CP2016, this should have been your original post. Thanks for the hard work you do to make your posts thoughtful and interesting.
Thanks, that was very kind of you to say. I am the type who tends to go on nonstop rants. So I try to start a new thread or dump the rants on a quiet thread.
I saw the two away games and Oklahoma as a nice three game block to focus on. The Memphis game was outstanding. That win highlighted our team identity from last year.
Now it is Christmas and the Celtics are being watched by everyone in the country. It is another fresh start. We should win this one, period.
The only game coming up that scares me is Cleveland. We could upset them, but it is more likely we lose. I admit that. But it won't be Brooklyn playing Cleveland. We can beat them.
Doubts will persist until we advance in playoff rounds and then upset Cleveland or Toronto or put up a great fight.
Olynyk is scaring me lately. You want players that are dependable. Olynyk is currently in basketball purgatory. He is not a scrub, but he is not yet a dependable rotation player. His contract is up and things never stay the same, so he needs to start playing better if he feels comfy in Boston.
While I feel a bit sympathetic for guys like Zeller, Young and Green, the small part of me which is negative doesn't see a place for them long-term.
Brooklyn hit rock bottom the day I wrote the original post. For most of the year they have been in the fourth worst slot and we know that can end up anywhere from winning the lottery or dropping back to sixth or seventh, deeper into the crapshoot zone.
I see one last big phase until the break. We have the Cavs coming up which looks like a loss, but we also have seven extra home games after today. We've yet to play our home games and we've yet to have an extended period of health combined with an easy portion of the schedule.
Things could pick up tremendously in the next two months. Brooklyn will either stabilize and win some games diluting the pick or they will solidify we are looking at a top five pick. We should be able to solidify the third seed in this time. Maybe Larry Sanders signs with the Celtics. Maybe Amir and Olynyk snap out of early funks and we won't necessarily need Sanders or a trade for a big big.
Meanwhile we get to watch and appreciate guys in their prime who do not think like us and just play, like Isaiah, Avery, Crowder and Horford. I am going to roll my own dice and say I trust Jae and think he is good whether he takes further leaps or not.
I have fun rooting for young players like Smart, Olynyk and Brown and wonder how they will end up as players
this year.
It's tough enough to worry about Rozier, so I don't think much about Zeller, Green, Young or Mickey. I think of Zizac a little bit. We need a center. Olynyk might be the most interesting player to follow, as was Sullinger last year. If Sully had gotten into shape and played like he did the first month, I think he would have been resigned. Danny had a tough decision to make with him and Evan Turner. Portland made the Turner decision easy. Sully putting on weight last year made that decision easier.
Unless Olynyk picks up the pace, he is not worth more money than Jerebko.
It could be a blessing Olynyk is still experiencing growing pains. It could be nothing and just a blip in his career. If he makes the leap this year like Turner did last year, some team like Portland will offer him $17 million/year or whatever Evan got.
I am willing to give up on Zeller as a rotation piece, but I am still leaving Kelly room to solidify a quality rotation niche.
Topic: The Boston Celtics should currently be ranked #1 for future rankings (Read 5156 times)