I know what everyone is thinking!!!

[Rondo9]

And how do you know that any links?

[j804]

Exactly my feelings.
The point is not to have a team that might make the playoffs this year.
The point is to be again a contender in 4-5 years.
This is what makes rebuilding so painful, but this is what it is.
Getting in the playoffs per se is irrelevant to the larger scheme of things.
Sure, we ll get a few more hours of televised fun but that's it.
Anything that does not contribute to developing talent and building team character is besides the point for the next couple of years.

But if they make the playoffs then it's most likely a testament to the developing of talent and team character. You have to make the playoffs if you want to contend and if these young guys help contribute to a Celtic playoff push this year then isn't that making progress?

again, if the playoffs happen because olynyk, Sully and Smart magically become 20-10 guys(or something like that) then great! that's progress.

but if Green, Rondo, Wallace and Bass are getting the mins.? these kids could have all the character in the world and it won't make their team be any better.

I hate to break it to C's fans but there is no Pierce on this team right now. we have some nice players but that 's about it. no superstar though. and how did we get Pierce? by being bad.

this league is very simple. you have the stars - you win.

now, i'm not one for tanking. tanking would imply trying to lose games on purpose. that's not what i'm saying. i'm saying, if these young guys of ours are so good? then hand the reigns over to them. if we win, then the future is bright. if we lose, then we know these guys need a star and they may get it with the lousy record they had.

i'd rather see a young team lose than a bunch of mediocre veterans make an 8 seed and get bounced.

So you want Rondo to play bad then?

[nickagneta]

I hate to break it to C's fans but there is no Pierce on this team right now. we have some nice players but that 's about it. no superstar though. and how did we get Pierce? by being bad.

The year we drafted Pierce we were 36-46 and selected 10th in the lottery. If we end up doing the same thing this year the tanking crowd will be going ballistic that the Celtics blew their chance at drafting a star player.

[GreenWarrior]

And how do you know that any links?

ahh you're right i'm just speculating. but you were the one that implied we assets in the form of draft picks and expiring contracts in the 1st place.

[Celtics4ever]

this is why i didn't want love

Love still gets double figure rebounds when he shoots outside.

[greece66]

Washington and Portland are rising teams, and you haven't answered my question: If this young team makes the playoffs, isn't that progress in the development phase.

Thanks for your thoughts.
1. IMO we can be a Portland-style 'rising team' in a couple of years. But there is a big difference between rising, playoff teams and a contender. When I say I hope we will be a contender in 4-5 years, I mean that we will have one of the best 5 rosters in the League.
2. Of course it would be progress. Winning the championship would also be progress, but neither is going to take place this year (IMHO).

[DesertDweller]

It's pretty evident there are people on this forum that solemnly believe that this team can only exist without Rondo, Bass and Wallace.  and until these three are gone and replaced by any means possible the Celtics will not be worth a crap.

Rondo, regardless of what we have seen in the past, must be in agreement with Stevens to get this ball up the court because it is more than obvious that this team was made to run and gun.

[nickagneta]

It's pretty evident there are people on this forum that solemnly believe that this team can only exist without Rondo, Bass and Wallace.  and until these three are gone and replaced by any means possible the Celtics will not be worth a crap.

Rondo, regardless of what we have seen in the past, must be in agreement with Stevens to get this ball up the court because it is more than obvious that this team was made to run and gun.

I think its more like this team HAS to run and gun because the motion offense and lack of overall great to elite scoring options makes this team susceptible to long droughts of offense in the half court game. They are going to have to turn turnovers into fast break points on a regular basis in order to win games. When their defense isn't doing that, they will lose a lot more often than when they win.

[D Dub]

I hate to break it to C's fans but there is no Pierce on this team right now. we have some nice players but that 's about it. no superstar though. and how did we get Pierce? by being bad.

What about Rondo?

I reckon he's as well though of now, as Pierce was pre-finalsmvp on those bad celtic teams.

