Author Topic: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry  (Read 13950 times)

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Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #60 on: April 30, 2018, 01:27:05 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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Some good big men in this draft that cold be flipped for Terry.

Out of reach bigs Ayton, Bagley, Jackson,  and probably Porter Jr.

 Could slip bigs, Bamba, and especially Wendell Carter.

 In range bigs we could go get if desired.

 Miles Bridges Undersized PF with unreal athleticism and strength he usually disappointed me, but the talent and body are NBA quality.

 Kevin Knox. Kentucky's top prospect this year, Not a great rebounder, but has three point range 34% from three. 6'9" with An NBA body and lots of upside.

Robert Williams. Should have came out last year his stock has dropped significantly. Role player Shot blocking and very good rebounding big who is raw with a freakish 7'4" Wingspan. Also 235 pounds NBA body.
Alright, I'm sold on Wendell Carter for no other reason than him being 19, getting comparisons to Al Horford, and him likely having hooked up with some of the same coeds this year that Tatum did last season at Duke.

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #61 on: April 30, 2018, 01:29:17 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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We need to pick a young big with potential fast lol
I think we can grab Okafor or Noel this Summer for one of Kyrie's flat earth pamphlets if we're looking for a young reclamation project.  Beyond that, we're looking at like a 2% chance of ending up with the #2 or #3 pick during this year's draft... or we can just hope the Kings are garbage still next season and someone is available in the 2019 draft when we/if that pick conveys to us.

There's still a highly improbable nightmare scenario where the Laker pick defies the odds and ends up #1 in the lotto - conveying to the 76ers.  And then next year, the Kings pick ends up #1 - and also conveys to Philly.  In which case, we'd be looking at getting Philly's 2019 #25-30 pick.

I am sure both Noel and Okafor would love to come to Boston to reform there value, see Evan Turner. They'd love to follow in those footsteps.
We can probably grab one of them for the MLE, right?  Both had worst-case scenario seasons.  Hard to imagine anyone offering more than that.
Assuming both would be willing to take the MLE, who would you prefer?

Would Monroe be considered too? Monroe and Noel are (to me at least) far and away better than Okafor
Probably Okafor. I think there were reports on Noel having personality issues. Also @LarBrd we can draft a big with our own 1st in hopes of a Capela like guy, there are some interesting big man prospects in that range like Metu.
Okafor over Monroe and Noel? I'd probably take Monroe over both, but I love Moose.

I'd love to see us move up a bit and take Mitchell Robinson, but I can't see that happening
I'd love Robinson too but I think teams like San Antonio or the Lelkers would pick him, they need a big and are great drafters. Heck Metu may get drafted early too.
If only the Lakers had been slightly worse. Would have loved Mo Bamba on this team. Amazing defender, promising offensive game and seems very clever - him and JB would have gotten along I imagine
Part of me wonders how high of a draft pick we could get if we put Rozier on the table.  Given he wants to start and it's unlikely to happen here... if there's a big man prospect Ainge likes on the board and the team picking would rather get a starting PG, I wonder if a trade can be made.  Can't imagine it being a pick in the Bamba range, but who knows.  If Ainge gets a little feisty like he did during that botched Winslow offer, he might include the 2019 Kings 1st in an offer.  Who knows.   I signed my 60 day un-retirement contract so I can be here for the draft.
I reckon Rozier and our late 20's pick could lob us into the 9-14 range, depending on who is picking where. The question is whether we want to keep Rozier for '18-'19 and go all in on trying to win it that year, and likely lose him in the off-season for nothing, or moving him now for future value.
Up-front, I don't follow College basketball at all and don't even know of a reliable mock draft.  I know nbadraft.net is nonsense, but they have Mo Bamba going to the Cavs with the #8 pick (via Brooklyn).  Crossing my finger that Brooklyn pick doesn't end up top 3, because it would irritate me - but I digress...  it wouldn't necessarily blow my mind to see Cleveland (probably on the verge of losing LeBron) trade that pick for Rozier and the Kings 1st.   Clearly those two teams have some trade history and I could actually see Rozier starting there in the wake of Bron leaving.  They'd presumably move the other vets like George Hill and Kevin Love as well and then tank good and proper for two possible Top 6 picks in 2019 (their own and the Kings 1st).   

