Would you have rather made the playoffs last year, or drafted Marcus Smart?

[Quetzalcoatl]

Given our schedule and point differential we're on track to be the eight seed in the eastern playoffs this year. Of course that can all change pretty quickly depending on how we play going forward.

That fact is kind of terrifying from the stand point of how much talent we still need to add, but I like watching this team at least.

Edit: Holy crap the C's have the 6th best SRS in the east. Oh man....

6th-8th in the East honestly feels about right for our performance to this point.  Though that's as much because of the dumpster fires in Charlotte, Detroit, and NY as what we're doing.

6th to 8th?  Toronto, Atlanta, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago and Miami are a clear 6 in front of us, so there is no way we'd be the 6th seed.  Then, Milwaukee is looking pretty consistent, I think they are going to stay ahead of us all season, so that is 7th seed looking extremely unlikely.  As for 8th, we have Brooklyn and Orlando ahead of us right now and teams like Indy and Charlotte could easily surpass us.  I think there is basically a 5% chance at most we are the 8th seed or even the 9th team.  We're probably finishing 4th worst in the East and 5th worst in the NBA, barring a major trade.

Well, I was talking about our performance so far, not our finish, and Faf's got specific metrics to support it that you tried to cut out, but yours sounds scientific too, there's a number in there and everything.

I like SRS overall, but we've had a much harder schedule than some of these other teams and that factors into our rating.  I know we have a better SRS than the Bucks, Nets and Heat, but I just don't see us winning more games than they will and I imagine that stat will even out over the season.  I will say though that our schedule has been tough and if we played Detroit and Minnesota instead of a couple of our harder games, we might be looking a little better.  But even then, we'd have to play the hard teams eventually, you know?  I just think we're a fun to watch bad team.

[loco_91]

Really interesting question. I'd rather the team was good enough last year to make the playoffs, but given how good they were and are, I'd much prefer Smart over a brief undeserving playoff appearance.

This year, I'd like to see a playoff appearance not for its own sake but because it would mean that our team has come together and our players have improved. That is the #1 most important thing, and given that we won't have a top-3 pick regardless, draft slot is a distant #2.

[loco_91]

Given our schedule and point differential we're on track to be the eight seed in the eastern playoffs this year. Of course that can all change pretty quickly depending on how we play going forward.

That fact is kind of terrifying from the stand point of how much talent we still need to add, but I like watching this team at least.

Edit: Holy crap the C's have the 6th best SRS in the east. Oh man....

6th-8th in the East honestly feels about right for our performance to this point.  Though that's as much because of the dumpster fires in Charlotte, Detroit, and NY as what we're doing.

6th to 8th?  Toronto, Atlanta, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago and Miami are a clear 6 in front of us, so there is no way we'd be the 6th seed.  Then, Milwaukee is looking pretty consistent, I think they are going to stay ahead of us all season, so that is 7th seed looking extremely unlikely.  As for 8th, we have Brooklyn and Orlando ahead of us right now and teams like Indy and Charlotte could easily surpass us.  I think there is basically a 5% chance at most we are the 8th seed or even the 9th team.  We're probably finishing 4th worst in the East and 5th worst in the NBA, barring a major trade.

Well, I was talking about our performance so far, not our finish, and Faf's got specific metrics to support it that you tried to cut out, but yours sounds scientific too, there's a number in there and everything.

I like SRS overall, but we've had a much harder schedule than some of these other teams and that factors into our rating.  I know we have a better SRS than the Bucks, Nets and Heat, but I just don't see us winning more games than they will and I imagine that stat will even out over the season.  I will say though that our schedule has been tough and if we played Detroit and Minnesota instead of a couple of our harder games, we might be looking a little better.  But even then, we'd have to play the hard teams eventually, you know?  I just think we're a fun to watch bad team.

I agree about the top 6, however:
-The odds that at least one of those teams takes a fall due to injury or something is pretty good
-The Bucks have been solid, but they're far from a lock at #7
-Brooklyn, Orlando, Indy and Charlotte are all looking pretty bad to be honest. Not surprising if one of them beats us, but I'm not sure who it would be.

All in all, I think we have a real chance at the 8 seed and a nontrivial chance at #7.

[SHAQATTACK]

Couldn't get better with Pierce and KG contract ,  just would have floated around 40 wins .

They need ed to go sooner or latter .  They provided the springboard to rebuild for the future .

I don't see Washington winning a title this year , they ll  make a run at LeBron in the east ....that's about it.

So seeing the Nets plight .....failure to Capitalize on Pierce and KG...glade we traded players for picks
Plus we got rid of JET  .....added bonus.

Not that I wouldn't mind seeing KG or PP back on a Very good Celtics team that just needs their vet....leadership off the bench.
 
So .....we weren't" making the playoff s period last year.

