Ime has got to go!

[gift]

One of the hardest things might be to turn a team around and Ime has now done that.

Seeing how well the team has been playing shows why there was so much pressure on Ime to begin with. This was all possible and they just needed to figure it out.

[Donoghus]

This thread definitely belongs in the Celticsblog/Celticstrong HOF.

[Atzar]

There was legitimate reason to question Udoka for the first couple of months.  That said, maybe an OP littered with the sophomoric insult "Uchoka" was never really worth taking seriously to begin with.

[angryguy77]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

[nickagneta]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

[Kiorrik]

If anything, this thread shows how bad us sports fans are at judging talent, recognising progress, and building teams.

I'm stoked that Ime is the opposite.

[Roy H.]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

Eh.  It’s fair to be skeptical of a rookie coach.  The playoffs are a completely different set of circumstances.  Even the 2008 Celts had some playoff hiccups on the road.

I suspect that we’ll be fine.  Tatum, Brown and Marcus are battle-tested.  But, it’s a question mark.

[nickagneta]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

Eh.  It’s fair to be skeptical of a rookie coach.  The playoffs are a completely different set of circumstances.  Even the 2008 Celts had some playoff hiccups on the road.

I suspect that we’ll be fine.  Tatum, Brown and Marcus are battle-tested.  But, it’s a question mark.

Except he isn't really being skeptical, now is he?

He is just pushing his opinion about Udoka's suckiness down the road. He's basically saying if they fail in the playoffs, nothing Udoka did to get the Celtics playing like world beaters counts and he is still not going to respect him and probably revert back to his original position

Udoka looks like he is going to have an amazing regular season of coaching in his 1st year as head coach. You shouldn't just flush that down the toilet if the Celtics don't win in the playoffs, which is pretty much what AG is advocating.

Skeptical is: Udoka had a great regular season, let's hope it carries of to the playoffs. The playoffs are a different animal so it could go poorly

Skeptical isn't: If they lose in the playoffs it renders the regular season meaningless, just smoke and mirrors, so Udoka should get no respect for the job he has done.

[Roy H.]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

Eh.  It’s fair to be skeptical of a rookie coach.  The playoffs are a completely different set of circumstances.  Even the 2008 Celts had some playoff hiccups on the road.

I suspect that we’ll be fine.  Tatum, Brown and Marcus are battle-tested.  But, it’s a question mark.

Except he isn't really being skeptical, now is he?

He is just pushing his opinion about Udoka's suckiness down the road. He's basically saying if they fail in the playoffs, nothing Udoka did to get the Celtics playing like world beaters counts and he is still not going to respect him and probably revert back to his original position

Udoka looks like he is going to have an amazing regular season of coaching in his 1st year as head coach. You shouldn't just flush that down the toilet if the Celtics don't win in the playoffs, which is pretty much what AG is advocating.

Skeptical is: Udoka had a great regular season, let's hope it carries of to the playoffs. The playoffs are a different animal so it could go poorly

Skeptical isn't: If they lose in the playoffs it renders the regular season meaningless, just smoke and mirrors, so Udoka should get no respect for the job he has done.

Well, he specifically said the team doesn’t have to win a title, it just needs to go down fighting.

I think that’s fair.  Perhaps it’s a built-in excuse to blame the coach, but I know I’ll be disappointed if we roll over and lose a first or second round series easily.  If we go down swinging in seven games against Philly, Milwaukee, Brooklyn or Miami, I think we chalk it up to a good year that went wrong.

So basically, don’t put on a Kyrie vs. Milwaukee showing.

[nickagneta]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

Eh.  It’s fair to be skeptical of a rookie coach.  The playoffs are a completely different set of circumstances.  Even the 2008 Celts had some playoff hiccups on the road.

I suspect that we’ll be fine.  Tatum, Brown and Marcus are battle-tested.  But, it’s a question mark.

Except he isn't really being skeptical, now is he?

