This team will not win a Championship

[WWBJD]

The fire is gone. KG is not KG anymore. Pierce and Allen are too inconsistent and Rasheed is....Rasheed. He is overweight and shoots too many 3's.

Rondo cannot hit a jumper or consistently make FT's. Stat from last night says he still shoots less than 60 percent.

Daniels is injured and BBD is still playing like a rookie, not the BBD from last year's playoffs.

There is something missing from this team. I just don't think they are hungry anymore.

This team has lost at least a half dozen games that the 2007-08 team would not have lost and are on pace to have thw worst record of the Big 3 era.

It is very disturbing. I also think Doc is very frustrated. Last night is a micro-chasm of the season. 

Calm yourself. There is a reason for everything you (and the rest of us) have all had to witness.

KG - yeah he kind of missed 10+ games and needs to work himself back into game shape. The alley-oops we saw him miss were bad passes and he probably wanted to avoid landing awkwardly (IN JANUARY). KG is still KG. Intense on both ends of the floor and being the leader this team needs. He ran his man (Lewis) off the 3-point line last night into an area where help defense (aka Sheed) should have been there for him. The fire isn't gone but I agree that the flames could certainly use a fanning.

Sheed - he is still working his way back into game shape from the OFFSEASON. He didn't pickup a ball once in the offseason. Not once. Give him some time and live with the 3-balls.

Rondo - Just stop hating would you? Every facet of his game continues to improve. He'll be sniffing 70% from the stripe by the end of the season - oh he also leads the league in steals and is the leader amongst ALL GUARDS IN THE NBA in FG%.

Daniels - yes, he's injured. Yes, he'll be back and yes you've noticed just how valuable of a player he is on our team.

Big Baby - Yeah he too missed a lot of games early on and given that the injury was on his shooting hand I can understand why he's been a bit off lately. It's his baby jumper which has really allowed him to stretch the floor/defenses and his shot is just a bit off. He made some good buckets last night.

I think your best point is re: their hunger level. They just don't appear to have the swagger they once did, but that's all understandable given all of the above, no?

How long do we have to wait for Sheed to work his way back into shape? I believe game 44 is tonight.

I often wonder, what exactly do people expect out of a 35 year old bench player? Because it seems to me that sheed could go out and put up 13/5/5 nights each and every night and people would gripe that he wasen't going for 20/8/8.

Not every team has manu or jason terry on thier bench.  

because to me, what sheed is giving us is fine for that spot. Has been all year. we are getting exactly what we need out of sheed.



He has gone more to the block lately, is shooting better in general and is a above average big man defender. Considering he is THIRD on our big man depth chart, i'll take above average to good out of him.

Does he have his warts? absolutly. he drives me nuts when he settles for threes to much, gets a T (though some of the ones he gets are laughable), or gets out rebounded, but thats what we signed.

I feel like people's expectations of what a 6th man making the MLE should bring to this team are ridiculous sometimes.

What do I expect out of a 35 year old bench player?

I expect for $6 mil/year that he could come to camp in reasonably good shape and not play the first half of the season with a spare tire around his waist.

I also expect someone with his experience and supposedly high basketball IQ to be able to rotate defensively like he's supposed to.

I don't care what his stats are.  They will vary, night to night, depending on how much he's needed.  But I do expect 100% effort every night, especially on defense, and I don't think we're getting it.

[EJPLAYA]

The fire is gone. KG is not KG anymore. Pierce and Allen are too inconsistent and Rasheed is....Rasheed. He is overweight and shoots too many 3's.

Rondo cannot hit a jumper or consistently make FT's. Stat from last night says he still shoots less than 60 percent.

Daniels is injured and BBD is still playing like a rookie, not the BBD from last year's playoffs.

There is something missing from this team. I just don't think they are hungry anymore.

This team has lost at least a half dozen games that the 2007-08 team would not have lost and are on pace to have thw worst record of the Big 3 era.

It is very disturbing. I also think Doc is very frustrated. Last night is a micro-chasm of the season. 

Calm yourself. There is a reason for everything you (and the rest of us) have all had to witness.

KG - yeah he kind of missed 10+ games and needs to work himself back into game shape. The alley-oops we saw him miss were bad passes and he probably wanted to avoid landing awkwardly (IN JANUARY). KG is still KG. Intense on both ends of the floor and being the leader this team needs. He ran his man (Lewis) off the 3-point line last night into an area where help defense (aka Sheed) should have been there for him. The fire isn't gone but I agree that the flames could certainly use a fanning.

Sheed - he is still working his way back into game shape from the OFFSEASON. He didn't pickup a ball once in the offseason. Not once. Give him some time and live with the 3-balls.

Rondo - Just stop hating would you? Every facet of his game continues to improve. He'll be sniffing 70% from the stripe by the end of the season - oh he also leads the league in steals and is the leader amongst ALL GUARDS IN THE NBA in FG%.

