We have a long season ahead of us

[TheFlex]

After one exhibition game vs. the Sixers...

MARCUS SMART SUCKS BUT OH MY GOD EVAN TURNER IS AN ALL STAR NEVER MIND HE IS WHAT HE ALWAYS WAS I KNEW IT FROM THE START BUT JAMES YOUNG IS THE NEXT PAUL PIERCE BUT JARED SULLINGER IS TOO FAT AND HIS CONDITIONING IS TERRIBLE AND TYLER ZELLER IS BAD BUT...

Seriously, one game. That's all. The criticisms of Sullinger and the glorification of Turner may be a little more warranted -- though still ridiculous -- because we've seen them play full NBA seasons before. The definitive criticisms of Smart and the glorification of James Young put the proverbial cart before the horse. We've got 82 games to play before they finish their rookie year. And 82 games to judge whether or not Sully's preference of strength and bulk over slightly more athleticism will pay off. And 82 games to judge... so on and so forth.

I get it. We're dying for basketball. And I, for one, am up for Celtics discussion at all times. But maybe we should replace concrete evaluations like "Marcus Smart can't score, PERIOD" with something like "Marcus Smart had a tough time scoring last night in his first ever exhibition game."

Go Cs!

[hwangjini_1]

What?! You want patience and reasoned evaluations from posters? Be gone you evil spirit and let back the spirits of hyperbole and over reaction! 

[Celtics4ever]

The criticisms of Sullinger and the glorification of Turner may be a little more warranted -- though still ridiculous

I think Sully deserves what he gets.   He looked the same, still was chucking threes, at least Brad yanked him when he missed two of them this year.   So I think the rope that he had to hang himself is shorter from Stevens.   He looked really winded walking to the bench on TV timeouts.   Part of being a professional, is coming into camp in some semblance of shape.   That is not Celtics pride playing yourself into shape.  That is unfair, to himself, his team mates and us the fans.

If I were Danny, I would make him stay in Boston next year and train on his body.   The guy has tons of talent and I would hate to see him squander it ala Mel Turpin.  The Ohio Pro-AM league that he played in was a joke.

Dude, this is Celticsblog get used to the "Sky is falling" posts.

[greece66]

[fairweatherfan]

I continue to be perplexed by people spending their free time and money on an entertainment product that constantly makes them pessimistic and miserable.  But it's not going anywhere, so it's better to just laugh at or ignore it.

[gpap]

This year, the Celts are going to go 82-0.

They are going to sweep Charlotte, Washington, Cleveland and San Antonio en route to banner 18!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHt2GA12qU4

[Donoghus]

I do think it's going to be a long year.  The rebuild will continue.  This roster is still a mish-mash of parts and Danny will have to start thinking about moving around some of these assets he's acquired.  Just watching on Monday night, it just seems like they have a glut of redundant parts; combo guards & swingmen. 

It will be exciting to continue to watch the development of guys like K.O. & Bradley and see how guys like Smart & Young translate at the pro level.  However, my expectations of this team are pretty tempered at the moment. 

[Evantime34]

I continue to be perplexed by people spending their free time and money on an entertainment product that constantly makes them pessimistic and miserable.  But it's not going anywhere, so it's better to just laugh at or ignore it.

TP.

I don't understand how people can consistently watch the games yet expect them to lose every single game. Right now I am optimistic about the season.

Last year at the end of the season we were terrible and most of the players I wanted to see develop were hurt. This year, we have more guys I like watching, so even if we don't win games I will enjoy watching.

[SCeltic34]

You know how it is.

Let's pretend the opposite happened - Turner had a poor game, Smart struggled on defense while still going 0-8, Zeller played well defensively, and Bradley went 7-10 instead of 3-10.

Corresponding threads:
"Danny made a mistake signing Turner"
"Marcus Smart's defense is overrated"
"Zeller is a beast!"
"Bradley's offense has improved"

And so on.  Based off of one preseason game - the first one of the entire year.  You'd think after watching years of NBA basketball, people would learn to critically evaluate players over the course of seasons instead of posting knee-jerk reactions after every game.

This year, the Celts are going to go 82-0.

They are going to sweep Charlotte, Washington, Cleveland and San Antonio en route to banner 18!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHt2GA12qU4

I promise to get a tattoo of a pink unicorn on my face if that happens. 

But in any case, I look forward to this season and the continued growth of our team.  Should be fun.

[vjcsmoke]

kneejerk reactions.  isn't that what message boards are for?  lol

I do agree though, it is an 82 game season.  every basketball season is LONG.  There will be heroes who step up, there will be stinkers, and there will be winners.  Each season is a body of work.

Last season some of the Celtics young'uns, in particular Kelly Olynyk ended on a high note.  Avery Bradley's shooting improved as well ending on a high note.

The early injury to Rondo opens the door for Smart to get major minutes.  At least we'll get a decent idea at what we have over the first 10 games.  Hopefully the team will play well from the start, and Rondo stepping in at game 11 will just launch us into an even higher level of play.

[greece66]

I don't understand how people can consistently watch the games yet expect them to lose every single game. Right now I am optimistic about the season.

OK, here is what you need to understand- pessimism is its own reward. If the C's win you are pleasantly surprised, if they lose, you knew it from the start so there is no reason to get upset.
The problem with being optimistic about a tan... sorry, 'rebuilding' team is the % of disappointing games you will have to go through. Expect sthg in the vicinity of 55.
To sum it up with a giant of American literature