He is just pushing his opinion about Udoka's suckiness down the road. He's basically saying if they fail in the playoffs, nothing Udoka did to get the Celtics playing like world beaters counts and he is still not going to respect him and probably revert back to his original position

Udoka looks like he is going to have an amazing regular season of coaching in his 1st year as head coach. You shouldn't just flush that down the toilet if the Celtics don't win in the playoffs, which is pretty much what AG is advocating.

Skeptical is: Udoka had a great regular season, let's hope it carries of to the playoffs. The playoffs are a different animal so it could go poorly

Skeptical isn't: If they lose in the playoffs it renders the regular season meaningless, just smoke and mirrors, so Udoka should get no respect for the job he has done.

Well, he specifically said the team doesn’t have to win a title, it just needs to go down fighting.

I think that’s fair.  Perhaps it’s a built-in excuse to blame the coach, but I know I’ll be disappointed if we roll over and lose a first or second round series easily.  If we go down swinging in seven games against Philly, Milwaukee, Brooklyn or Miami, I think we chalk it up to a good year that went wrong.

So basically, don’t put on a Kyrie vs. Milwaukee showing.

But does that loss undo everything done up to that point? Because he is clearly saying that.

Yes, it will suck and I will hate seeing the team bow out like that. But that isn't going to change the fact Udoka had done an amazing job up to that point and doesn't mean he should only be judged on the playoff loss, which is what he is saying.

I'll step out here. I think Udoka has been amazing as a whole and a playoff loss isn't going to change that for me. Rookie, 1st time ever head coaches almost never win a title their rookie year. If Udoka doesn't, I'm not gonna throw him under the bus.

[Roy H.]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

Eh.  It’s fair to be skeptical of a rookie coach.  The playoffs are a completely different set of circumstances.  Even the 2008 Celts had some playoff hiccups on the road.

I suspect that we’ll be fine.  Tatum, Brown and Marcus are battle-tested.  But, it’s a question mark.

Except he isn't really being skeptical, now is he?

He is just pushing his opinion about Udoka's suckiness down the road. He's basically saying if they fail in the playoffs, nothing Udoka did to get the Celtics playing like world beaters counts and he is still not going to respect him and probably revert back to his original position

Udoka looks like he is going to have an amazing regular season of coaching in his 1st year as head coach. You shouldn't just flush that down the toilet if the Celtics don't win in the playoffs, which is pretty much what AG is advocating.

Skeptical is: Udoka had a great regular season, let's hope it carries of to the playoffs. The playoffs are a different animal so it could go poorly

Skeptical isn't: If they lose in the playoffs it renders the regular season meaningless, just smoke and mirrors, so Udoka should get no respect for the job he has done.

Well, he specifically said the team doesn’t have to win a title, it just needs to go down fighting.

I think that’s fair.  Perhaps it’s a built-in excuse to blame the coach, but I know I’ll be disappointed if we roll over and lose a first or second round series easily.  If we go down swinging in seven games against Philly, Milwaukee, Brooklyn or Miami, I think we chalk it up to a good year that went wrong.

So basically, don’t put on a Kyrie vs. Milwaukee showing.

But does that loss undo everything done up to that point? Because he is clearly saying that.

Yes, it will suck and I will hate seeing the team bow out like that. But that isn't going to change the fact Udoka had done an amazing job up to that point and doesn't mean he should only be judged on the playoff loss, which is what he is saying.

I'll step out here. I think Udoka has been amazing as a whole and a playoff loss isn't going to change that for me. Rookie, 1st time ever head coaches almost never win a title their rookie year. If Udoka doesn't, I'm not gonna throw him under the bus.

It’s hard to say what I’ll think.  If Ime has a lousy first half of the season, an amazing second half, and an embarrassing playoffs?  I’ll probably consider his first year to be a bit mixed, rather than uniformly positive.

[Moranis]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

Eh.  It’s fair to be skeptical of a rookie coach.  The playoffs are a completely different set of circumstances.  Even the 2008 Celts had some playoff hiccups on the road.

