AJ) which is something he has never done before.

Next season will be VERY different!

00dc2 said:
Next season will be VERY different!

Maybe next season won’t end before Dec, 10th!

First, look how important Eric Snow is to the Cavs; the Celts don’t need Majic Johnson in the PG position just a stablilizing person that can run, defend, and have some experience at the end of a game to put the ball in the right hands with 1/2 court sets and maybe hit a shot when left open.

Also keep in mind that the draft this year will make more players accessable with new blood arriving on the teams.

Looking at the various NBA rosters I came up with a list of candidates that have PG experience, might be on teams looking to change things up, or currently 2nd string because the player in front of them is very dynamic (I don’t know any contract information or injury updates):
Chucky Atkins
Bobby jackson
Jaques Vaughn
derek fisher
Jamal Tinsley
Mike Bibby
Earl Watson
Mike James
Anthony Carter

A couple would be expensive, others more cheaply; depends on how much Danny wants to invest while waiting for Rondo to run the team.

Don’t forget Brevin Knight

First off Eric Snow is important to the Cavs only in the sense that he prevents them from challenging the Pistons for the Eastern conference championship. Not only does he not fit their style of play at all but he costs them 7mil a year for the next two years while his production continues to decrease. Rondo would be starting for the Cavs right now if they had him.

Second, while this year was especially rough on us for injuries, don’t expect 82 games out of Pierce and Jefferson next year (nor anything more than 60 out of Wally). It certainly would be nice to get full seasons out of PP and Big Al but considering that injury-prone tend to be, well, injury-prone we can’t simply expect pierce’s elbow to be 100%and Big Al’s ankles to become rock solid.

Don’t forget Perkins’ feet, and Delonte’s tendency to get injured one way or another.
There’s no reason to think next year’s team won’t be vulnerable to injuries. Wally flat-out scares me. And then there’s good ol’ Theo…

the playoffs are a long way off, meanwhile it is one measly day at a time. the thing that worries me today is coachie doc. for the writer who asks why are so many opposed to doc it’s that we watched the games and saw how we didn’t have a clue on how to beat a zone, we had one lineup after another,we have had to endure watching scal the rebounder stealing big man minutes,we scream for a timeout that should be called. i was glad that we tanked a few but it was amazing how good he was at tanking and how bad he was at thinking through a game coherently, and having a cohesive plan. yes i know he had to adapt to injuries and young players, but it was the injuries that gave gomes,aj,rondo,powe the chance, not the coach.

MJD is clueless… ;D

On Eric Snow, I think you are missing the point; The Cavs are in the playoffs, looking pretty good just swept Washington, Snow is averaging about 14-18 minutes a game in the playoffs, Snow is captain of the team. He has an regular season efficientcy rating of 5.60 points in 15 minutes he is going to get! He is long on the tooth at 35 years old.

My point was that with Rondo as the Celtics future pg, they don’t need a ringer there, just someone with experience to control the flow of the game when needed.

“First off Eric Snow is important to the Cavs only in the sense that he prevents them from challenging the Pistons for the Eastern conference championship” Byrdman
I can’t leave this comment alone. Do you really believe that if the Cavs get there and don’t get past the Pistons it is because of Eric Snow? How insulting to a great team like the Pistons. There is nothing the Pistons are capable of so that they can control their own fate? Are you saying that the Pistons aren’t the better team if they win it is just that the Cavs had Eric Snow? Wow

If the Cavs had a quality point guard capable of pushing the ball in the open court to Hughes, Gooden, and that other guy, what’s his name? Oh yea, Global Icon, I 100% believe that the Cavs would be competitive in a series with the Pistons. As it is they have a point guard who slows the game down into half-court sets (in which the Cavs are woefully mismatched compared to the Piston), is not a capable playmaker, and relies on Lebron to get him open looks in which he is good for 6pts a game. Now is he the sole reason that the Cavs will lose to the Pistons? Probably not, but I simply don’t see him as being an asset to the Cavs at the one position where they are dying for help.

Also I could have played point for the Cavs in their sweeping of the Wizards. Have you seen that team the play in the past three weeks? It’s an absolute shell of itself which is understandable considering it’s two best players on what amounts to a three man team were out.

This talk of next year’s playoffs is ridiculous.

While we are at it why don’t we discuss where we will be drafting and who we should look at in the 2008 draft… geesh…. :-\

HOW IS THIS DAMN COMMENT “TOO SHORT”!?!!??!?!?!?!?

