Thank you Danny Ainge

[Roy H.]

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/most-playoff-wins-by-team-since-2004

According to this site you have the Spurs with 123 playoff wins first, then the Heat with 118 then the Celtics are equal third with the Cavs on 97 playoff wins.

TP. That ranking speaks pretty highly of Ainge.

It just shows how much luck plays a factor.  It’s not like Danny built around injury-prone players.  The basketball gods just screwed us.

I will go to my grave thinking that if KG, then Perk, don’t get injured, we hang 3 banners.  Hell, maybe we get one in 2011 as well, as good as that team was playing.  Even if Danny still wants to trade Perk that year, maybe a fully healthy Perk gets us Harden instead of Uncle Sleepy.  Regardless, three titles is realistic.

Then, if Hayward doesn’t get a freak injury, we’re rolling with Kyrie as our #1, Gordon as 1B, and Horford as an elite facilitator.  With a healthy team, I think everyone is less discouraged.  Kyrie re-ups, there are universally good feelings, and we make the AD trade.  It costs us a bundle — Tatum, a S&T of Rozier, the SAC #1, the MEM #1 and another 1st — but it’s worth the risk.

We end up with:

Horford / Baynes / Timelord
Davis / Morris / Theis
Hayward
Brown / Smart
Kyrie

In the draft, we don’t have the picks for Langford or Grant Williams, and we don’t trade down for Carson Edwards.  We take either Thybulle or Brandon Clarke (probably Thybulle due to roster construction).

So...

Horford / Baynes / Timelord
Davis / Morris / Theis
Hayward / Ojeleye
Brown / Thybulle
Kyrie / Smart / (Larkin or Wanamaker)

That team is 100% realistic, and I’ve got to think that it wins multiple titles.

In another universe, Danny’s ticket to the HOF is already punched, going down as one of the best executives of all-time.  He’s got 5+ titles as an executive, and two more as a player. 

It’s just one of those “good decisions, bad outcomes” things.

Love this whole post, but have always been 100% on board with that first highlighted bit.

That squad was so ridiculously good, it deserved 2 more.

Yep. The '09 squad was better than the '08 squad. Just as hungry as the year before but also playing loose and confident without the championship monkey on their backs. They were 44-11 in those first 55 games with healthy KG, on pace to match their 66-16 record from the year before.

And I'm convinced KG was still not back from his injury in '10. In game 7 of those finals, Pau Gasol has 9 offensive rebounds, 18 total, and Kobe had 15 rebounds. KG, who led the league in rebounding 4 times, had only 3. In a 4-point loss, that's a stat I'll never get over.

In '11, maybe they win that year if Shaq stays healthy. 9-5 in 20 mpg making 2/3 of his shots. What would that Heat team have done against Shaq for those 20 minutes?

Ugh... I'm going down the rabbit hole.

Assuming Wade still goons Rondo out of the playoffs in 2011, we weren’t going to win.

Is that something we can assume?  The butterfly effect suggests that that injury never would have happened.  Different players on the floor, heck, probably a different date and different arena based upon seeding changes.

Our entire season changed due to a freak injury to Marquis Daniels a few weeks before the trade deadline. 

I still think Danny should have traded Daniels and a couple of seconds for Anthony Parker. 

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

If Hayward didn't get hurt. if Kyrie had really wanted to be a Celtic. With Tatum and Brown turning into a superstar and Allstars, things would have looked a lot different!

Maybe because there are so many other things to talk about, I don't think we talk enough about the potential of that 2018 team.

Hayward gets hurt immediately and Kyrie doesn't play in the playoffs and they still went to Game 7 of the ECF.

Knowing what we know now, what if Hayward and Kyrie had stayed healthy and their playoff lineup was Irving, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, Horford with Rozier, Smart, Morris, and Baynes rounding out the rotation.

How far does that team get against the Warriors? What does reaching the NBA Finals together do to all those players?

Kind of a crazy what-if.

It just shows how much luck plays a factor.  It’s not like Danny built around injury-prone players.  The basketball gods just screwed us.

I will go to my grave thinking that if KG, then Perk, don’t get injured, we hang 3 banners.  Hell, maybe we get one in 2011 as well, as good as that team was playing.  Even if Danny still wants to trade Perk that year, maybe a fully healthy Perk gets us Harden instead of Uncle Sleepy.  Regardless, three titles is realistic.

Then, if Hayward doesn’t get a freak injury, we’re rolling with Kyrie as our #1, Gordon as 1B, and Horford as an elite facilitator.  With a healthy team, I think everyone is less discouraged.  Kyrie re-ups, there are universally good feelings, and we make the AD trade.  It costs us a bundle — Tatum, a S&T of Rozier, the SAC #1, the MEM #1 and another 1st — but it’s worth the risk.

