Are we one good bench piece away from title contention?

[KGs Knee]

In an NBA finals setting, I don't think Giannis can beat either LeBron or Kawhi.  They're both the better player in a 7 game series.

[KGs Knee]

As for the topic, my answer is a simple no.    No bench player is going to change the ultimate fortunes of this team in terms of winning a title.

[GreenFaith1819]

LOL the only "Piece" this team needs is a Healthy Smart.

My oldest son is playing NBA 2k again and I heard him hollering and yelling in his room yesterday.

He kept yelling and screaming about Smart....no kidding.

Evidently 2k has gotten Smart right...my son said that players like Chris Paul were fumbling balls away in Smart's presence...dude was getting crazy deflections....getting IMPOSSIBLE rebounds....you know - doing SMART stuff.

I believe it.

Make no mistake about it Marcus Smart gives us a puncher's chance.

[Phantom255x]

Someone like a Cauley-Stein, Burks, Bertans, Saric, Bjelica, etc. would help us a ton. I hope Danny actually makes 2 additions this trading deadline. 1 through small trade, another through buyout market. But if Poirier does do well + Timelord ends up coming back after the Break, I guess our frontcourt would be okay, but please add a bench scorer.

I look at a lot of these other teams (like Clippers, Lakers, Raptors, etc.) and they have benches which can truly hold their own if their starters sit. I fear our starters sitting and the bench having some big scoring drought against a great team, though fortunately that hasn't happened lately!

And welp, there goes Cauley-Stein. Still a handful of options to choose from (either through trade or buyout market)

Also, I'm seeing a lot of folks saying the Bucks are overrated. Umm...? 

Bucks are absolutely the favorites out of the East. Next I assume is a healthy Sixers team. Then it's a mix between MIA/BOS/TOR/IND where I like us as long as we're healthy ourselves.

I still pick the Clippers to win it all, over the Bucks in 6 games.

[Hoopvortex]

- Boston is #6 on offense (a tiny hair behind Utah) and #5 on defense, so a borderline contender, arguably.  Youth and lack of a MVP type makes it fair to question their playoff abilities, but Brad has taken them deep in the past with less talent.

If my math is correct, Boston passed Philly tonight for fourth in defense. Celtics were only a 10th of a point per hundred possessions behind, and they played defense tonight at a rate of something like 86 points per hundred possessions.

[tenn_smoothie]

We need a reliable big or a sharp shooting guard off the bench.

We need both.

[Hoopvortex]

On the subject of who is and is not a contender, for what it's worth:


- Bucks are #1 defense and #1 offense ... they're the juggernaut, though as I said I have reservations about Coach Bud teams

Milwaukee is actually #2 in offense, substantially behind Dallas. The Mavs have a shot at achieving the all-time best offense this season.

[gouki88]

On the subject of who is and is not a contender, for what it's worth:


- Bucks are #1 defense and #1 offense ... they're the juggernaut, though as I said I have reservations about Coach Bud teams

Milwaukee is actually #2 in offense, substantially behind Dallas. The Mavs have a shot at achieving the all-time best offense this season.

For me that’s a testament to the ludicrous offensive ability of Doncic

[__ramonezy__]

It's my belief that you don't trade for bench pieces... They emerge from what you have. Within most systems guys come in and provide a spark that the starters don't have but that impact is not necessarily transferable... Several "great" bench pieces are out there just not for our system.

PS... Injuries aside our bench has an all-nba defender and a guy that averages a double-double... When Rob comes back to give us size... What exactly are we missing?

[Surferdad]

It's my belief that you don't trade for bench pieces... They emerge from what you have. Within most systems guys come in and provide a spark that the starters don't have but that impact is not necessarily transferable... Several "great" bench pieces are out there just not for our system.

PS... Injuries aside our bench has an all-nba defender and a guy that averages a double-double... When Rob comes back to give us size... What exactly are we missing?

RWIII, GWill, Semi, Javonte, Smart
That's an athletic bulldog defensive lineup

[Celtics4ever]

I think we are not that close.    We are a very good team, but we have a lot of ups and downs, and real champions do not have all those mental letdowns.

I think our roster has holes, but there have been some pleasant surprises too, like Kanter.  Hard to tell we are so ravaged by injuries.

[Jvalin]

We are one good starter away from title contention (at center).

How are we defining "good starter"?

Let's say a top 15 center

This! If we could somehow trade for a guy like Myles Turner without sacrificing our 5-man core, I believe we'd have a legit chance to make it to the Finals.