Knicks, 76ers – I just don’t see either of those teams being better then we are, next year.
Milwaukee – that might depend on the ping pong gods.
Jersey – Kidd and Carter get another year older. Admittedly, they get Kristic back.
Orlando – new coach, probably no Grant Hill, likely no Darko – they’re gonna take a step back.
Miami – they were a bad team with just Wade, and no Shaq. Shaq will be another year older. Unfortunately for us, getting embarassed by Chicago might motivate them.

So, yeah – we could make the playoffs next year. Why not – one of these teams will falter.
chugs Kool Aid

Brick and Nazzbo – I’m glad things haven’t changed while I have been out on vacation. Good to see we’re still turning every conversation into Fire Doc…

With the current team healthy we are a better team than Washington and Orlando. No question at all. We add a great player at the top of the draft that contributes a bit, and make a trade to get a vet and we are way ahead of those two. I think Detroit is the only team that is clearly ahead of the C’s. Cleveland Chicago, and NJ just barely and I don’t see NJ staying with the same roster. They are like us a few years back. Good enough to go a few rounds in, but no one believes they can come close to winning it all. They’ll tear the team up.

We are going to be in the playoffs barring injury without a doubt next year. Not going very far yet, but we’ll be there.

How much you wanna bet EJPLAYA? I’ll tell you what. If the Celtics make the playoffs next year with Rivers as their coach, I’ll buy you a ticket to the first playoff game in Boston. If they don’t, you buy me a ticket to the first game of the 2008 NBA finals. So do we have a bet?

Byrdman,
Playoff basketball becomes 1/2 court sets especially when playing a teams like the Pistons or SA that are designed and rehearsed for many years together to turn it into a game like that; they shoot well, (it is hard to push the ball when it drops from the net), they all run well so they get back on defense, the big men, the wing guys and the guards all run well and are quick to rotate and pick up inbalances, they can attack the offensive glass to stop the outlet pass; they generally throw sand in the gears of a fast break team.

Great teams will do that, the Celts did it to the fastest teams of all the great Lakers teams of Majic; those playoff games also turned into 1/2 court sets.

Snow will be very valuable to the the Cavs in that series and I’m willing to bet that if you asked the Pistons they will earnestly tell you that the respect Snow a great deal.

The probelem this team has is NOT at point guard.

There is no defense on the wings.
There is no defense in the paint.
They can’t defend the pick and roll.
They can’t play a decent zone.
They are foul prone.
They do not know how to attack a zone.
They can’t control the other team’s momentum.
They have small players in the game when they should have big players.
They can’t manage the last two minutes of a close game.

The veteran players listed above would all be the equivalent of a band aid on a torn femoral artery.

There is no real way to tell if we will be a playoff team until AFTER the draft and the free agent offseason. I personally don’t think that even if we land Oden or Durant, that it will be enough to propel us into the playoffs. We will need to make some noise in free agency as well.

Brick,
Even out the winning bet reward and I’ll take it if that is OK with EJPLAYA and it is strictly based on the Celts making the playoffs or not in 2008.

Please appreciate my leap of fair also because none of us know what the roster will look like in October. Danny may do some things that I don’t think are correct but at this point I will put my trust in Danny and Doc to get it right.

I think Danny is done with the “sticks of dyanmite” procedure and now they have plenty of assets to deal with so even if they get Durrant and decide to keep him and trade PP I think Danny is now dealing from a much better position.

4thgenfan, I agree with you that in the playoffs the game is largely slowed down to half court sets, however the reason a team like the warriors was able to beat a half court team like dallas was taking advantage of fast break points whenever possible. I think we both agree that detroit is way to tough for the Cavs strictly in half court sets which is why the Cavs need every fast break point they can get. This is where I feel Snow hurts the Cavs.

But enough about the Cavs, I’m keep wavering back and forth about brick’s bet. That NBA finals ticket aint cheap but I don’t see any reason why boston can’t overcoming its coaching woes to at least get 38 wins and a probable playoff spot. Then again I should never underestimate doc’s ability to lose games, he practically turned tanking into an art form.

What do you mean, even out the bet? And remember that the bet is predicated on Rivers remaining the coach. If Rivers dies, resigns, is fired, etc. the bet is off. Ainge could get Oden or Durant and make the greatest off-season roster moves in the history of the NBA, and Rivers would still find a way to screw it up.

Well, to secure an NBA final ticket will cost a lot more money than a 1st round playoff ticket in the Fleet Center and quite frankly a lot more accessable to me; so to win the bet is not that big a deal to me but to lose the bet is going to be a major drag and probably quite expensive, so even it out.
And I’m counting on Doc being there, he is contracted for next year and I think he deserves to follow this team throw a bit more and i think managment will be reward him with an extention

So put a cap on the price of each ticket, so long as the cap is higher than the price of a ticket to the first game of the finals.

