Big Man Options

[Fierce1]

According to nick, the Celts could feel that adding a guy like WCS, Noel, or Poeltl won't make a difference against the likes of Embiid and Giannis.

Here is what I actually said:

It was reported the Celts were trying to trade up to #4 to pick Darius Garland.
https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/nba-rumors-celtics-eyeing-trade-no-4-pick-take-darius-garland

After the Celts couldn't land the #4 pick, they wanted Tyler Herro.

When Herro wasn't available, the Celts just drafted the player they think is the best that's available.

The Celts were also in the hunt for Anthony Davis at that time.

Drafting Romeo was really weird because the Celts have lots of wing players.

Maybe Romeo was to be a part of that Anthony Davis trade to Boston that never happened.

And if it's true that the Celts are unwilling to part with any of the core 5, it could be Romeo that would end up as trade bait.

Is he trade bait? Someone has to move for a big if want to compete this year. But what is out there. WCS is an option since GSW is out and he signed to the cheap. Maybe Carsen and a second gets it done.
I am hopeful Robert Williams gets back and continues down a growth path like Capela. I am also hopeful on Tacko being able to give us 10 minutes again in the playoffs.
 I unfortunately see next year being our year to make the finals with no trade this year. Romeo should be kept till the summer incase Gordon does leave. He looks like a player to me with those long arms. Time will tell. Kemba in the playoffs will be special.IMO

Celts really have a chance to make it to the Finals this season.

The only obstacle is the Bucks.

Philly becomes an obstacle if the Celts don't make a trade this year.
Celts just need to make a minor move like Poeltl, Noel, or WCS.

Adding another big that can help contain Embiid and Giannis will increase the Celts' chances of making it to the Finals in June.

So why pass on an opportunity to win it all this season?

There is also the very, very real possibility that Brad Stevens, Danny Ainge, the Celtics scouting department and ownership do not feel that adding a third string center, which all the guys you mentioned would be on this team, is going to be enough to make any difference against superstar, MVP quality opposition. None of those guys are going to do any better a job on the Embiid's, Giannis's, Davis's, and others than Theis and/or Kanter.

The Centers I mentioned are not 3rd string.

WCS is averaging 22.9 minutes per game.

Noel is averaging 18.6 mpg.

And Poeltl 18.4 mpg.

I don't know that any of those guys are better for this team than Theis or Kanter, so they'd be 3rd string guys for us anyway

If the Celts are facing teams like Miami and Toronto, they don't need any of those 3 I mentioned.

But against bigger teams, those 3 are better than Theis and Kanter on defense.

Noel, Poeltl, and WCS are all 7-footers, or close to being a 7-footer.
Opposing bigs will have a harder time scoring against them or jumping over them.

The price to pay is only a draft pick and maybe Poirier to make salaries match.

Well if we are talking size and defense VP is 7' and did win DPOY in his league. VP is dealing with a longer learning curve like most foreign players plus he had an injury. Feel giving up on him this fast along with a pick isn't good, for those guys at least.

The Euro game is different.

There is no defensive 3-second rule.

Poirier could just stay in the paint and protect the rim.

So it's a totally different league.

In the FIBA World Cup, Poirier didn't play a single minute against Team USA.
I mean Gobert had to rest at some point, so why didn't the coach of France use Poirier.
I think that says a lot about Poirier capabilities.

USA went small so France did not opt for VP.

And euroleague probably has more of perimeter playing style than the NBA.

Give VP a chance before we talk dealing him.

Among the 4 Celtic bigs, I would rather keep RWill, Theis, and Kanter.

If this was a rebuilding year, I think there's no harm in keeping VP for another year.
But Celts really have a shot at making the Finals this season.

It's just not practical to say "just wait for next season" because we will never know what will happen next season.
Just like Hayward only playing 5 minutes the whole 2017-18 season.

Right now the Celts are looking like contenders.
The Celts should do everything they can to make sure the team will have the best chance of winning heading into the playoffs.

Ainge gambled on Kyrie by giving up the 2018 lottery pick for a chance to win now.

I don't think losing the Bucks' 2020 pick is a big price to pay for a minor upgrade that would make the Celts better defensively in the playoffs.

C's aren't contenders in my mind, so if its not a bigger upgrade I'm passing.

I understand.

It's true that if you don't believe the team is a contender then a minor upgrade is not needed.

I think the Celts will surprise you in May 2020.

[Somebody]

I think we're a contender even with our current roster - we're smashing it in team metrics! An SRS of 7.50 (4th in the league) and a net rating of +8 (3rd in the league) is really good, we're not title favourites (blame a GOAT level Milwaukee squad with an upgraded Giannis who have an SRS of 12.69) but we have a puncher's chance of winning it all.

[Fierce1]

I think we're a contender even with our current roster - we're smashing it in team metrics! An SRS of 7.50 (4th in the league) and a net rating of +8 (3rd in the league) is really good, we're not title favourites (blame a GOAT level Milwaukee squad with an upgraded Giannis who have an SRS of 12.69) but we have a puncher's chance of winning it all.