Nbadraft.net also has some Duke kid named Wendall Carter going in that range that they compare to Al Horford.  And again, I don't follow College basketball at all.  I know absolutely nothing about Wendall Carter beyond what I literally just saw on that page.  But if we're looking for a Horford protege - maybe that kid is a target?  Plus he, Kyrie and Tatum can sit around talking about their single seasons at Duke. 

I find it very unlikely Rozier + the Kings 1st would fetch a pick that high, though.
It's unlikely we get a pick in his range. He's in the second tier of bigs in this draft aka not top 3, and I don't think teams are willing to trade out of this draft completely given how stacked is the lotto. It's basically Bagley if we get lotto luck or Metu/Robinson/insert any big that falls in the draft with our own pick.
Any bigs in the 10-15 range Ainge might covet?  I could see Rozier fetching a pick late lotto.

Would you take Okafor if he is going overseas for lack of interest?
He's probably not getting more than MLE, right?  Part of me still kind of prefers trying out Okafor than keeping Moose just because there's a chance there's still some potential there.  But yeah, he sure looks like a massive bust at this point.   Danny sure dodged a bullet there when Philly turned down his multiple offers.

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #62 on: April 30, 2018, 01:31:38 PM »

Offline liam

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I'm not so sure Rozier has 10-15 value, but let's say he does in a vacuum, which teams in that range are going to trade their pick for Rozier?  If no one moves up in the lottery these are the teams with picks 10-15

Philadelphia, Charlotte, LA Clippers x2, Denver, and Washington

None of those teams need a PG, especially one with Rozier's skill set. 

Now 16 and the Suns might be a decent chance, but if they take Doncic with their own pick, then I think Rozier becomes much less a need.

17 is the Bucks.  That is a team that could theoretically use a young PG to take over down the line for Bledsoe.  After the Bucks and rounding out the top 20, are the Spurs (unlikely), Hawks (unlikely), and Wolves (possible). 

So I'd guess that if Rozier's value is 10-20, then the only realistic landing spots are Milwaukee at 17 and Minnesota at 20, with an outside shot at Phoenix at 16.  A bunch of teams in the low 20's make sense, but I just don't see that as enough value for what Rozier can do for the team next year (and frankly I'm not sure 20 would be either).

I think Danny would wait and trade for the player he wants not just trade for a pick. So, if Danny's player fell into the low 20's he'd make a trade. I feel like trading Rozier at this point has to be for someone Danny sees as a lottery level talent, otherwise it's just a lateral or backwards move.

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #63 on: April 30, 2018, 01:35:15 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #64 on: April 30, 2018, 01:52:06 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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We need to pick a young big with potential fast lol
I think we can grab Okafor or Noel this Summer for one of Kyrie's flat earth pamphlets if we're looking for a young reclamation project.  Beyond that, we're looking at like a 2% chance of ending up with the #2 or #3 pick during this year's draft... or we can just hope the Kings are garbage still next season and someone is available in the 2019 draft when we/if that pick conveys to us.

There's still a highly improbable nightmare scenario where the Laker pick defies the odds and ends up #1 in the lotto - conveying to the 76ers.  And then next year, the Kings pick ends up #1 - and also conveys to Philly.  In which case, we'd be looking at getting Philly's 2019 #25-30 pick.

I am sure both Noel and Okafor would love to come to Boston to reform there value, see Evan Turner. They'd love to follow in those footsteps.
We can probably grab one of them for the MLE, right?  Both had worst-case scenario seasons.  Hard to imagine anyone offering more than that.
Assuming both would be willing to take the MLE, who would you prefer?

Would Monroe be considered too? Monroe and Noel are (to me at least) far and away better than Okafor
Probably Okafor. I think there were reports on Noel having personality issues. Also @LarBrd we can draft a big with our own 1st in hopes of a Capela like guy, there are some interesting big man prospects in that range like Metu.
Okafor over Monroe and Noel? I'd probably take Monroe over both, but I love Moose.

