Hypothetically Speaking

[Redz]

Let’s say the Celtics win the next three games and do what’s never been fine before, then take of the Nuggets for banner 18…

Do we look back at all the horrible things we’ve said about them over the first 3 games, and pretty much every seemingly unnecessary loss along the way and shake our heads at this team’s maddening flaws?

Or

Do we ignore the unnecessarily steep hill they had to climb and hold them in great reverence for making the greatest comeback in NBA history?

A little if both?

Great comebacks can’t happen without a lot of failure.

Truly a maddening team.

Here’s hoping we get the chance to find out.  They’ve definitely shown an uncanny knack for winning when the chips are down (even if those downward chips were of their own doing). They

[green_bballers13]

I don't think it's common for people to voluntarily admit that they were wrong. My guess is that people will dig in and say that it was championship or bust. Anything else is unacceptable. Pretty wild expectations with a 34 year old Joe as the coach.

[celticinorlando]

I mean the things that happen are self inflicted. Fans are prisoners of the moment. But they deserved all the crap they got after the first 3 games.

And they deserve the praise they got after last night.

So it is a little of both.

[Redz]

I don't think it's common for people to voluntarily admit that they were wrong. My guess is that people will dig in and say that it was championship or bust. Anything else is unacceptable. Pretty wild expectations with a 34 year old Joe as the coach.

I’m not necessarily expecting it.  But we’ve buried this team before they’ve been dead so many times.  The reason they’re so frustrating is because they’re capable of what we saw last night.  And they tend to well in elimination games.

[scaryjerry]

 If they win the title this year I won’t hold anything against them


Extremely unlikely

[gouki88]

A title would heal all wounds for me. I just have no faith in Joe being the one to lead us there

[Stig]

If they win the series, then there is something seriously wrong about basketball.
There is a reason they lose so much, the heat is not only the better team, they are a much better team, we have better players, not a better team, the Cs is not winning this series. People in media try to hype up Cs making history because this is the only thing they can talk about now.

[nyceltsfan]

If they win the series, then there is something seriously wrong about basketball.
There is a reason they lose so much, the heat is not only the better team, they are a much better team, we have better players, not a better team, the Cs is not winning this series. People in media try to hype up Cs making history because this is the only thing they can talk about now.

This.

There is no way the Celtics are winning this series.  In an alternate universe, where this is actually a possibility, I would forgive and forget all the pain because a championship trumps everything else.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I don't think it's common for people to voluntarily admit that they were wrong. My guess is that people will dig in and say that it was championship or bust. Anything else is unacceptable. Pretty wild expectations with a 34 year old Joe as the coach.

That's why Joe shouldn't have been named coach—pairing a rookie leader with a contending roster is a bad idea. The expectation were high; the Cs should've selected a coach to match those expectations.

[hwangjini_1]

Let’s say the Celtics win the next three games and do what’s never been fine before, then take of the Nuggets for banner 18…

Do we look back at all the horrible things we’ve said about them over the first 3 games, and pretty much every seemingly unnecessary loss along the way and shake our heads at this team’s maddening flaws?

Or

Do we ignore the unnecessarily steep hill they had to climb and hold them in great reverence for making the greatest comeback in NBA history?

A little if both?

Great comebacks can’t happen without a lot of failure.

Truly a maddening team.

Here’s hoping we get the chance to find out.  They’ve definitely shown an uncanny knack for winning when the chips are down (even if those downward chips were of their own doing). They

this is celticsstrong.

some people will be happy, others will complain about how it wasn't "good enough and we got lucky", still others will patiently wait to resurrect "FIRE (fill in the blank)" threads, and always there will be those who rejoice but doubt yet remain hopeful.

tl;dr - CS will continue to be CS. 

[SparzWizard]

Oh don't get me wrong, if they win banner 18 this June then it will be in SPITE of Joe. Not because OF Joe.

We win Banner 18 because of Jayson Tatum, and guys who contribute best on the floor.

[jambr380]

It was always about a Title. So if they win, I will be over the moon excited. While other people are getting upset about other Boston sports teams, I am still celebrating the Sox WS in 2018 and Pats SB in 2019. I give a pretty long rope once a team actually wins. And in the case of the Sox and Pats, we really have no room to complain with a combined 10 championships this century.

[LilRip]

I don't think it's common for people to voluntarily admit that they were wrong. My guess is that people will dig in and say that it was championship or bust. Anything else is unacceptable. Pretty wild expectations with a 34 year old Joe as the coach.

That's why Joe shouldn't have been named coach—pairing a rookie leader with a contending roster is a bad idea. The expectation were high; the Cs should've selected a coach to match those expectations.

Agreed. Because even Spo lost in his rookie coaching year with an absolutely stacked roster of Lebron Wade Bosh lol

[Moranis]

If all that happens it will be in spite of ownerships clear mistakes and I don't think that changes at all.

[ozgod]

I don't think it's common for people to voluntarily admit that they were wrong. My guess is that people will dig in and say that it was championship or bust. Anything else is unacceptable. Pretty wild expectations with a 34 year old Joe as the coach.

That's why Joe shouldn't have been named coach—pairing a rookie leader with a contending roster is a bad idea. The expectation were high; the Cs should've selected a coach to match those expectations.

Agreed. Because even Spo lost in his rookie coaching year with an absolutely stacked roster of Lebron Wade Bosh lol

Actually that was his fourth year as coach - he became head coach of the Heat in 2008, after being an assistant to Pat Riley since 1997. But it was his first year coaching the Big Three, and there were all the questions that Joe is facing now - why was Riley entrusting the Heat to a four year neophyte. They didn't think he could handle the egos. They didn't think he had the Xs and Os. Like some here crying for Brad to come back and take over the reins, many wanted Pat Riley to come back and not waste LeBum, Wade and Bosh's primes.  Here's an example of an article from back then:



And that's a guy who had 10 years as an assistant coach, and four years as a head coach. So when you think about Joe, you can think one (or both) of two things: 1) as a rookie head coach with zero NBA experience and not even any major college experience, he's doing ok given the circumstances; and/or 2) how the hell did he get this job? What was Brad thinking?

The question for Brad now will be - can Joe pull a Spoelstra? Or is he starting from too big a deficit? Can they afford to waste Tatum and Brown's primes, not to mention Al's sunset years, while Joe learns on the job? Riley took that chance on Spoelstra and it paid off. But Erik had more experience than Ime did when he started coaching the Big Three who were in win-now mode. How confident is Brad that Joe's got what it takes for the long haul and can he afford the time?