We needed a good draft pick ......so far other than Wiggins and Parker .....from what I've seen so far Smart is going to be their equal as guard talent in a couple years.   Embiid seems fragile and unproven , Randle bad legs and unproven ...I ve seen nothing from Exum to make me think he is going to be great.

Smart ....if stays healthy and focused ...may prove to be a top three pick out of this draft.

Teams just don't trade superstars anymore .....they are so hard to get today.  ....unless like OKC ..they need to,get under the cap.

This is the reason to keep Rondo.....who can you get better to take his place ?   Smart is not ready for sure.

[chambers]

I'm VERY glad we got Smart.

Given our ability to move up with picks and assets, and the fact that we won't likely get a pick inside the top 10, making the playoffs is fine with me. I really don't care either way now. I just hope we have a solid plan for getting lucky and acquiring some potential top 20 NBA player talent.

[Celtics18]

I like Marcus Smart, but I think I would have been happy if we had made the playoffs and nabbed Jusuf Nurkic with the 15th or 16th pick. 

[Roy H.]

Dunno.  Did we win a championship?  Make it to the Conference Finals?  Get swept in the first round?  Had multiple players sustain major injuries?

Did we draft Nurkic at #15?

I'll take a championship and Nurkic over Smart.  Anything other outcome, and it probably depends upon the details.

[Eja117]

But this year if we miss the playoffs we pick like 11th or something. So instead of would you rather have made the playoffs and draft Adrian Payne or would you rather have missed the playoffs and draft Doug McDermott or Dario Saric or maybe Zach LaVine.

[Beat LA]

Hmm.  Well, I'd take a slightly different approach.  Why not miss last year's playoffs but take advantage of the depth of the 2014 draft by trading, let's say, Jeff Green to Memphis for Prince and a first rounder, Bass to a contender for either a late first round pick or two seconds, and possibly even Bradley, who, Green aside, might have been the most attractive player on our roster, and with an expiring contract, to boot.  I know that a lot of people like Bradley, but once we drafted Smart, keeping him made no sense, imo.  Sullinger might have made for another first rounder, but who knows?  Basically, I would have gutted the roster, lol , gotten as many picks in the 2014 draft as possible, and used them to take Smart, James Young, KJ McDaniels, McGary, Hairston, Markel Brown, etc. 

Alternatively, of course, I might have been more inclined to trade down for someone like Zach Lavine or whatever.  I was for the picks that Danny made, it's just that there was so much talent in that draft that I would have done anything to try and get as many guys as possible.  I mean, who knows - what if we'd taken Giannis in 2013, still missed the playoffs, and opted for the same approach?  With a little tinkering here and there, we might have been able to assemble most of a great frontline in relatively little time with the Greek Freak and signing Whiteside, while at the same time also acquiring guys like Young and McDaniels, etc.   

[colincb]

We had a chance at the playoffs last year?

[Ilikesports17]

That question answers itself. If last years team had made the playoffs that would have meant we saw great growth from Sully, consistency from Green, a return to form from Rondo and it would make Stevens look even better than he does today. If that had all happened than yes I would rather be the 8 seed, grab Nurkic and Young and head into this year looking to make the playoffs again.

Rondo circa 2012
Bradley 2015 Turner Young
Green (consistent version who is aggressive every night)
Sully (not fat) KO (not soft version)
Zeller 2015 Nurkic

Instead rondo and Green sucked. If they had performed to their potential they could be our stars to transition into the next era. Unfortunately Rondo was awful and Green reminded us that he will never be a star despite his occasional flashes of brilliance.

[255 Rings]

Well not Smart necessarily but trying our luck to grab a franchise player was our best option last year because after trading away Pierce and KG we needed to stink. We saw that Rondo was all talk and a huge disappointment as the face of this franchise and and I would prefer to tank in a highly touted NBA Draft. Where we would have mad the playoffs last year would have meant that player like Sully and Olynyk would have broke through or older vets like Green and Rondo played insane. I would have never minded if we were a solid team with Rondo as our main star player, but he sure proved to us he wasn't one, so in conclusion I would have to go with going to the lottery last year.

[LGC88]

Each year has its pros and cons to considerate before going in a direction.
Last year was a transition one, with not so many advantages to go for the playoffs. We couldn't reload and the team was too unbalanced to consider playing for the win.
We got Marcus out of it, and I think that was the best plan.
This year is different. We have young players that need to gain experience very fast. We are not capitalizing on prospect and develop them slowly. We are on the verge to make 1 or 2 big move that will change the face of the franchise.
Our young players need playoff experience (as well as our coach) and we need to appear good in front of potential FA or top players who will be on trade talks.
Of course this has a cost, sacrifice a potential prospect player that we might really need.
To me, the way this organisation made its plan for the last 2 season was the best choice.
Other might disagree, and it's fully understandable. Sometimes the apple looks more pleasing than the orange, depending of the season.

[Moranis]

I'd rather have made the playoffs and drafted Nurkic than missed the playoffs and drafted Smart.