Do you think the Celtics are considering sticking with all 4 long term?

[Celtics4ever]

Think about that Longley, Wennington, and Kleine, not exactly hall of famers.  Not of them elite defenders, or offensive players.   

Right, now we have Kanter, Theis and Willliams, do you think that these guys are equal to the above three?

[bellerephon]

Comparisons with the Bulls are not apt. They had Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, and Pippin another of the 50 greatest. That’s not a model teams can emulate unless they have some draft or free agent luck.. Having said that, I don’t agree that a team can’t win without a great big man, there is more than one way to build a championship team.

[Somebody]

While it's true you can win a championship without a star big man like Embiid, Towns, or Anthony Davis, you also can't win a championship if all your great players are wings.

What about the dominant Bulls team.   Rodman was only 6-8 but he could play bigger and was an elite rebounder.    Pippen and Jordan were both wing sized.  They did pretty well with weak big men and they won multiple titles.   Name a great big man on those team and tall guy?   Rodman was wing sized.

But the Celts still need a big man who can complement Kemba and the wings.
In this case the Celts a big man who's more of a defensive presence

Just the like Bulls?   Because I think I have aptly poked holes in your dominant big man theory.   

Bulls didn't have a great big man, but they always had a 3-headed monster at the Center position.
Those bigs were 7-footers who's only purpose was to rebound and protect the paint.

The first 3-peat of the Bulls, they had Cartwright, Perdue, and Stacey King as Centers.
In the second and last 3-peat of the Bulls, they had Longley, Wennington, and Joe Kleine.
Clearly the Bulls made sure they had bigs that could rebound and protect the paint.

The first three peat Bulls were particularly impressive in the frontcourt, they had sub All-Star players in Horace Grant and Bill Cartwright. The second Bulls dynasty took care of the center position by committee, but they did have an amazing interior presence in Rodman.

[Somebody]

Comparisons with the Bulls are not apt. They had Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, and Pippin another of the 50 greatest. That’s not a model teams can emulate unless they have some draft or free agent luck.. Having said that, I don’t agree that a team can’t win without a great big man, there is more than one way to build a championship team.

That's obvious lol. But you do need good frontcourt players who can get the job done.

[bellerephon]

Comparisons with the Bulls are not apt. They had Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, and Pippin another of the 50 greatest. That’s not a model teams can emulate unless they have some draft or free agent luck.. Having said that, I don’t agree that a team can’t win without a great big man, there is more than one way to build a championship team.

That's obvious lol. But you do need good frontcourt players who can get the job done.

Agreed, but that's not a deep statement. To win a championship you need to be good in all areas, and great in a couple. The question isn't can you win a championship with bad players in the front court, the answer is of course likely you can't. The question is can you win a championship with merely good players in the front court and your great players at the wing and guard. I think the answer is likely yes.

[Somebody]

Comparisons with the Bulls are not apt. They had Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, and Pippin another of the 50 greatest. That’s not a model teams can emulate unless they have some draft or free agent luck.. Having said that, I don’t agree that a team can’t win without a great big man, there is more than one way to build a championship team.

That's obvious lol. But you do need good frontcourt players who can get the job done.

Agreed, but that's not a deep statement. To win a championship you need to be good in all areas, and great in a couple. The question isn't can you win a championship with bad players in the front court, the answer is of course likely you can't. The question is can you win a championship with merely good players in the front court and your great players at the wing and guard. I think the answer is likely yes.

Was that ever disputed by us? I think a championship team that's not paying a huge amount of tax will always have a position or two with "merely" good players, and those players can play in any position as long as they mesh with the stars on the team well.

[Fierce1]

Think about that Longley, Wennington, and Kleine, not exactly hall of famers.  Not of them elite defenders, or offensive players.   

Right, now we have Kanter, Theis and Willliams, do you think that these guys are equal to the above three?

Kanter has proven time and time again that he can't be relied upon in the playoffs.
Utah and OKC will tell you Kanter is horrible on defense.
Portland was the latest to experience Kanter's horrible D against GSW.
Steph Curry annihilated the Blazers because Kanter wouldn't come out and defend Steph in the pick and roll.

Theis and RWill are just 6-8 players.
Both of them can't guard Embiid in a best of seven series.

Longley, Wennington, and Kleine are not close to being elite but they are big, they play physical, and they're 7-footers.

In the first game against the Sixers, the Celts got outrebounded 62-41.

Against the Knicks, the Celts allowed the Knicks to get 16 offensive rebounds.

Clearly the Celts have a big man problem.

[Fierce1]

Comparisons with the Bulls are not apt. They had Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, and Pippin another of the 50 greatest. That’s not a model teams can emulate unless they have some draft or free agent luck.. Having said that, I don’t agree that a team can’t win without a great big man, there is more than one way to build a championship team.

That's obvious lol. But you do need good frontcourt players who can get the job done.