[LarBrd33]

Our team is going to get owned nightly once the regular season starts.   Pretty terrible collection of talent.  30 wins would be overachieving.

How are the Celtics talent "terrible"?

This guy has always got something bad to say, never anything positive.  starting to make me sick.  you will notice there is one cliché on this board that deliberately goads anything you think is good!!!

The team will be fun to watch, but this is clearly a terrible collection of talent.  I'm excited to see if some of these guys break out, but expecting 30 wins is a stretch this year.  Awful bunch.

[DesertDweller]

Our team is going to get owned nightly once the regular season starts.   Pretty terrible collection of talent.  30 wins would be overachieving.

How are the Celtics talent "terrible"?

This guy has always got something bad to say, never anything positive.  starting to make me sick.  you will notice there is one cliché on this board that deliberately goads anything you think is good!!!

The team will be fun to watch, but this is clearly a terrible collection of talent.  I'm excited to see if some of these guys break out, but expecting 30 wins is a stretch this year.  Awful bunch.

Can't see where you think this is a terrible collection of talent.  to me they look a lot improved from last year. take tonight's game at Toronto. even though we lost we stuck 109 points on the board. 50% 3 pointers (14-28) against a team that is expected to win the Atlantic Division. scored 35 in the second quarter and 37 in the third. I'll take that all year long!!!

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Our team is going to get owned nightly once the regular season starts.   Pretty terrible collection of talent.  30 wins would be overachieving.

How are the Celtics talent "terrible"?

This guy has always got something bad to say, never anything positive.  starting to make me sick.  you will notice there is one cliché on this board that deliberately goads anything you think is good!!!

The team will be fun to watch, but this is clearly a terrible collection of talent.  I'm excited to see if some of these guys break out, but expecting 30 wins is a stretch this year.  Awful bunch.

Can't see where you think this is a terrible collection of talent.  to me they look a lot improved from last year. take tonight's game at Toronto. even though we lost we stuck 109 points on the board. 50% 3 pointers (14-28) against a team that is expected to win the Atlantic Division. scored 35 in the second quarter and 37 in the third. I'll take that all year long!!!

I watched the game again, it actually wasn't as bad as when I watched it live. I was too hard on most everyone. I'm still ticked that Kelly took only 7 shots (he was 2-3 from 3 tonight and 7-11 for the 3 games) and you got to dang near beg him to do that and I still think Sully hasn't gotten into good enough shape yet. If we came out in the rhythm we eventually got into the outcome may have been different. We gotta fix slow starts. I think difference about giving it away at the end tonight and last season, we have guys who can now get some pts at the end (Thornton)... we probably needed defense from AB who was sat and Green would be better than Turner or keep Turner in for offense with Green. We played a lot of guys who weren't together last season at the end of the game, they don't know each other well enough yet (when pressure is on), I expect that to get better. We only lost by 7 to a playoff team that's the same from last season.


I think we will get it poppin once RR and Green come back and get acclimated.

[nickagneta]

Its pre-season people. No one is playing defense. The Celtics are not going to average over 100 points per game this year once teams start to actually make an attempt to put an effort into the defensive end of the game.

[j804]

I'm proud of this team in it to almost the very end against a playoff team that's familiar with each other. It doesn't matter that it's preseason we look leaps better than last year around the same time, this is without hopefully a healthy Rondo. I think this team will shock a lot of people this year.

[DesertDweller]

Its pre-season people. No one is playing defense. The Celtics are not going to average over 100 points per game this year once teams start to actually make an attempt to put an effort into the defensive end of the game.

Sorry Nick, you're not going to convince people with words when they can clearly see the improvement. Toronto finished with their starters and they were playing to win!!! and exhibition or not if you think that old Laker gang of Phil Jackson, Kurt Rambis and Derek Fisher wanted the Knicks to drop a 20 pointer and give up 106 points to the C's you're sadly mistaken!!!