I suspect that we’ll be fine.  Tatum, Brown and Marcus are battle-tested.  But, it’s a question mark.

Except he isn't really being skeptical, now is he?

He is just pushing his opinion about Udoka's suckiness down the road. He's basically saying if they fail in the playoffs, nothing Udoka did to get the Celtics playing like world beaters counts and he is still not going to respect him and probably revert back to his original position

Udoka looks like he is going to have an amazing regular season of coaching in his 1st year as head coach. You shouldn't just flush that down the toilet if the Celtics don't win in the playoffs, which is pretty much what AG is advocating.

Skeptical is: Udoka had a great regular season, let's hope it carries of to the playoffs. The playoffs are a different animal so it could go poorly

Skeptical isn't: If they lose in the playoffs it renders the regular season meaningless, just smoke and mirrors, so Udoka should get no respect for the job he has done.

Well, he specifically said the team doesn’t have to win a title, it just needs to go down fighting.

I think that’s fair.  Perhaps it’s a built-in excuse to blame the coach, but I know I’ll be disappointed if we roll over and lose a first or second round series easily.  If we go down swinging in seven games against Philly, Milwaukee, Brooklyn or Miami, I think we chalk it up to a good year that went wrong.

So basically, don’t put on a Kyrie vs. Milwaukee showing.

But does that loss undo everything done up to that point? Because he is clearly saying that.

Yes, it will suck and I will hate seeing the team bow out like that. But that isn't going to change the fact Udoka had done an amazing job up to that point and doesn't mean he should only be judged on the playoff loss, which is what he is saying.

I'll step out here. I think Udoka has been amazing as a whole and a playoff loss isn't going to change that for me. Rookie, 1st time ever head coaches almost never win a title their rookie year. If Udoka doesn't, I'm not gonna throw him under the bus.

It’s hard to say what I’ll think.  If Ime has a lousy first half of the season, an amazing second half, and an embarrassing playoffs?  I’ll probably consider his first year to be a bit mixed, rather than uniformly positive.

I posed the question elsewhere, but it does seem to fit in this discussion.  Does the fact that the C's have basically been playing a playoff style rotation against mostly non (or lesser) playoff competition over this 2 months make the team appear better than it actually is?  And if that is the case, should Udoka really get as much credit for that as many are giving him?  I think the playoffs will really give a real indication of both the coaching job and the talent on the team.  That seems like a fair discussion to have.

[Kiorrik]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

Eh.  It’s fair to be skeptical of a rookie coach.  The playoffs are a completely different set of circumstances.  Even the 2008 Celts had some playoff hiccups on the road.

I suspect that we’ll be fine.  Tatum, Brown and Marcus are battle-tested.  But, it’s a question mark.

Except he isn't really being skeptical, now is he?

He is just pushing his opinion about Udoka's suckiness down the road. He's basically saying if they fail in the playoffs, nothing Udoka did to get the Celtics playing like world beaters counts and he is still not going to respect him and probably revert back to his original position

Udoka looks like he is going to have an amazing regular season of coaching in his 1st year as head coach. You shouldn't just flush that down the toilet if the Celtics don't win in the playoffs, which is pretty much what AG is advocating.

Skeptical is: Udoka had a great regular season, let's hope it carries of to the playoffs. The playoffs are a different animal so it could go poorly

Skeptical isn't: If they lose in the playoffs it renders the regular season meaningless, just smoke and mirrors, so Udoka should get no respect for the job he has done.

Well, he specifically said the team doesn’t have to win a title, it just needs to go down fighting.

I think that’s fair.  Perhaps it’s a built-in excuse to blame the coach, but I know I’ll be disappointed if we roll over and lose a first or second round series easily.  If we go down swinging in seven games against Philly, Milwaukee, Brooklyn or Miami, I think we chalk it up to a good year that went wrong.