Brick,
I’ve got an idea for a bet; the loser has to pay for 2 sets of ticket for a 2009 games, (if we are still around at that point), where the winner takes a friend of choice and has a nice evening but the 2nd set goes to the loser who has to wear one of those stupid hats, like the one with the Bird wings attached to it or something like that and has to wear one of those Number 1 fingers except when drinking beer.

Win or loose I’ll get the tickets from a friend and they are behind one of the baskets so that the winner can see the loser on TV with the hat and hand. what do you think?

I don’t want tickets to regular season games. I want playoff tickets. This is about whether or not the Celtics make the playoffs. Besides, if Rivers is still here I won’t be going to any Celtics games, period.

So why does the winnings for you have to be more than the winnings for me.
Why don’t you think that Doc has done some good?

Let’s start with the second question. Year 1: 45 wins. Year 2: 33 wins. Year 3: 24 wins. In which direction does that appear to be headed? And don’t bother listing the excuses. I know them all.

As for the first question, I’m happy to specify a fixed, equal amount that each of us would spend, so long as it at least covers the cost of a finals ticket. If a comparable ticket to a Celtics playoff game is less, I’ll get you a better seat for the amount you would have spent had I won the bet. My guess is that the cheapest finals ticket will be in the $250 range, depending on which teams are involved.

And what did the 45 wins get you as a Celtic fan? An embarassing first round knock out, a playoff that was purchased with over the hill aquistions to placate the fans but a team with no hope, no future, no chance for ever competing for a championship. And don’t tell me that those 2 players were good enough for a chamionship in Miami, if you say that then you will have lost my respect in your judgements. That team was blown up and thank God.

Doc has been assigned to develop players and with that he and his coaches have done a good job; maybe not at the pace that would make the members of this blog happy but that is not the goal, I see a better Al, a better Perk, a better Gerald – In fact, if there was a gripe I had with this coach it would have been at the beginning of the year when Gerald was launching 3’s and not coming off picks and taking defenders with the dribble, a game similar to Reggie Lewis’s but by the end of the year he was doing some of that. None of us are with these guys nor do we know them, how do we know how long it takes for these kids like Gerald to grasp things and get confiednce to perform them in a game?

Deveolpment was the goal and with that how can you argue Doc has done wrong?

Because Rivers can’t coach, that’s what he’s done wrong.

Just read this Brick! That’s funny. 4thgenfan is right on the money. How about this bet. If they don’t make the playoffs then I will buy you a nice Spaulding NBA game ball. If they do make the playoffs then you have to fly me and a friend up next year for each game including season tickets… Wanna Bet?!

Come on… Why would someone ever do a bet so one-sided. Way to cover your butt…
Pierce doesn’t miss 18 games and we win 8-9 of those. TA doesn’t miss 49 games and we win 5-6 of those. Wally doesn’t miss 50 games and we win 6-7 of those. Big Al doesn’t miss 13 games and we win 2-3 more of those. Delonte missed 13 games that would have been 2-3 more. Not even thinking about what a healthy Theo would have meant. Considering that some of the games that these guys would have affected would be the same game we easily could have had 18-22 games more in the win column. Puts us at 42-45 wins and a playoff spot. A few of those were against Orlando, Washington, and NJ and would have pushed them down into the high 30’s.

Your starters miss 227 games this last year and you can’t honestly disagree that we would have won 20 more games… Be straight with your comments. I have never disagreed that Doc isn’t the long term solution, but no one could have their starting 5 miss an average of half the season and win anything… Especially when you are a young borderline team anyway…

C’mon EJPLAYA, stop tring to wriggle out of the bet. Your optimism is laughable. I offered a financially equivalent ticket if I lose. Stop trying to pretend it wasn’t fair.

How’s this: if they Celtics make the playoffs next year I’ll buy you a Celtics playoff ticket. If they don’t make the playoffs you buy me a first round playoff ticket. You pick the game and the arena, so long as its east of the Mississippi. The bet is off if Rivers is replaced.

Pretending it wasn’t fair?! You can’t change the bet 3 times and then pretend that was what you had in mind all along! Your initial bet was a rediculously one-sided bet in your favor just like my silly counter bet. The only reason you changed it up is that 4thgenfan slammed you on it. You flip flop more than John Kerry did!