I think the only obstacle is Milwaukee.

The Celts can beat any team in the west.

It's the Giannis factor that will be the biggest problem the Celts will face.

[LilRip]

I think we're a contender even with our current roster - we're smashing it in team metrics! An SRS of 7.50 (4th in the league) and a net rating of +8 (3rd in the league) is really good, we're not title favourites (blame a GOAT level Milwaukee squad with an upgraded Giannis who have an SRS of 12.69) but we have a puncher's chance of winning it all.

I think the only obstacle is Milwaukee.

The Celts can beat any team in the west.

It's the Giannis factor that will be the biggest problem the Celts will face.

I don’t think we can beat the Sixers either in a 7-game series. As for the west? I don’t know. Lakers and Clippers look awfully strong

[gouki88]

I think we're a contender even with our current roster - we're smashing it in team metrics! An SRS of 7.50 (4th in the league) and a net rating of +8 (3rd in the league) is really good, we're not title favourites (blame a GOAT level Milwaukee squad with an upgraded Giannis who have an SRS of 12.69) but we have a puncher's chance of winning it all.

I think the only obstacle is Milwaukee.

The Celts can beat any team in the west.

It's the Giannis factor that will be the biggest problem the Celts will face.

I don’t think we can beat the Sixers either in a 7-game series. As for the west? I don’t know. Lakers and Clippers look awfully strong

I think we beat the 76ers. They're really quite out-coachable, their #2 player becomes a hindrance in the playoffs, and our team seems geared to only improve as our young guys continue to develop and our injured guys reintegrate.

The Bucks, however, are a problem. Toronto could be tricky if healthy, but I like our chances.

The Clippers and the Lakers are both tough outs.

[Fierce1]

Lakers and Clippers need more time to gel.

All the new players will have to learn to play with each other.
I don't think one season will be enough for them to have perfect chemistry.

[Fierce1]

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Will the Celtics make the finals?

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2,640,269 votes • Final results

7:04 AM - 24 Dec 2019

[td450]

Lakers and Clippers need more time to gel.

All the new players will have to learn to play with each other.
I don't think one season will be enough for them to have perfect chemistry.

I don't think the C's have significantly more player continuity than either of those teams. Even though four of our top five guys were here last year, we've had very little time with them together, and even among them, the dynamic has changed dramatically. They will need to figure out their flow all over again when we become healthy.

[Fierce1]

Lakers and Clippers need more time to gel.

All the new players will have to learn to play with each other.
I don't think one season will be enough for them to have perfect chemistry.

I don't think the C's have significantly more player continuity than either of those teams. Even though four of our top five guys were here last year, we've had very little time with them together, and even among them, the dynamic has changed dramatically. They will need to figure out their flow all over again when we become healthy.

The only real significant addition is Kemba.

Brad's system remains unchanged.
It was Kyrie who tried to deviate from the system.

The Lakers have a different team around Lebron and a different coach.

Doc Rivers has two new star players.

I'm confident Celts will beat the two LA teams.

It's the Bucks that I'm worried about.

[Sophomore]

I think we're a contender even with our current roster - we're smashing it in team metrics! An SRS of 7.50 (4th in the league) and a net rating of +8 (3rd in the league) is really good, we're not title favourites (blame a GOAT level Milwaukee squad with an upgraded Giannis who have an SRS of 12.69) but we have a puncher's chance of winning it all.

I think the only obstacle is Milwaukee.

The Celts can beat any team in the west.

It's the Giannis factor that will be the biggest problem the Celts will face.

I don’t think we can beat the Sixers either in a 7-game series. As for the west? I don’t know. Lakers and Clippers look awfully strong

I think we beat the 76ers. They're really quite out-coachable, their #2 player becomes a hindrance in the playoffs, and our team seems geared to only improve as our young guys continue to develop and our injured guys reintegrate.

The Bucks, however, are a problem. Toronto could be tricky if healthy, but I like our chances.

The Clippers and the Lakers are both tough outs.

I think we’re a contender, but I can’t say I feel pretty sure of getting to the finals - like I did at this point in 08.

The other team I have my eye on is the Pacers. If oladipo comes back in time for the playoffs and is most of what he was before his injury, their guard lineup is very strong and they have a big in Sabonis tailor made to exploit our weakest point. I still like our chances against them but I don’t consider them a walkover. Saw them drive-and-kick Toronto to death last night without Brogdon.

[BitterJim]

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Will the Celtics make the finals?

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2,640,269 votes • Final results

7:04 AM - 24 Dec 2019

2.6 million votes from a poll on an account with <25k followers? Something tells me that someone set up some bots haha

[BitterJim]

Lakers and Clippers need more time to gel.

All the new players will have to learn to play with each other.
I don't think one season will be enough for them to have perfect chemistry.