So basically, don’t put on a Kyrie vs. Milwaukee showing.

But does that loss undo everything done up to that point? Because he is clearly saying that.

Yes, it will suck and I will hate seeing the team bow out like that. But that isn't going to change the fact Udoka had done an amazing job up to that point and doesn't mean he should only be judged on the playoff loss, which is what he is saying.

I'll step out here. I think Udoka has been amazing as a whole and a playoff loss isn't going to change that for me. Rookie, 1st time ever head coaches almost never win a title their rookie year. If Udoka doesn't, I'm not gonna throw him under the bus.

It’s hard to say what I’ll think.  If Ime has a lousy first half of the season, an amazing second half, and an embarrassing playoffs?  I’ll probably consider his first year to be a bit mixed, rather than uniformly positive.

I posed the question elsewhere, but it does seem to fit in this discussion.  Does the fact that the C's have basically been playing a playoff style rotation against mostly non (or lesser) playoff competition over this 2 months make the team appear better than it actually is?  And if that is the case, should Udoka really get as much credit for that as many are giving him?  I think the playoffs will really give a real indication of both the coaching job and the talent on the team.  That seems like a fair discussion to have.

So you're questioning if the guy in charge of the rotations, should get credit for the rotations that got us our success?

I get where you're coming from, honestly. Playoffs are different. But that's not the only way to judge a team. The tight rotations have very clearly seen us produce better and better over the season, to the point where we look several cuts above the rest. And our rotations really aren't tighter than at the start of the season, so you've got to assume it's helped.

People have been complaining about minutes for our starters all season long, whilst in reality, we've been playing our guys the same amount of minutes as league average-ish.

Especially seeing as Ime's current options are Hauser, Stauskas, Kornet and Fitt.

[Goldstar88]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

Eh.  It’s fair to be skeptical of a rookie coach.  The playoffs are a completely different set of circumstances.  Even the 2008 Celts had some playoff hiccups on the road.

I suspect that we’ll be fine.  Tatum, Brown and Marcus are battle-tested.  But, it’s a question mark.

Except he isn't really being skeptical, now is he?

He is just pushing his opinion about Udoka's suckiness down the road. He's basically saying if they fail in the playoffs, nothing Udoka did to get the Celtics playing like world beaters counts and he is still not going to respect him and probably revert back to his original position

Udoka looks like he is going to have an amazing regular season of coaching in his 1st year as head coach. You shouldn't just flush that down the toilet if the Celtics don't win in the playoffs, which is pretty much what AG is advocating.

Skeptical is: Udoka had a great regular season, let's hope it carries of to the playoffs. The playoffs are a different animal so it could go poorly

Skeptical isn't: If they lose in the playoffs it renders the regular season meaningless, just smoke and mirrors, so Udoka should get no respect for the job he has done.

Well, he specifically said the team doesn’t have to win a title, it just needs to go down fighting.

I think that’s fair.  Perhaps it’s a built-in excuse to blame the coach, but I know I’ll be disappointed if we roll over and lose a first or second round series easily.  If we go down swinging in seven games against Philly, Milwaukee, Brooklyn or Miami, I think we chalk it up to a good year that went wrong.

So basically, don’t put on a Kyrie vs. Milwaukee showing.

But does that loss undo everything done up to that point? Because he is clearly saying that.

Yes, it will suck and I will hate seeing the team bow out like that. But that isn't going to change the fact Udoka had done an amazing job up to that point and doesn't mean he should only be judged on the playoff loss, which is what he is saying.

I'll step out here. I think Udoka has been amazing as a whole and a playoff loss isn't going to change that for me. Rookie, 1st time ever head coaches almost never win a title their rookie year. If Udoka doesn't, I'm not gonna throw him under the bus.

It’s hard to say what I’ll think.  If Ime has a lousy first half of the season, an amazing second half, and an embarrassing playoffs?  I’ll probably consider his first year to be a bit mixed, rather than uniformly positive.