I'd love to see us move up a bit and take Mitchell Robinson, but I can't see that happening
I'd love Robinson too but I think teams like San Antonio or the Lelkers would pick him, they need a big and are great drafters. Heck Metu may get drafted early too.
If only the Lakers had been slightly worse. Would have loved Mo Bamba on this team. Amazing defender, promising offensive game and seems very clever - him and JB would have gotten along I imagine
Part of me wonders how high of a draft pick we could get if we put Rozier on the table.  Given he wants to start and it's unlikely to happen here... if there's a big man prospect Ainge likes on the board and the team picking would rather get a starting PG, I wonder if a trade can be made.  Can't imagine it being a pick in the Bamba range, but who knows.  If Ainge gets a little feisty like he did during that botched Winslow offer, he might include the 2019 Kings 1st in an offer.  Who knows.   I signed my 60 day un-retirement contract so I can be here for the draft.
I reckon Rozier and our late 20's pick could lob us into the 9-14 range, depending on who is picking where. The question is whether we want to keep Rozier for '18-'19 and go all in on trying to win it that year, and likely lose him in the off-season for nothing, or moving him now for future value.
Up-front, I don't follow College basketball at all and don't even know of a reliable mock draft.  I know nbadraft.net is nonsense, but they have Mo Bamba going to the Cavs with the #8 pick (via Brooklyn).  Crossing my finger that Brooklyn pick doesn't end up top 3, because it would irritate me - but I digress...  it wouldn't necessarily blow my mind to see Cleveland (probably on the verge of losing LeBron) trade that pick for Rozier and the Kings 1st.   Clearly those two teams have some trade history and I could actually see Rozier starting there in the wake of Bron leaving.  They'd presumably move the other vets like George Hill and Kevin Love as well and then tank good and proper for two possible Top 6 picks in 2019 (their own and the Kings 1st).   

Nbadraft.net also has some Duke kid named Wendall Carter going in that range that they compare to Al Horford.  And again, I don't follow College basketball at all.  I know absolutely nothing about Wendall Carter beyond what I literally just saw on that page.  But if we're looking for a Horford protege - maybe that kid is a target?  Plus he, Kyrie and Tatum can sit around talking about their single seasons at Duke. 

I find it very unlikely Rozier + the Kings 1st would fetch a pick that high, though.
It's unlikely we get a pick in his range. He's in the second tier of bigs in this draft aka not top 3, and I don't think teams are willing to trade out of this draft completely given how stacked is the lotto. It's basically Bagley if we get lotto luck or Metu/Robinson/insert any big that falls in the draft with our own pick.
Any bigs in the 10-15 range Ainge might covet?  I could see Rozier fetching a pick late lotto.

Would you take Okafor if he is going overseas for lack of interest?
He's probably not getting more than MLE, right?  Part of me still kind of prefers trying out Okafor than keeping Moose just because there's a chance there's still some potential there.  But yeah, he sure looks like a massive bust at this point.   Danny sure dodged a bullet there when Philly turned down his multiple offers.

I would be absolutely shocked if he got the MLE. The 76ers had to pay a second round pick just to get rid of him. He couldn't get on the floor in Brooklyn despite them having a very mediocre collection of bigs. How does he get more than the minimum at this point?

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #65 on: April 30, 2018, 01:58:50 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)
Vegas has the 76ers as 6/5 favorites to win the East.  Boston at 18/1 has the worst odds of the 4 remaining teams.

Most are expecting Philly to dismiss us easily in 5 or 6 games.   

Good time for the Phillastans of the world.  I guess tanking pays off. 

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #66 on: April 30, 2018, 02:03:02 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)

Lol. So true. Does this happen on other forums? I read the Cavs and liberty ballers forums sometime and have never noticed them having hardcore supporters of other teams that are always there. We used to have a second Philly fan but I think he left or stopped posting after making some horrible Len Bias jokes.

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #67 on: April 30, 2018, 02:03:57 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)
Vegas has the 76ers as 6/5 favorites to win the East.  Boston at 18/1 has the worst odds of the 4 remaining teams.

Most are expecting Philly to dismiss us easily in 5 or 6 games.   

Good time for the Phillastans of the world.  I guess tanking pays off.

Or just not having two all stars and a starter injured. We would be overwhelming favorites to win the east with homecourt advantage and our full team healthy. Really frustrating.

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #68 on: April 30, 2018, 02:06:28 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)

Lol. So true. Does this happen on other forums? I read the Cavs and liberty ballers forums sometime and have never noticed them having hardcore supporters of other teams that are always there. We used to have a second Philly fan but I think he left or stopped posting after making some horrible Len Bias jokes.
Boston and Philly are just linked because of their historic rivalry and the fact that both teams set out to tank in 2013-14 with the goal of getting back to contention in 3-5 years.  Now here we are around the 5 year mark and both teams are butting heads in the 2nd round of the playoffs.  Both teams are currently relying heavily on guys with limited playoff experience.  Neither team looked anything like their current iterations last season.  The records are pretty even.  They are the two major candidates to run this conference for the next 10 years.  Can't help but discuss each other.  I see philly forums whining about Boston all the time - especially Tatum (because of the Fultz trade) and Brown (because of the Noel/Okafor trades they turned down that would have net them Brown). 