How about this thought. Why not address the meat of my post about the missed games making a huge difference in the result of our season?! You tell me what the Mavs would have done in the regular season with their starting 5 missing half the season. An easy 20 game slide in their record. Yes, they might have slid into the playoffs still, but not led the league. (see David Robinson getting hurt that year and them sliding into the lottery)

Your arguments rarely have any foundation. They’re always Doc sucks. Our team is overrated. Pierce is a bum… You were an attorney it seems. Prove your case and tell me with facts and details how the optimism is wrong. Speak to the difference in the record based on those 227 missed games by our starters, nothing else!

Brickowski said:
  Because Rivers can’t coach, that’s what he’s done wrong.
———————————-
Respectfully, EJPLAYA, this isn’t rocket science….(and nobody has ever flip-flopped more than Lurch). If Doc was doing a great job developing players, win totals would be at the same level, not dropping 25% per season. If Doc could game-coach we would be picking probably 13th. His Sybil-oriented rotations and crunch time decisions easily cost us 10-12 games this season and more last.

Brick is right about Doc…the team’s record supports that.

EJPLAYA, put your money where your mouth is.

This bet isn’t about the past, it’s about the future. If you think Doc is such a good coach, bet on him.

You’ve proved my point boys. No one wants to do anything but spew Fire Doc. I NEVER said I love Doc as the coach of this team long term. I don’t think he is the coach to take us to a championship and will be replaced by a better one to push us over the edge. What I will not do is pretend that I am smarter than the guys above making the decisions, namely Danny, who have played at every level and won championships. Who have coached themselves, and see the day to day back operations of the franchise. As smart as you think you are, compared to Danny and his background you know nothing. Neither do I. We aren’t able to give a full evaluation of the job that he does based on the tiny bit of knowledge that we have. Especially when a key component of that, the 227 games out by our starters, you completely chose to ignore or even address. The reason you won’t address it is that you know it would damage your argument dramatically. Avoiding that discussion and generalizing does not prove your point. Back it up! Discuss the topic. Discuss the issues that made it impossible for him to have a successful season this year. Discuss the truth of the matter that Danny blowing up the team the last two years and getting younger and younger and younger had a HUGE role in the dropoff in the record. I agree that he may have cost us 10-12 games with his end of game decisions. That’s why I don’t believe he is the coach to take us there necessarily. I do however give him a huge deal of credit for a team that had their starters gone much of the year, had a huge losing streak, and was full of young, immature, and competetive guys not turning on one another. When you won’t even give him credit for that your argument sounds like a pissy little kid who can’t make a clear well thought out point. It’s like two kids saying “Did so, Did not, Did do, Did not…” ad nauseum.

Saying that a good coach would be able to win them another 20 games is just not a well thought out argument Iowa. Talent wins games at this level guys. A coach can have a 10-12 game affect on the season, but nothing more. You can’t say that the coaches didn’t do a pretty good job on Big Al, TA, Gomes, Rondo, Perk, West and even Green to a point… With the exception of Big Al, not one of these guys would start on an above .500 team this year. 2-3 years down the road and most of them should be starters. That is when we win, unless we do one of two things. Get lucky in the draft or trade for a star. We can also wait 2-3 years to go deep in the playoffs. I prefer the latter based on the cost of trading away some guys that appear to have great potential. Getting someone’s washed up veteran is like re-arranging chairs on the Titanic. Let Doc have a year with this team without injuries and then assess things.

As far as the bet Brick… I’m not a betting man, but if you don’t have the cash to go to a playoff game yourself, why would I think you’d have the cash to pay for my plane ticket. Saying “Wanna Bet?!” is right on par with “Did so, Did not, Did so, Did not…”

Now address the point for once!!

Oh Baloney.

I’ve given concrete reasons for why Rivers is a terrible coach in post after post after post over the last 6 months, and so have a number of other members of this forum.

It’s like going to a bad play. The acting stinks, the set design stinks, the lighting and acoustics stink, the actors can’t remember their lines and the dialogue is trite.

But when someone tries to criticize the play, EJPLAYA retorts “but you don’t know anything about acting, you aren’t a playwright or a producer or a director. Besides, you weren’t at rehearsals or backstage so you have no right to criticize unless you know what went on behind the scenes.”

Frankly I don’t care. I don’t care how smart Ainge is, or how smart Rivers is, or how many injuries they had or how young they are. Every team had injuries, every team had young inexperienced players. That’s life. The fact is that the end product produced by these geniuses stank worse than a dead horse.

Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Jefferson, Oden/Durant

If that is the Celtics starting lineup next year, and they stay healthy, how could anyone argue that they won’t make the playoffs? The debate should be about how far they are going to go. Did anyone watch the first round of the East playoffs this year? Miami, Washington and Orlando were absolutely pathetic. Toronto had a good year but then did their best imitation of Dallas by just completely urinating themselves come playoff time. New Jersey was lucky enough to play the only NBA team (other than Dallas) that was actually nervous about the playoffs (see Bosh’s comments on his nerves for proof of this). New Jersey is quickly showing that they are just another junk east team with their inability to even compete with the cavs right now. So that leaves 3 legitimate teams in the East right now. One of those teams is the cavs, which many could debate that they probably wouldn’t make it out of the first round in the west, and the other is chicago who quickly became the most overrated team in the NBA. This leaves Detroit as the only team the Celtics can’t beat next year.

So with a conference that is so distraught, who is to say that the Bobcats can’t make the playoffs next year? It’s the East, anything can happen. This season cannot be used in any type of measurement with this team. When you have consistent injuries, you lose any type of chemistry. The best example of this is Golden State. People were declaring their upset over Dallas as the biggest upset in NBA history. Really? Apparently nobody read John Hollinger’s articles on how efficient and good they had been over the last month of the season when they were actually healthy. Injuries turned them into an 8 seed, but once these playoffs started we soon found out they were no 8 seed. Only 3 things have mattered in the last year and a half to this Celtics team.

1. We resign Paul Pierce (check)
2. Al Jefferson finally turns into a stud (check)
3. We draft Kevin Durant or Greg Oden (?)

Well we resigned pierce, jefferson is clearly the future, and if we draft Oden or Durant everyone in Boston is going to be delighted with the season we are about to have. This last season was hard to watch, but it turned out just like we needed. Instead of having to trade away young talent, now we might get our 3rd all star on a technicality. Life is good.

modawg3434 said:

"Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Jefferson, Oden/Durant

If that is the Celtics starting lineup next year, and they stay healthy, how could anyone argue that they won’t make the playoffs?"

If Rivers is here, no chance. Wanna bet? EJPLAYA was too chicken. What about you?

Brick – Come on. Once again you choose to not answer the question. You pick and choose the questions you want to answer and refuse to the ones you know you can’t win. If you sit there and are thinking that you are right 100% of the time then you should be writing a column with the Globe or something so that you can state your opinion and not have to have a dissenting opinion. Be very afraid of listening to someone that claims to be right all of the time guys! My dad always used to joke about that and say “I was wrong once… I thought I was wrong but I wasn’t”. You may want to look at yourself and see if you really have any intention of discussion vs. bullying your opinion on others. Now I see where the Democrat Libpart comes from. They believe in choice and freedom of opinion as long

oops…

Now I see where the Democratic Liberal comes out in you. They believe in choice and freedom of opinion as long as it agrees with them. It all comes clear now!

Answer the question!!!! Maybe one that is a little easier for you. Name me one playoff team this year that has their starting 5 missing 227 games. In fact, name me one playoff team EVER that has missed that many games by starters. You can’t because it isn’t gonna happen! And yes, stating that a lack of basketball knowledge lessens your ability to truly analyze the job Doc has done is an accurate thought. The end result might not be what we were wanting, but there were other factors which you choose to ignore. With your logic the whole team could be severely injured in a bus crash and not able to play for much of the season and Doc should still be able to get them to the playoffs. Go ahead though. Respond and avoid the question again.

EJPLAYA said:
  
"Answer the question!!!! Maybe one that is a little easier for you. Name me one playoff team this year that has their starting 5 missing 227 games. "

But your question is irrelevant. I’m saying that if Rivers is the coach, the Celtics will be in the lottery next year even if not one Celtics player misses a single game for any reason. Rivers=lottery, no matter what else happens. Got it? Who cares why they missed the playoffs last year?

And I’m willing to back up my prediction with cash. You aren’t.

Brick – Houston did not have that kind of injury issue. Yoa missed 34 games and McGrady 11. Battier played in all 82, Rafer Alston played in all 82, and Chuck Hayes and Juwan Howard (whichever you want to consider the starting PF because it was pretty even) missed 4 and 2 games respectively.

Another Democratic Liberal ploy! If the facts don’t support your case, just make things up! 49 games missed by your starting 5 is a long way from 227 games. If I were a betting man, which I am not, I sure wouldn’t bet with someone who was dishonest enough to try and prove their point by placing inaccurate statements as fact for everyone to read. Come on Brick. There went that integrity right out the window. Along with that credibility that some of these guys seem to think you have.