It's tough to tell. Each of those teams could go in either the 2008 Celtics or 2011 Heat direction, we'll have to wait and see

Of all the teams that could pull a 2008 Celtics, though, I'd take the Clippers. They have Doc and Kawhi (who's coming off of winning a championship in his first year on a new team, with major additions at the trade deadline no less)

[LilRip]

I think we're a contender even with our current roster - we're smashing it in team metrics! An SRS of 7.50 (4th in the league) and a net rating of +8 (3rd in the league) is really good, we're not title favourites (blame a GOAT level Milwaukee squad with an upgraded Giannis who have an SRS of 12.69) but we have a puncher's chance of winning it all.

I think the only obstacle is Milwaukee.

The Celts can beat any team in the west.

It's the Giannis factor that will be the biggest problem the Celts will face.

I don’t think we can beat the Sixers either in a 7-game series. As for the west? I don’t know. Lakers and Clippers look awfully strong

I think we beat the 76ers. They're really quite out-coachable, their #2 player becomes a hindrance in the playoffs, and our team seems geared to only improve as our young guys continue to develop and our injured guys reintegrate.

The Bucks, however, are a problem. Toronto could be tricky if healthy, but I like our chances.

The Clippers and the Lakers are both tough outs.

The sixers definitely have an inferior coach, but the Embiid factor might be too much to overcome. It’s that much of a weakness for us and that much of a strength for the sixers. Plus I can see majority of the 50-50 calls going against us, especially since Embiid is so hard to ref.

We’ll definitely beat them some games. But losing 4-2 or 4-3 is the most likely outcome imo. Hopefully I’m wrong and you’re right.

[wiley]

Lakers and Clippers need more time to gel.

All the new players will have to learn to play with each other.
I don't think one season will be enough for them to have perfect chemistry.

I don't think the C's have significantly more player continuity than either of those teams. Even though four of our top five guys were here last year, we've had very little time with them together, and even among them, the dynamic has changed dramatically. They will need to figure out their flow all over again when we become healthy.

The only real significant addition is Kemba.

Brad's system remains unchanged.
It was Kyrie who tried to deviate from the system.

The Lakers have a different team around Lebron and a different coach.

Doc Rivers has two new star players.

I'm confident Celts will beat the two LA teams.

It's the Bucks that I'm worried about.

My original prediction was Clippers title.  Having seen the season thus far...I am concerned about the Clippers being able to handle the Lakers, and about their chemistry.  The original speculation was Leonard to Clippers by himself...the PG addition surprised everyone.  Last year's Clipper's team was awesome...and right now I'm worried they dinged their chemistry too much for this particular season, despite PG's greatness. 
I think last year's team...with Gallo and SGA....plus Leonard....might be better than this major adjusted Clippers team.  They have a bunch of time to prove me wrong.  They gave up all their draft picks too.  SGA is a stud.  Let's see. 

As far as the Celtics though...I think the C's will have trouble against both LA teams, but with a better chance against the Lakers.  AD will pour it on against us, but Lebron will be less of a presence...games will be close and we have shooters. 

So right now I have Celtics beat Lakers, Lakers beat Clippers, Clippers beat Celtics.

Yes, Bucks a significant problem.  But I think we give Giannis more of a headache than anyone, whether he's scoring or not...we play the Bucks tough (will be MUCH tougher on them without Kyrie).

Agree with the Celtics should go for a title this year.  Injuries happen.  Fatigue happens.  The Lakers and Clippers are going to brutalize each other in the WCF.

Pray for a good buyout big like Favors and Robert William's health (or one of those to come true).  We need that big for injury insurance at the very least.  I don't want to lose a close fought ECF simply because Theis or Kanter is dinged up and misses a game or two.  The Celtics are good enough to try and contend THIS YEAR.

The "Let's start really fighting for a title next season" is bull crap...

[tenn_smoothie]

I don't think any are likely to be worth the cost this season.


I would say the plan for the 4/5 moving forward should be to continue the method Danny has been using to find rotation-caliber bigs (late 1st round, unheralded Euro vets, flawed castoffs from other teams), and hope one of them turns out to be a diamond in the rough at an extremely affordable price.


The Celts have too much invested cap-wise and roster-wise into the guards / wings to really go after a major piece to play the 5.  Given the way Brad has the team play, it wouldn't really make sense to worry too much about the 5, anyway, unless the Celts have the chance to add a versatile, elite two-way big (like Horford circa 2017).

"wouldn't make sense to worry too much about the 5, anyway" ??   Huh ?

The lack of a quality center is what is holding us back from real title contention. All the other top teams have too much size for us right now and Brad's obsession with an athletic, small-ball team sounds really cool - until we get pounded into dust in a playoff series. It's painful enough watching us fight for our lives for one game vs Embid, Giannis, Davis, Lopez. I don't care to watch us bounce off those brick walls over a 7-game series.