Is this team, as is, a real title contender this year? [Poll]

[Tr1boy]

Yes

It has like 5 all stars in one team

Its a stacked team. No excuses

5? Hmm... care to give us the names?

Tatum, Walker
Brown, Hayward, Smart

They are all all star calibre players. Smart nba 1st all team defensive player

[nickagneta]

Yes

It has like 5 all stars in one team

Its a stacked team. No excuses

5? Hmm... care to give us the names?

Tatum, Walker
Brown, Hayward, Smart

They are all all star calibre players. Smart nba 1st all team defensive player

Being 1st team All-Defense is quite far from being All-Star level. Smart is an elite role player, but not anywhere close to All-Star level talent.

And Hayward's days as an All-Star are over, in my opinion.

[dannyboy35]

  I know people can have slightly different ideas on what a contender is and may go back and forth but I just think “ we have 4 all star LEVEL players. Not everyone can make it but both Hayward and brown could put up big numbers most other places. 4 all stars with good chemistry? Gotta be a true contender.

[dannyboy35]

Yes

It has like 5 all stars in one team

Its a stacked team. No excuses

5? Hmm... care to give us the names?

Tatum, Walker
Brown, Hayward, Smart

They are all all star calibre players. Smart nba 1st all team defensive player

Being 1st team All-Defense is quite far from being All-Star level. Smart is an elite role player, but not anywhere close to All-Star level talent.

And Hayward's days as an All-Star are over, in my opinion.

 
  I definitely agree on Smart. I think Gordon is a 21/7 /6 + with high efficiency on a lot of teams. I not only think he’s an all star but a max level player.

[fairweatherfan]

Right now, I have the Clippers as the favourite to win it with Boston a close second. Lakers 3rd - quite a bit back on the other two but well ahead of the next tier. Those teams are my frontrunners.

Other teams that have an outside shot of being the Champ - Philly and Milwaukee in the East. Houston and Dallas in the West.

I continue to be here for your Milwaukee slander haha. I hope you're right!

[86MaxwellSmart]

Theis gets hurt every year so far....we're screwed without him.....fingers crossed.

[slamtheking]

I think they're a contender.  I'd say the Bucks are the favorites but I'd put Lakers, Clips, C's and Toronto in the next tier after the Bucks.  I don't think Toronto would beat the LA teams for the title but I could see the C's doing it. 

Bucks 2-1 favorites.
LAL, LAC, C's: 5-1
Tor: 7-1.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I think the Raptors are a good regular season team. They've won alot of games in a row using junk defenses and hassling opposing backups with athleticism.

That stuff goes out the window in the playoffs. You gonna rely on a Lowry/Ibaka pick and roll in the playoffs? A Siakim long-post up? an OG isolation?

This team is dangerous and not to be taken lightly, but I don't think they are legit contenders.

[BitterJim]

With Tatum playing like he is, absolutely. It still remains to be seen if he can keep up this level, but on the other hand we haven't seen him playing like this with a fully healthy team. The combo of a fully healthy team and Superstar Tatum us enough to be in the conversation and have a real shot at winning.

I honestly wish Tatum had made this leap a month earlier, if that were the case Danny may have been a bit more gung-ho about going for it this year. All season I've been of the opinion that we didn't have enough, and next year would be the first year of contending, but Tatum is proving me wrong

[ETNCeltics]

With Tatum playing like he is, absolutely. It still remains to be seen if he can keep up this level, but on the other hand we haven't seen him playing like this with a fully healthy team. The combo of a fully healthy team and Superstar Tatum us enough to be in the conversation and have a real shot at winning.

I honestly wish Tatum had made this leap a month earlier, if that were the case Danny may have been a bit more gung-ho about going for it this year. All season I've been of the opinion that we didn't have enough, and next year would be the first year of contending, but Tatum is proving me wrong

Who could we have gotten that made us demonstrably better?

We're hard capped, we couldn't make a trade like Philly did, could we?

I've heard this said here many times, but I don't see how we could have gotten anyone of value without giving up something of significance, like our Memphis #1 & Smart, and at that point, it's dubious who we get that makes us a better team. Seems to me like all we could have realistically added was some bench dweller.

[CelticSooner]

If Tatum is this good in the playoffs the C's will win the East. We'll just to have to wait and see.

[tenn_smoothie]

Yes

It has like 5 all stars in one team

Its a stacked team. No excuses

First 7 are very good - after that, we run on empty too often. Theis has been a big plus along with Kanter, but we still need some meaningful defensive size and rebounding in the post and, I believe, a deadly knock-down shooter off the bench. Rob Williams could, maybe, possibly fill the first need. Danny has been a bit unlucky trying to find that sharp-shooter off the bench. He has drafted some promising shooters who haven't been able to find the longer range from the pro 3 pt. line.

[Sophomore]

Milwaukee is obviously having a great year and has to be the favorite, but I’m encouraged by the way we’ve played them. What they do they do really well, but can also become a little predictable. When we have had our defensive intensity up we’ve been able to go fairly long stretches keeping them off the scoreboard. Gives us a puncher’s chance. And that was with pre-supernova Jayson. Looking forward to the game coming up in Milwaukee as a measuring stick!

[hwangjini_1]

this is stolen from SoSH, but should add some interesting info to our discussion.

when stacked up by w/l, the celtics emerge as a very strong team against other playoff teams.

https://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/2019-2020-celtics-regular-season-thread.28649/page-32
________________

I mentioned in the game thread after today's tough loss that the Celtics are 7-4 against the top 8 WCF teams. I decided to do a quick comparison to the East's contenders. As the Celtics have not yet played the Jazz, I did the records for the other teams both with and without the Jazz:

Celtics: 7-4
Lakers: 1-1
Denver: 1-1
Clippers: 1-1
Harden & The Refs: 0-1
Jazz: DNP
OKC: 1-0
Dallas: 2-0
Memphis: 1-0

Bucks: 7-3, 6-2 w/o Utah:
Lakers: 1-0
Denver: 0-1
Clippers: 2-0
Harden & The Refs: 1-0
Jazz: 1-1
OKC: 1-0
Dallas: 0-1
Memphis: 1-0

Raptors: 4-5, 3-5 w/o Utah.
Lakers: 1-0
Denver: DNP
Clippers: 0-2
Harden & The Refs: 0-1
Jazz: 1-0
OKC: 1-1
Dallas: 1-1
Memphis: DNP

Heat: 5-8, 4-7 w/o Utah.
Lakers: 0-2
Denver: 0-1
Clippers: 0-2
Harden & The Refs: 1-1
Jazz: 1-1
OKC: 1-0
Dallas: 1-0
Memphis: 1-1

Philly: 6-6, 5-5 w/o Utah.
Lakers: 1-0
Denver: 1-1
Clippers: 1-0
Harden & The Refs: 0-1
Jazz: 1-1
OKC: 1-1
Dallas: 0-2
Memphis: 1-0

Pacers: 7-5, 6-4 w/o Utah.
Lakers: 1-0
Denver: 1-1
Clippers: 0-1
Harden & The Refs: 0-1
Jazz: 1-1
OKC: 2-0
Dallas: 0-1
Memphis: 2-0

Meanwhile, looking at how the West's top teams have fared against the 6 legit ECF teams:

Lakers: 3-5
Denver: 5-3
Clippers: 6-4
Rockets: 5-2
Jazz: 4-5
OKC: 2-7
Dallas: 5-4
Memphis: 1-6

[droopdog7]

Don’t you have to define real in some way?  I think Milwaukee is the big favorite.  If I had to bet my house, it would be on them.  If asked what I would bet on the Celtics, maybe my expensive entry doorknob?