Lakers might be resurrected next season as well based on their intriguing young talent and mountains of cap space. 

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #69 on: April 30, 2018, 02:12:41 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)
Vegas has the 76ers as 6/5 favorites to win the East.  Boston at 18/1 has the worst odds of the 4 remaining teams.

Most are expecting Philly to dismiss us easily in 5 or 6 games.   

Good time for the Phillastans of the world.  I guess tanking pays off.

Or just not having two all stars and a starter injured. We would be overwhelming favorites to win the east with homecourt advantage and our full team healthy. Really frustrating.
I agree it's frustrating.  You take the two best players off every other playoff team and it's doubtful any of them could hang with this injury-riddled Boston team.

Cleveland without LeBron and Love is garbage
Philly without Embiid and Simmons is garbage
Utah without Mitchell and Gobert is garbage
Houston without Harden and Paul is garbage
New Orleans without Davis and Holiday is garbage
Toronto without Lowry and Derozan is garbage


The only team that might still be decent without their two best players is the historically stacked Golden State Globetrotter squad.   Even without Durant and Curry, they'd probably be pretty decent with just Klay and Draymond.

So credit to Boston for even winning a playoff series without Kyrie and Hayward.  It's a shame, because the East is wide open and we could realistically threaten for a trip to the Finals with those guys healthy.

I still think Philly would be a problem, regardless.  That team is super talented and playing incredible basketball together right now.  Superstar talent gonna superstar.

I'd like to say that next year, if healthy, we'll be the favorites again... but I'm not so sure.  Philly's options this SUmmer still terrify me.

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #70 on: April 30, 2018, 02:22:52 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)
Vegas has the 76ers as 6/5 favorites to win the East.  Boston at 18/1 has the worst odds of the 4 remaining teams.

Most are expecting Philly to dismiss us easily in 5 or 6 games.   

Good time for the Phillastans of the world.  I guess tanking pays off.

Or just not having two all stars and a starter injured. We would be overwhelming favorites to win the east with homecourt advantage and our full team healthy. Really frustrating.
I agree it's frustrating.  You take the two best players off every other playoff team and it's doubtful any of them could hang with this injury-riddled Boston team.

Cleveland without LeBron and Love is garbage
Philly without Embiid and Simmons is garbage
Utah without Mitchell and Gobert is garbage
Houston without Harden and Paul is garbage
New Orleans without Davis and Holiday is garbage
Toronto without Lowry and Derozan is garbage


The only team that might still be decent without their two best players is the historically stacked Golden State Globetrotter squad.   Even without Durant and Curry, they'd probably be pretty decent with just Klay and Draymond.

So credit to Boston for even winning a playoff series without Kyrie and Hayward.  It's a shame, because the East is wide open and we could realistically threaten for a trip to the Finals with those guys healthy.

I still think Philly would be a problem, regardless.  That team is super talented and playing incredible basketball together right now.  Superstar talent gonna superstar.

I'd like to say that next year, if healthy, we'll be the favorites again... but I'm not so sure.  Philly's options this SUmmer still terrify me.

I think Philly doing better than expected this year and benefiting from all our injuries this series have decreased the chances of Lebron going there dramatically (not that I ever thought they were high). Lebron really cares about his image and if he goes to a team that makes the conference finals or finals already he is going to get skewered even more than Durant did and discounted from any GOAT discussion because he will look like a mercenary at the end of his career.

With respect to us next year, I think we will be absolutely dominant. Brown has made a huge leap this year. Tatum is only going to get better. Hayward! Irving! it is an embarrassment of riches.

I don't think Golden State would be that great without Durant and Curry by the way. We would have a good matchup with them if we were only down Irving and Hayward.

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #71 on: April 30, 2018, 02:32:07 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)
Vegas has the 76ers as 6/5 favorites to win the East.  Boston at 18/1 has the worst odds of the 4 remaining teams.