Daniels - yes, he's injured. Yes, he'll be back and yes you've noticed just how valuable of a player he is on our team.

Big Baby - Yeah he too missed a lot of games early on and given that the injury was on his shooting hand I can understand why he's been a bit off lately. It's his baby jumper which has really allowed him to stretch the floor/defenses and his shot is just a bit off. He made some good buckets last night.

I think your best point is re: their hunger level. They just don't appear to have the swagger they once did, but that's all understandable given all of the above, no?

How long do we have to wait for Sheed to work his way back into shape? I believe game 44 is tonight.

I often wonder, what exactly do people expect out of a 35 year old bench player? Because it seems to me that sheed could go out and put up 13/5/5 nights each and every night and people would gripe that he wasen't going for 20/8/8.

Not every team has manu or jason terry on thier bench.  

because to me, what sheed is giving us is fine for that spot. Has been all year. we are getting exactly what we need out of sheed.



He has gone more to the block lately, is shooting better in general and is a above average big man defender. Considering he is THIRD on our big man depth chart, i'll take above average to good out of him.

Does he have his warts? absolutly. he drives me nuts when he settles for threes to much, gets a T (though some of the ones he gets are laughable), or gets out rebounded, but thats what we signed.

I feel like people's expectations of what a 6th man making the MLE should bring to this team are ridiculous sometimes.

TP to you crownsy. Perfectly said. He has made a noticeable effort recently of getting down on the block. He is doing about everything we asked of him. He isn't rotating any worse than KG or PP or Ray considering his age. I sure hope people don't blame him for Lewis's layup. Had he went to block that shot he would have dished it to Howard who would have slammed it home. KG was the one who couldn't move…

If anyone wants to be upset with a big man, be upset with BBD as he has not brought ANY defense to the floor since he has returned. He hit the first outside jumper he has hit all year last night, and really the only thing he is doing well interestingly enough is hitting free throws.

[ManUp]

As currently constructed we can win a championship, but we have a lot of work to do on the court.

[scoop]

I'm not more impressed by the other contenders.

Even though they're playing badly, I'd say that if Garnett stays healthy and plays at a high level - it doesn't need to be his MVP form, but well enough to be the best player in this team, which isn't that difficult to him, they're better equipped than anyone else to win the title... as long as they rebound the ball.

[chicagogreen]

yea, love micro-chasm
a giant hole or crack, only a little one, perfect

this team is starting to remind me of lots of other talented and older also-rans though, the malone lakers, the pippin/barkley rockets, etc.
I guess we can fondly remember the "never doubt the heart of a champion" rockets, what did they finish, 8th or something before climbing Hakeem's old back and winning a second?
 

[crownsy]

The fire is gone. KG is not KG anymore. Pierce and Allen are too inconsistent and Rasheed is....Rasheed. He is overweight and shoots too many 3's.

Rondo cannot hit a jumper or consistently make FT's. Stat from last night says he still shoots less than 60 percent.

Daniels is injured and BBD is still playing like a rookie, not the BBD from last year's playoffs.

There is something missing from this team. I just don't think they are hungry anymore.

This team has lost at least a half dozen games that the 2007-08 team would not have lost and are on pace to have thw worst record of the Big 3 era.

It is very disturbing. I also think Doc is very frustrated. Last night is a micro-chasm of the season. 

Calm yourself. There is a reason for everything you (and the rest of us) have all had to witness.

KG - yeah he kind of missed 10+ games and needs to work himself back into game shape. The alley-oops we saw him miss were bad passes and he probably wanted to avoid landing awkwardly (IN JANUARY). KG is still KG. Intense on both ends of the floor and being the leader this team needs. He ran his man (Lewis) off the 3-point line last night into an area where help defense (aka Sheed) should have been there for him. The fire isn't gone but I agree that the flames could certainly use a fanning.

Sheed - he is still working his way back into game shape from the OFFSEASON. He didn't pickup a ball once in the offseason. Not once. Give him some time and live with the 3-balls.

Rondo - Just stop hating would you? Every facet of his game continues to improve. He'll be sniffing 70% from the stripe by the end of the season - oh he also leads the league in steals and is the leader amongst ALL GUARDS IN THE NBA in FG%.

Daniels - yes, he's injured. Yes, he'll be back and yes you've noticed just how valuable of a player he is on our team.

Big Baby - Yeah he too missed a lot of games early on and given that the injury was on his shooting hand I can understand why he's been a bit off lately. It's his baby jumper which has really allowed him to stretch the floor/defenses and his shot is just a bit off. He made some good buckets last night.

I think your best point is re: their hunger level. They just don't appear to have the swagger they once did, but that's all understandable given all of the above, no?

How long do we have to wait for Sheed to work his way back into shape? I believe game 44 is tonight.

I often wonder, what exactly do people expect out of a 35 year old bench player? Because it seems to me that sheed could go out and put up 13/5/5 nights each and every night and people would gripe that he wasen't going for 20/8/8.

