Celtics (44-22) at Heat (42-25) Seeding Game #3 8/4/20

[SparzWizard]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

[Green-18]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

The bench equation changes significantly if Kemba is able to play 35+ minutes in the playoffs.  Tatum, Jaylen, and Hayward will also be at 35+ MPG in any game that is competitive.  Smart also plays 30+ minutes.

Scoring shouldn't be a problem for the Celtics, even with a weak bench.  I'm much more concerned about the lack of front court depth.  Theis is well rounded but lacks the strength to deal with larger front courts.  Kanter can rebound and finish around the rim but leaves a lot to be desired on the defensive end.  Grant Williams plays hard and smart but gives up a lot of size. 

[hpantazo]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

The bench equation changes significantly if Kemba is able to play 35+ minutes in the playoffs.  Tatum, Jaylen, and Hayward will also be at 35+ MPG in any game that is competitive.  Smart also plays 30+ minutes.

Scoring shouldn't be a problem for the Celtics, even with a weak bench.  I'm much more concerned about the lack of front court depth.  Theis is well rounded but lacks the strength to deal with larger front courts.  Kanter can rebound and finish around the rim but leaves a lot to be desired on the defensive end.  Grant Williams plays hard and smart but gives up a lot of size.

Yeah I fully expect our rotation to tighten up during the playoffs. I hope we dont see Semi on the floor anymore, he's awful. Grant Williams minutes also need to be reduced in the playoffs. Wanamaker and Kanter and Smart are a very solid bench. We just lack a good wing off the bench so we need two of Hayward , Brown or Tatum in there at all times.  It would be really great if Langford could be that wing off the bench but he's not there yet.

[libermaniac]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Our fears going into the season ( a) no bench b) no center ) are playing out.  What hurts about it is that JT and JB have exceeded expectations, so we would have had a legitimate title chance this year with a better true big and a better bench.  But, going forward Ainge should be able to figure it out as free agent title chasers should be more willing to join.  This year is going to be rough in the playoffs, though.

[Tr1boy]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Our fears going into the season ( a) no bench b) no center ) are playing out.  What hurts about it is that JT and JB have exceeded expectations, so we would have had a legitimate title chance this year with a better true big and a better bench.  But, going forward Ainge should be able to figure it out as free agent title chasers should be more willing to join.  This year is going to be rough in the playoffs, though.

Celts also having bad luck at the draft these days

One pick away from Herro who would have fit like a glove and provided that scoring off the bench

[jbpats]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

I honestly hope we finish 4th or 5th. We have a much better chance round 1 against the Pacers then we do against Philly, especially when home court advantage is a non-factor

[hpantazo]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Our fears going into the season ( a) no bench b) no center ) are playing out.  What hurts about it is that JT and JB have exceeded expectations, so we would have had a legitimate title chance this year with a better true big and a better bench.  But, going forward Ainge should be able to figure it out as free agent title chasers should be more willing to join.  This year is going to be rough in the playoffs, though.

Celts also having bad luck at the draft these days

One pick away from Herro who would have fit like a glove and provided that scoring off the bench

Yeah, Herro would have been the ideal wing off the bench for this team. Ainge reportedly slammed his fist on the table when the Heat took him.

[SparzWizard]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

I honestly hope we finish 4th or 5th. We have a much better chance round 1 against the Pacers then we do against Philly, especially when home court advantage is a non-factor

But if we beat round 1 and advance to Round 2 we'll get smoked by Milwaukee, again.

Hardly any teams with the #5 seed advance to the East Finals nowadays, much less NBA Finals. Fortunately for all playoff teams, home-court advantage does not matter this season.

[SparzWizard]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Our fears going into the season ( a) no bench b) no center ) are playing out.  What hurts about it is that JT and JB have exceeded expectations, so we would have had a legitimate title chance this year with a better true big and a better bench.  But, going forward Ainge should be able to figure it out as free agent title chasers should be more willing to join.  This year is going to be rough in the playoffs, though.

Celts also having bad luck at the draft these days

One pick away from Herro who would have fit like a glove and provided that scoring off the bench

Yeah, Herro would have been the ideal wing off the bench for this team. Ainge reportedly slammed his fist on the table when the Heat took him.

Still lamenting over picking Olynyk instead of Giannis.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I know that as an online community we've gone round and round on "the Giannis issue" (in short, most people didn't think Giannis would be as good as he is), but "the Giannis issue" has led me to think that when it comes to drafting, GMs should forget about "safe picks" and go for the home run every time.

Why? Because you need stars to win titles, and teams usually don't end up with stars by playing it safe, especially when they don't have a top-2 or -3 pick. Golden State took a big chance using a high pick on a skinny sharpshooter from small school Davidson; Milwaukee took a chance on a freak athlete from Greece; Portland took a big chance on an electric guard from small school Weber State.