Most are expecting Philly to dismiss us easily in 5 or 6 games.   

Good time for the Phillastans of the world.  I guess tanking pays off.

Or just not having two all stars and a starter injured. We would be overwhelming favorites to win the east with homecourt advantage and our full team healthy. Really frustrating.
I agree it's frustrating.  You take the two best players off every other playoff team and it's doubtful any of them could hang with this injury-riddled Boston team.

Cleveland without LeBron and Love is garbage
Philly without Embiid and Simmons is garbage
Utah without Mitchell and Gobert is garbage
Houston without Harden and Paul is garbage
New Orleans without Davis and Holiday is garbage
Toronto without Lowry and Derozan is garbage


The only team that might still be decent without their two best players is the historically stacked Golden State Globetrotter squad.   Even without Durant and Curry, they'd probably be pretty decent with just Klay and Draymond.

So credit to Boston for even winning a playoff series without Kyrie and Hayward.  It's a shame, because the East is wide open and we could realistically threaten for a trip to the Finals with those guys healthy.

I still think Philly would be a problem, regardless.  That team is super talented and playing incredible basketball together right now.  Superstar talent gonna superstar.

I'd like to say that next year, if healthy, we'll be the favorites again... but I'm not so sure.  Philly's options this SUmmer still terrify me.

I think Philly doing better than expected this year and benefiting from all our injuries this series have decreased the chances of Lebron going there dramatically (not that I ever thought they were high). Lebron really cares about his image and if he goes to a team that makes the conference finals or finals already he is going to get skewered even more than Durant did and discounted from any GOAT discussion because he will look like a mercenary at the end of his career.

With respect to us next year, I think we will be absolutely dominant. Brown has made a huge leap this year. Tatum is only going to get better. Hayward! Irving! it is an embarrassment of riches.

I don't think Golden State would be that great without Durant and Curry by the way. We would have a good matchup with them if we were only down Irving and Hayward.
I don't know how realistic it actually is that LeBron goes to Philly, but it's hard to imagine him going West while the Golden State Globetrotters are still around.  What would be the point of that... so he can lose in the conference finals every year instead of the Finals?

Philly might very well make it out of the East, but it's hard to imagine any team really making a dent on Golden State.  They are historically stacked. 

So, I wouldn't totally rule out Bron joining Philly in the Summer.  I agree it's a bit of an awkward fit with Simmons controlling the ball, but it could happen. 

I could also still see him going to the Lakers depending on who else is joining him, but even a team of LeBron, Paul George and Kawhi would struggle to mesh as well as a team built around the ridiculous ball movement and shooting of Klay, Steph and Durant.

Part of me just thinks it would be funny if Bron joined the Warriors for the vet minimum.

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #72 on: April 30, 2018, 03:03:50 PM »

Offline footey

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)

Lol. So true. Does this happen on other forums? I read the Cavs and liberty ballers forums sometime and have never noticed them having hardcore supporters of other teams that are always there. We used to have a second Philly fan but I think he left or stopped posting after making some horrible Len Bias jokes.
Boston and Philly are just linked because of their historic rivalry and the fact that both teams set out to tank in 2013-14 with the goal of getting back to contention in 3-5 years.  Now here we are around the 5 year mark and both teams are butting heads in the 2nd round of the playoffs.  Both teams are currently relying heavily on guys with limited playoff experience.  Neither team looked anything like their current iterations last season.  The records are pretty even.  They are the two major candidates to run this conference for the next 10 years.  Can't help but discuss each other.  I see philly forums whining about Boston all the time - especially Tatum (because of the Fultz trade) and Brown (because of the Noel/Okafor trades they turned down that would have net them Brown). 

Lakers might be resurrected next season as well based on their intriguing young talent and mountains of cap space.

There you go again. Trying to equate Boston's one year rebuild, the year after they traded Pierce and Garnett for arguably the greatest return in the history of NBA trades, to what Philly did for a 4 year stretch of tanking.  Man you are so good at trying to tweak Celtic fans with that silly comparison. 

But that's history. We are where we are today with two, very young, talented rosters.  Two good coaches.  Let's see how this plays out.  If Philly is as great as you claim them to be, they should dispose of Celtics in 4 games, given that we will be without our top 3 players. 


Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #73 on: April 30, 2018, 03:32:23 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)
Vegas has the 76ers as 6/5 favorites to win the East.  Boston at 18/1 has the worst odds of the 4 remaining teams.