Not every team has manu or jason terry on thier bench.  

because to me, what sheed is giving us is fine for that spot. Has been all year. we are getting exactly what we need out of sheed.



He has gone more to the block lately, is shooting better in general and is a above average big man defender. Considering he is THIRD on our big man depth chart, i'll take above average to good out of him.

Does he have his warts? absolutly. he drives me nuts when he settles for threes to much, gets a T (though some of the ones he gets are laughable), or gets out rebounded, but thats what we signed.

I feel like people's expectations of what a 6th man making the MLE should bring to this team are ridiculous sometimes.

What do I expect out of a 35 year old bench player?

I expect for $6 mil/year that he could come to camp in reasonably good shape and not play the first half of the season with a spare tire around his waist.

I also expect someone with his experience and supposedly high basketball IQ to be able to rotate defensively like he's supposed to.

I don't care what his stats are.  They will vary, night to night, depending on how much he's needed.  But I do expect 100% effort every night, especially on defense, and I don't think we're getting it.

Can you go ahead and make me a list of 6th man PF/C players who bring more to thier team than sheed and his skill set for the MLE exception?

I'll wait.

[nyceltsfan]

Here's the problem.  This team is not playing as well as the team that lost to Orlando last year in the ECSF.  That team was trying to prove they can win without KG.  It turned out that KG was the difference between losing in 7 or going to Cleveland.  That team did not blow 2nd half leads left and right.  They also went 22-7 without KG during the regular season.  This season, they couldn't tread water without KG.  The problem is that our starting 5 is no longer the best starting 5 in the league.  I am not going to name any starting 5 that's better, but this staring 5 is stagnant and does not put the daggar in the heart of their opponents.  There are no back breaking 3's from Ray Allen anymore.  Pierce is a step slower and KG is settling for jumpers (which has been a problem since day 1, but is worse now).  Perkins and Rondo are improved, but they are not the guys who can carry an offense.

[Andy Jick]

I don't know if I can take 2 more years of Rasheed.  He would have never come here on a 1 year deal...but we're going to regret the last 2.

he reminds me of an aging dennis scott...except scott made more of his 3 pointers.  'sheed is an enigma: for as much as he helps, he also brings a lot that hinders...

[PosImpos]

Can you go ahead and make me a list of 6th man PF/C players who bring more to thier team than sheed and his skill set for the MLE exception?

I'll wait.

Carl Landry.

Not that he's a C, exactly, and he can't hit 3's, but I'd take him any day of the week over Sheed.

Udonis Haslem might be better, too; technically he makes more than the MLE but I think he'd get the MLE if we signed him.  He's also not really a C, though.

That said, I like Sheed, I just wish he could be in better shape and at least give us strong defensive effort when it counts (unlike the last play at the end of yesterday's game).

[dlpin]

Can you go ahead and make me a list of 6th man PF/C players who bring more to thier team than sheed and his skill set for the MLE exception?

I'll wait.

Carl Landry.

Not that he's a C, exactly, and he can't hit 3's, but I'd take him any day of the week over Sheed.

Udonis Haslem might be better, too; technically he makes more than the MLE but I think he'd get the MLE if we signed him.  He's also not really a C, though.

That said, I like Sheed, I just wish he could be in better shape and at least give us strong defensive effort when it counts (unlike the last play at the end of yesterday's game).

Well, Carl Landry is still in his rookie contract. I doubt he would settle for anything close to the MLE when he becomes a free agent.

It's tough to figure out how much Haslem will be making next year. There are a number of scenarios I can think of, one being ridiculous overpaid if the teams with cap space dont get who they want and become desperate, the other no one having an interest in him because they got who they wanted.

[ManUp]

As currently constructed we can win a championship, but we have a lot of work to do on the court.

A lot has to change for this team to win a championship. Ray, House, Sheed, and Garnett are all going to have to play better than they have this season. We have all the spacing in the world, but when asked to knockdown open 3s these guys miss more often then not.

Sheed has been terrible from 3 he's shooting 30% from 3, but I don't need to look at any stats to know he leads the team in attempts. He doesn't help us against the Cavs if the spacing is purely from reputation. It seems that some teams have decide to let him take the shot and he's simply not making them pay.

House hasn't been a difference maker all year. If he was anywhere else he probably wouldn't be dressing right now.

Ray is just super inconsistent from deep. The missed open 3s are often the difference between a lead, a stopped run, and back breakers for the opponent. He's been good this year, but his real value to this team is in his shooting which has been shaky.

KG is playing like a role player. He's going to have to play like an All-star and not a role player for us to have a chance. We can't win with him playing like a glorified Joe Smith.

We have to get better on the boards. It seems like our good defense is almost negated by a lack of rebounding especially down the stretch. I think this might be our most concerning problem because it's not a problem I see correcting itself.