Since hindsight is 20/20, I'm not gonna bludgeon Danny for missing out on Giannis, but there was really no point in picking Olynyk—he had the interesting background of having been a point guard who then hit a huge growth spurt, so he could kinda do the "point forward" thing, but he wasn't a freak athlete and he had short arms—in short, nothing about him said "star potential." Might as well look for an "it" factor (what "it" is in any given case) and pick that.

[footey]

I know that as an online community we've gone round and round on "the Giannis issue" (in short, most people didn't think Giannis would be as good as he is), but "the Giannis issue" has led me to think that when it comes to drafting, GMs should forget about "safe picks" and go for the home run every time.

Why? Because you need stars to win titles, and teams usually don't end up with stars by playing it safe, especially when they don't have a top-2 or -3 pick. Golden State took a big chance using a high pick on a skinny sharpshooter from small school Davidson; Milwaukee took a chance on a freak athlete from Greece; Portland took a big chance on an electric guard from small school Weber State.

Since hindsight is 20/20, I'm not gonna bludgeon Danny for missing out on Giannis, but there was really no point in picking Olynyk—he had the interesting background of having been a point guard who then hit a huge growth spurt, so he could kinda do the "point forward" thing, but he wasn't a freak athlete and he had short arms—in short, nothing about him said "star potential." Might as well look for an "it" factor (what "it" is in any given case) and pick that.

In that case we should target Poku:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaTyP_DzaiE

Same league as Giannis, by the way.  Great feel, plays like a point forward, great court vision, decent off ball defender.  Not at the freak level as GA athletically, but definitely highest upside of anyone in this draft that is outside the top 10 (buzz on him has him climbing boards). I originally thought that Danny should take him at 26 or 30. Now I'm pretty sure he'll be taken in top 20.

[gouki88]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Our fears going into the season ( a) no bench b) no center ) are playing out.  What hurts about it is that JT and JB have exceeded expectations, so we would have had a legitimate title chance this year with a better true big and a better bench.  But, going forward Ainge should be able to figure it out as free agent title chasers should be more willing to join.  This year is going to be rough in the playoffs, though.

Celts also having bad luck at the draft these days

One pick away from Herro who would have fit like a glove and provided that scoring off the bench

Yeah, Herro would have been the ideal wing off the bench for this team. Ainge reportedly slammed his fist on the table when the Heat took him.

Still lamenting over picking Olynyk instead of Giannis.

You shouldn't - many more recent picks to lament! Just missed out on TJ - sorry, MJ Warren

[RodyTur10]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Our fears going into the season ( a) no bench b) no center ) are playing out.  What hurts about it is that JT and JB have exceeded expectations, so we would have had a legitimate title chance this year with a better true big and a better bench.  But, going forward Ainge should be able to figure it out as free agent title chasers should be more willing to join.  This year is going to be rough in the playoffs, though.

A "Grant Williams + Edwards + Green + Poirier + Boston pick + Milwaukee pick" trade for "Bjelica + Holmes" would have helped a lot.

[gouki88]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Our fears going into the season ( a) no bench b) no center ) are playing out.  What hurts about it is that JT and JB have exceeded expectations, so we would have had a legitimate title chance this year with a better true big and a better bench.  But, going forward Ainge should be able to figure it out as free agent title chasers should be more willing to join.  This year is going to be rough in the playoffs, though.

A "Grant Williams + Edwards + Green + Poirier + Boston pick + Milwaukee pick" trade for "Bjelica + Holmes" would have helped a lot.

Maybe for this year alone, but Bjelica is a 32 year-old who plays no defence, and Holmes is a near 27 year-old athletic rim-runner who can neither pass nor shoot - would be behind Theis and behind Kanter for certain match-ups. It would have helped in the short term, but I think long-term that's a bad move.

Our bench stands to improve a lot merely from the development of Grant and Romeo, both of whom will prove to be legit NBA guys IMO.

[slamtheking]

If the Celts keep playing like this and losing, plus Heat and Pacer keep their hot streaks alive

I wouldn't be surprised if the Celts end up 5th

Celtics bench production is pretty weak.  Semi and Gwill are unreliable offensively.  Wannaker is good for like 6 pts.   Smart for like 8pts.

CBS has zero trust in Langford.   Only plays him when he has no choice (foul trouble).

You can't get far in this league with an inferior bench.

Our bench will get devoured in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Our fears going into the season ( a) no bench b) no center ) are playing out.  What hurts about it is that JT and JB have exceeded expectations, so we would have had a legitimate title chance this year with a better true big and a better bench.  But, going forward Ainge should be able to figure it out as free agent title chasers should be more willing to join.  This year is going to be rough in the playoffs, though.

A "Grant Williams + Edwards + Green + Poirier + Boston pick + Milwaukee pick" trade for "Bjelica + Holmes" would have helped a lot.

if you mean "helped out the rest of the conference for years by removing a good rookie, 2 kids that might offer something in a pinch, a big man filler and 2 future picks that would further help the franchise" then, yes it would have