Most are expecting Philly to dismiss us easily in 5 or 6 games.   

Good time for the Phillastans of the world.  I guess tanking pays off.

Or just not having two all stars and a starter injured. We would be overwhelming favorites to win the east with homecourt advantage and our full team healthy. Really frustrating.
I agree it's frustrating.  You take the two best players off every other playoff team and it's doubtful any of them could hang with this injury-riddled Boston team.

Cleveland without LeBron and Love is garbage
Philly without Embiid and Simmons is garbage
Utah without Mitchell and Gobert is garbage
Houston without Harden and Paul is garbage
New Orleans without Davis and Holiday is garbage
Toronto without Lowry and Derozan is garbage


The only team that might still be decent without their two best players is the historically stacked Golden State Globetrotter squad.   Even without Durant and Curry, they'd probably be pretty decent with just Klay and Draymond.

So credit to Boston for even winning a playoff series without Kyrie and Hayward.  It's a shame, because the East is wide open and we could realistically threaten for a trip to the Finals with those guys healthy.

I still think Philly would be a problem, regardless.  That team is super talented and playing incredible basketball together right now.  Superstar talent gonna superstar.

I'd like to say that next year, if healthy, we'll be the favorites again... but I'm not so sure.  Philly's options this SUmmer still terrify me.

I think Philly doing better than expected this year and benefiting from all our injuries this series have decreased the chances of Lebron going there dramatically (not that I ever thought they were high). Lebron really cares about his image and if he goes to a team that makes the conference finals or finals already he is going to get skewered even more than Durant did and discounted from any GOAT discussion because he will look like a mercenary at the end of his career.

With respect to us next year, I think we will be absolutely dominant. Brown has made a huge leap this year. Tatum is only going to get better. Hayward! Irving! it is an embarrassment of riches.

I don't think Golden State would be that great without Durant and Curry by the way. We would have a good matchup with them if we were only down Irving and Hayward.
I don't know how realistic it actually is that LeBron goes to Philly, but it's hard to imagine him going West while the Golden State Globetrotters are still around.  What would be the point of that... so he can lose in the conference finals every year instead of the Finals?

Philly might very well make it out of the East, but it's hard to imagine any team really making a dent on Golden State.  They are historically stacked. 

So, I wouldn't totally rule out Bron joining Philly in the Summer.  I agree it's a bit of an awkward fit with Simmons controlling the ball, but it could happen. 

I could also still see him going to the Lakers depending on who else is joining him, but even a team of LeBron, Paul George and Kawhi would struggle to mesh as well as a team built around the ridiculous ball movement and shooting of Klay, Steph and Durant.

Part of me just thinks it would be funny if Bron joined the Warriors for the vet minimum.

Do you feel like we tanked even harder than they did?

Re: Re-ignition of the Celtics 76ers Rivalry
« Reply #74 on: April 30, 2018, 04:34:07 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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So glad to see we have our resident Philly stanner back to complement our resident Cleveland stanner.

 ;)
Vegas has the 76ers as 6/5 favorites to win the East.  Boston at 18/1 has the worst odds of the 4 remaining teams.

Most are expecting Philly to dismiss us easily in 5 or 6 games.   

Good time for the Phillastans of the world.  I guess tanking pays off.

Or just not having two all stars and a starter injured. We would be overwhelming favorites to win the east with homecourt advantage and our full team healthy. Really frustrating.
I agree it's frustrating.  You take the two best players off every other playoff team and it's doubtful any of them could hang with this injury-riddled Boston team.

Cleveland without LeBron and Love is garbage
Philly without Embiid and Simmons is garbage
Utah without Mitchell and Gobert is garbage
Houston without Harden and Paul is garbage
New Orleans without Davis and Holiday is garbage
Toronto without Lowry and Derozan is garbage


The only team that might still be decent without their two best players is the historically stacked Golden State Globetrotter squad.   Even without Durant and Curry, they'd probably be pretty decent with just Klay and Draymond.

So credit to Boston for even winning a playoff series without Kyrie and Hayward.  It's a shame, because the East is wide open and we could realistically threaten for a trip to the Finals with those guys healthy.

I still think Philly would be a problem, regardless.  That team is super talented and playing incredible basketball together right now.  Superstar talent gonna superstar.