Salary-wise, Kanter + Theis + Langford for Turner works in the trade machine. Problem is, the Pacers would have zero incentive to do a 3 for 1 trade. Chances are, we'd have to find a third team. Not the easiest thing to do, but it's definitely possible. Especially if we are willing to include pick(s).

For instance:

(click on image to enlarge)

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=vc2al5t

Or something along these lines. The Wizards get the Celtics 2020 first as well.

It also works with the Kings (instead of the Wizards) for Bogdanovic, with the Knicks for Marcus Morris, with the Wolves for Covington etc.

Kemba - Wanamaker - Edwards
Brown - Smart - Green
Hayward - Semi
Tatum - G. Williams
Turner - Poirier - R. Williams

That's an impressive 6-man core, plus we'd have 2 roster spots available in order to sign players via the buyout market.

Turner isn't a good fit next to Sabonis. The Pacers also have Bitadze to provide cover at the 5. It's possible that they'll decide to move on from Turner. If that's the case, Danny should go after him.

[gouki88]

We are one good starter away from title contention (at center).

How are we defining "good starter"?

Let's say a top 15 center

This! If we could somehow trade for a guy like Myles Turner without sacrificing our 5-man core, I believe we'd have a legit chance to make it to the Finals.

Salary-wise, Kanter + Theis + Langford for Turner works in the trade machine. Problem is, the Pacers would have zero incentive to do a 3 for 1 trade. Chances are, we'd have to find a third team. Not the easiest thing to do, but it's definitely possible. Especially if we are willing to include pick(s).

For instance:

(click on image to enlarge)

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=vc2al5t

Or something along these lines. The Wizards get the Celtics 2020 first as well.

It also works with the Kings (instead of the Wizards) for Bogdanovic, with the Knicks for Marcus Morris, with the Wolves for Covington etc.

Kemba - Wanamaker - Edwards
Brown - Smart - Green
Hayward - Semi
Tatum - G. Williams
Turner - Poirier - R. Williams

That's an impressive 6-man core, plus we'd have 2 roster spots available in order to sign players via the buyout market.

Turner isn't a good fit next to Sabonis. The Pacers also have Bitadze to provide cover at the 5. It's possible that they'll decide to move on from Turner. If that's the case, Danny should go after him.

I think losing the big man depth we have is absolutely not worth the marginal upgrade to get Turner.

[droopdog7]

The bucks have an ELITE defense.  The stats obviously show it but it jumps out at you when we play them.  I don’t expect that will change come playoff time.

I’d say the bucks are about even odds against the field in the east, which is pretty good.  They should be viewed as the favorites and putting any other team there (e.g, Philly) means you’re either trying to be a contrarian or you didn’t learn from Bos experience last year or both.

[Jvalin]

We are one good starter away from title contention (at center).

How are we defining "good starter"?

Let's say a top 15 center

This! If we could somehow trade for a guy like Myles Turner without sacrificing our 5-man core, I believe we'd have a legit chance to make it to the Finals.

Salary-wise, Kanter + Theis + Langford for Turner works in the trade machine. Problem is, the Pacers would have zero incentive to do a 3 for 1 trade. Chances are, we'd have to find a third team. Not the easiest thing to do, but it's definitely possible. Especially if we are willing to include pick(s).

For instance:

(click on image to enlarge)

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=vc2al5t

Or something along these lines. The Wizards get the Celtics 2020 first as well.

It also works with the Kings (instead of the Wizards) for Bogdanovic, with the Knicks for Marcus Morris, with the Wolves for Covington etc.

Kemba - Wanamaker - Edwards
Brown - Smart - Green
Hayward - Semi
Tatum - G. Williams
Turner - Poirier - R. Williams

That's an impressive 6-man core, plus we'd have 2 roster spots available in order to sign players via the buyout market.

Turner isn't a good fit next to Sabonis. The Pacers also have Bitadze to provide cover at the 5. It's possible that they'll decide to move on from Turner. If that's the case, Danny should go after him.

I think losing the big man depth we have is absolutely not worth the marginal upgrade to get Turner.

We'd still have 3 Centers in Turner-Poirier-Timelord, plus 2 open roster spots to sign players via the byuout market.

Usually the team that gets the best player wins the trade.

Imo, Turner > Kanter > Theis

Basically, we'd trade our depth for a significant (not marginal) upgrade at the C position. I'd do that trade in a heartbeat. Not sure whether the other teams would though.