Agreed, but that's not a deep statement. To win a championship you need to be good in all areas, and great in a couple. The question isn't can you win a championship with bad players in the front court, the answer is of course likely you can't. The question is can you win a championship with merely good players in the front court and your great players at the wing and guard. I think the answer is likely yes.

Absolutely!

You are correct.

That's why I'm saying the Celts need an upgrade because the Celts don't have "merely good players" in the frontcourt.

Kanter is horrible on defense.

RWill and Theis are just too short guard Embiid.

I wouldn't be asking for an upgrade if the Celts still had Baynes.
Baynes proved that he can be relied upon in the playoffs.

Right now the Celts just don't have that good frontcourt player.

I think the best frontcourt player the Celts have right now is Grant Williams.

[PAOBoston]

They could but at some point I figure salary cap/luxury tax will play a role as Kemba/Hayward/Tatum/Brown will all be on big contracts.

I think it is too early to tell with the big position right now. Kanter is a great offensive/rebounding but more suited to coming off the bench. Williams is still raw. I’m curious to see how Poirier acclimates. He’s got both the size, strength, and athleticism to roll out potentially in any matchup. If they do make a move, i doubt it will be a block buster for someone like Capella or Adams etc. I don’t think they need that. 

[Somebody]

They could but at some point I figure salary cap/luxury tax will play a role as Kemba/Hayward/Tatum/Brown will all be on big contracts.

I think it is too early to tell with the big position right now. Kanter is a great offensive/rebounding but more suited to coming off the bench. Williams is still raw. I’m curious to see how Poirier acclimates. He’s got both the size, strength, and athleticism to roll out potentially in any matchup. If they do make a move, i doubt it will be a block buster for someone like Capella or Adams etc. I don’t think they need that.

I still have high hopes for Poirier to be a decent role player for us. I think he will be able to make an impact in games when we need a garbage man who can roll hard to the basket and rebound after he acclimatises to NBA basketball.

[dannyboy35]

  Because I hope they keep these 4 and Smart together I'm watching Memphis more and more. Morant looks VERY good to me. I think Big Val is a good player too. So far Jackson Jr hasn’t been very good. Right now it looks bleak for them.

[dannyboy35]

  Whoops. I mentioned Memphis out of hope it becomes a good asset that can maybe get that big upgrade somehow.

[action781]

We're 4-1 after having played all the best teams in the East.

Gordon Hayward still isn't 100% yet, but appears to be trending towards that.

Tatum and Brown are still probably only 80% of the way to reaching their full potential.

So we have room to grow upon this 4-1 start?  Let's stick with this!

If he's not now then when will he be? Its been two years since his initial injury, over a full year since his setback.

He might not ever be 100% of what he once was.  I meant he's not yet 100% of what he'll eventually get back to (whatever that is).  He still has room to improve on where he is right now.

[gpap]

Think about that Longley, Wennington, and Kleine, not exactly hall of famers.  Not of them elite defenders, or offensive players.   

Right, now we have Kanter, Theis and Willliams, do you think that these guys are equal to the above three?

Kanter has proven time and time again that he can't be relied upon in the playoffs.
Utah and OKC will tell you Kanter is horrible on defense.
Portland was the latest to experience Kanter's horrible D against GSW.
Steph Curry annihilated the Blazers because Kanter wouldn't come out and defend Steph in the pick and roll.

Theis and RWill are just 6-8 players.
Both of them can't guard Embiid in a best of seven series.

Longley, Wennington, and Kleine are not close to being elite but they are big, they play physical, and they're 7-footers.

In the first game against the Sixers, the Celts got outrebounded 62-41.

Against the Knicks, the Celts allowed the Knicks to get 16 offensive rebounds.

Clearly the Celts have a big man problem.

Why don't we give Kanter a chance? The guy has only played one game for us. Let's see what he can do over the course of time. And from my vantage point, he didn't do all that bad and held his own opening night vs. Philly.

[gouki88]

Think about that Longley, Wennington, and Kleine, not exactly hall of famers.  Not of them elite defenders, or offensive players.   

Right, now we have Kanter, Theis and Willliams, do you think that these guys are equal to the above three?

Kanter has proven time and time again that he can't be relied upon in the playoffs.
Utah and OKC will tell you Kanter is horrible on defense.
Portland was the latest to experience Kanter's horrible D against GSW.
Steph Curry annihilated the Blazers because Kanter wouldn't come out and defend Steph in the pick and roll.

Theis and RWill are just 6-8 players.
Both of them can't guard Embiid in a best of seven series.

Longley, Wennington, and Kleine are not close to being elite but they are big, they play physical, and they're 7-footers.

In the first game against the Sixers, the Celts got outrebounded 62-41.

Against the Knicks, the Celts allowed the Knicks to get 16 offensive rebounds.

Clearly the Celts have a big man problem.

Why don't we give Kanter a chance? The guy has only played one game for us. Let's see what he can do over the course of time. And from my vantage point, he didn't do all that bad and held his own opening night vs. Philly.

The emboldened is also simply not true. Kanter has been a key cog to two deep playoff runs.