I'd like to say that next year, if healthy, we'll be the favorites again... but I'm not so sure.  Philly's options this SUmmer still terrify me.

I think Philly doing better than expected this year and benefiting from all our injuries this series have decreased the chances of Lebron going there dramatically (not that I ever thought they were high). Lebron really cares about his image and if he goes to a team that makes the conference finals or finals already he is going to get skewered even more than Durant did and discounted from any GOAT discussion because he will look like a mercenary at the end of his career.

With respect to us next year, I think we will be absolutely dominant. Brown has made a huge leap this year. Tatum is only going to get better. Hayward! Irving! it is an embarrassment of riches.

I don't think Golden State would be that great without Durant and Curry by the way. We would have a good matchup with them if we were only down Irving and Hayward.
I don't know how realistic it actually is that LeBron goes to Philly, but it's hard to imagine him going West while the Golden State Globetrotters are still around.  What would be the point of that... so he can lose in the conference finals every year instead of the Finals?

Philly might very well make it out of the East, but it's hard to imagine any team really making a dent on Golden State.  They are historically stacked. 

So, I wouldn't totally rule out Bron joining Philly in the Summer.  I agree it's a bit of an awkward fit with Simmons controlling the ball, but it could happen. 

I could also still see him going to the Lakers depending on who else is joining him, but even a team of LeBron, Paul George and Kawhi would struggle to mesh as well as a team built around the ridiculous ball movement and shooting of Klay, Steph and Durant.

Part of me just thinks it would be funny if Bron joined the Warriors for the vet minimum.

Do you feel like we tanked even harder than they did?
Both teams set out to tank hard in 2013-14.   Marcus Smart was our prize.  Embiid was their prize.

We both set out to tank again in 2014-15.  Conventional wisdom said that moving all our vets like Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green for long-term assets was a clear attempt to bottom out a second time.  Ainge didn't include Brad Stevens into his calculations, though.  Ainge also saw an opportunity to snatch Isaiah Thomas for essentially nothing.   Much to his chagrin, his scrappy group of role players actually made the playoffs with a losing record.   Our starting line-up in the playoffs that season was Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Evan Turner, Brandon Bass and Tyler Zeller.

Woof.

Clearly Ainge has done a phenomenal job keeping this team relevant over the past few years.  Cashing in on our hall-of-fame talent for long-term picks has worked better than anyone could have possibly imagined. 

Meanwhile, Philly went 2 out of 3 on their tank job prizes.  Okafor is a bust, but SImmons and Embiid made the whole exercise worth it.

Both of our teams looked very different last year.   Despite the success we had over the years with our temporary roster, we're basically starting from scratch this year with a whole new group.  Philly is finally healthy and as predicted filled out their roster with vets.

In-fact, just two years ago I had the following to say:

Quote
The team was dedicated to the idea that you need a superstar to contend in this league (fact) and they needed to do everything possible to maximize their chances at getting one.  So for 3 years they avoided doing anything (like sign the Amir johnsons and Brandon basses of the world) to maximize their chance of getting stars via the draft.  They decided free agency wasn't a viable option for them (at the time they were over the cap) and they didn't have the assets to trade for one.

Now, when the dust settles on this, one of their 6+ seeds might actually end up growing into a superstar...  Beyond that they now have 80 mil in cap space so they can at least go after big name free agents.... Lastly, they can probably add about 15-20 wins just by opening their pockets for some veteran role players.  Even if the Durants of the world are unlikely, I guarantee you the Amir johnsons and Brandon basses of the world will be happy to take Philly's money when offered.

Hilariously, Amir Johnson is literally one of the players that Philly ended up signing.  As expected, vets were willing to take their money when they were ready to offer it.  Hence JJ Reddick getting a fat contract.   Hence them being able to sign vets like Bellinelli and Illasova to come off their bench.  Once you have the superstars in place, the rest is cake.   That's why I had been saying for years that basically any competent GM could turn them into a winning franchise given the assets they had. 

Fwiw, I actually think the Lakers' tankjob was even more shameful than Philly's.  Whereas Philly just depleted their roster of talent and acquired injured players making it impossible to win - the Lakers purposely coached themselves into losing games in an effort to keep their picks.  Philly at the very least had a coach and (garbage) players TRYING to win.   Lakers flat out decided to let some 37 year old scrub 35%/28% shooter jack up 17 shots a night for them in an effort to stay at the bottom.