We end up with:

Horford / Baynes / Timelord
Davis / Morris / Theis
Hayward
Brown / Smart
Kyrie

In the draft, we don’t have the picks for Langford or Grant Williams, and we don’t trade down for Carson Edwards.  We take either Thybulle or Brandon Clarke (probably Thybulle due to roster construction).

So...

Horford / Baynes / Timelord
Davis / Morris / Theis
Hayward / Ojeleye
Brown / Thybulle
Kyrie / Smart / (Larkin or Wanamaker)

That team is 100% realistic, and I’ve got to think that it wins multiple titles.

In another universe, Danny’s ticket to the HOF is already punched, going down as one of the best executives of all-time.  He’s got 5+ titles as an executive, and two more as a player. 

It’s just one of those “good decisions, bad outcomes” things.

I agree completely with the bolded statement. Threepeat was very likely, with a fourth most possible if Shaq stayed healthy—I mean, he and the team were just bulldozing opponents.

[Moranis]

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/most-playoff-wins-by-team-since-2004

According to this site you have the Spurs with 123 playoff wins first, then the Heat with 118 then the Celtics are equal third with the Cavs on 97 playoff wins.

TP. That ranking speaks pretty highly of Ainge.

It just shows how much luck plays a factor.  It’s not like Danny built around injury-prone players.  The basketball gods just screwed us.

I will go to my grave thinking that if KG, then Perk, don’t get injured, we hang 3 banners.  Hell, maybe we get one in 2011 as well, as good as that team was playing.  Even if Danny still wants to trade Perk that year, maybe a fully healthy Perk gets us Harden instead of Uncle Sleepy.  Regardless, three titles is realistic.

Then, if Hayward doesn’t get a freak injury, we’re rolling with Kyrie as our #1, Gordon as 1B, and Horford as an elite facilitator.  With a healthy team, I think everyone is less discouraged.  Kyrie re-ups, there are universally good feelings, and we make the AD trade.  It costs us a bundle — Tatum, a S&T of Rozier, the SAC #1, the MEM #1 and another 1st — but it’s worth the risk.

We end up with:

Horford / Baynes / Timelord
Davis / Morris / Theis
Hayward
Brown / Smart
Kyrie

In the draft, we don’t have the picks for Langford or Grant Williams, and we don’t trade down for Carson Edwards.  We take either Thybulle or Brandon Clarke (probably Thybulle due to roster construction).

So...

Horford / Baynes / Timelord
Davis / Morris / Theis
Hayward / Ojeleye
Brown / Thybulle
Kyrie / Smart / (Larkin or Wanamaker)

That team is 100% realistic, and I’ve got to think that it wins multiple titles.

In another universe, Danny’s ticket to the HOF is already punched, going down as one of the best executives of all-time.  He’s got 5+ titles as an executive, and two more as a player. 

It’s just one of those “good decisions, bad outcomes” things.

Love this whole post, but have always been 100% on board with that first highlighted bit.

That squad was so ridiculously good, it deserved 2 more.

Yep. The '09 squad was better than the '08 squad. Just as hungry as the year before but also playing loose and confident without the championship monkey on their backs. They were 44-11 in those first 55 games with healthy KG, on pace to match their 66-16 record from the year before.

And I'm convinced KG was still not back from his injury in '10. In game 7 of those finals, Pau Gasol has 9 offensive rebounds, 18 total, and Kobe had 15 rebounds. KG, who led the league in rebounding 4 times, had only 3. In a 4-point loss, that's a stat I'll never get over.

In '11, maybe they win that year if Shaq stays healthy. 9-5 in 20 mpg making 2/3 of his shots. What would that Heat team have done against Shaq for those 20 minutes?

Ugh... I'm going down the rabbit hole.

Assuming Wade still goons Rondo out of the playoffs in 2011, we weren’t going to win.

Is that something we can assume?  The butterfly effect suggests that that injury never would have happened.  Different players on the floor, heck, probably a different date and different arena based upon seeding changes.

Our entire season changed due to a freak injury to Marquis Daniels a few weeks before the trade deadline. 

I still think Danny should have traded Daniels and a couple of seconds for Anthony Parker.

No, but I also don't think they beat the Heat.  They were just too good and even if KG doesn't get hurt, it isn't like he wasn't already slowing down in 2008 and 2009.  He wasn't the same level of player.  Still excellent, but was probably not going to be a top 5 guy again.  He was going to keep fading as he aged.  And that assumes he doesn't suffer some sort of even bigger injury.  He was in his 30's and entered the league in high school.  He had a lot of miles on his legs and very few people last like James has.