I posed the question elsewhere, but it does seem to fit in this discussion.  Does the fact that the C's have basically been playing a playoff style rotation against mostly non (or lesser) playoff competition over this 2 months make the team appear better than it actually is?  And if that is the case, should Udoka really get as much credit for that as many are giving him?  I think the playoffs will really give a real indication of both the coaching job and the talent on the team.  That seems like a fair discussion to have.

So you're questioning if the guy in charge of the rotations, should get credit for the rotations that got us our success?

I get where you're coming from, honestly. Playoffs are different. But that's not the only way to judge a team. The tight rotations have very clearly seen us produce better and better over the season, to the point where we look several cuts above the rest. And our rotations really aren't tighter than at the start of the season, so you've got to assume it's helped.

People have been complaining about minutes for our starters all season long, whilst in reality, we've been playing our guys the same amount of minutes as league average-ish.

Especially seeing as Ime's current options are Hauser, Stauskas, Kornet and Fitt.

You can add Thomas and Nesmith to that list as well. That’s 6 guys on the bench that aren’t proven NBA players. I know it’s the deep bench, but I don’t have confidence in any of those players. Too many projects, IMO.

[Sophomore]

They've been fun to watch this last half of the season. Up to this point, Ime has done a good job getting them to buy in and I'll give him credit for that.
That said, respect in the NBA is earned from what you do in the playoffs. If we fizzle out and get owned by MKE or another, none of this success means anything. I'm not saying they have to win it all, but if they don't give the team that eliminates them a run, then a lot of what we're seeing right now is all smoke and mirrors.

Lots of moving the goalposts here.

Udoka sucks.

<Months later after team is playing like the best team in the league.>

Well, I might have been harsh but only the playoffs matter so if the team doesn't win it all, Udoka still sucks.

I might be paraphrasing....but not by much.

Eh.  It’s fair to be skeptical of a rookie coach.  The playoffs are a completely different set of circumstances.  Even the 2008 Celts had some playoff hiccups on the road.

I suspect that we’ll be fine.  Tatum, Brown and Marcus are battle-tested.  But, it’s a question mark.

Except he isn't really being skeptical, now is he?

He is just pushing his opinion about Udoka's suckiness down the road. He's basically saying if they fail in the playoffs, nothing Udoka did to get the Celtics playing like world beaters counts and he is still not going to respect him and probably revert back to his original position

Udoka looks like he is going to have an amazing regular season of coaching in his 1st year as head coach. You shouldn't just flush that down the toilet if the Celtics don't win in the playoffs, which is pretty much what AG is advocating.

Skeptical is: Udoka had a great regular season, let's hope it carries of to the playoffs. The playoffs are a different animal so it could go poorly

Skeptical isn't: If they lose in the playoffs it renders the regular season meaningless, just smoke and mirrors, so Udoka should get no respect for the job he has done.

Well, he specifically said the team doesn’t have to win a title, it just needs to go down fighting.

I think that’s fair.  Perhaps it’s a built-in excuse to blame the coach, but I know I’ll be disappointed if we roll over and lose a first or second round series easily.  If we go down swinging in seven games against Philly, Milwaukee, Brooklyn or Miami, I think we chalk it up to a good year that went wrong.

So basically, don’t put on a Kyrie vs. Milwaukee showing.

But does that loss undo everything done up to that point? Because he is clearly saying that.

Yes, it will suck and I will hate seeing the team bow out like that. But that isn't going to change the fact Udoka had done an amazing job up to that point and doesn't mean he should only be judged on the playoff loss, which is what he is saying.

I'll step out here. I think Udoka has been amazing as a whole and a playoff loss isn't going to change that for me. Rookie, 1st time ever head coaches almost never win a title their rookie year. If Udoka doesn't, I'm not gonna throw him under the bus.

It’s hard to say what I’ll think.  If Ime has a lousy first half of the season, an amazing second half, and an embarrassing playoffs?  I’ll probably consider his first year to be a bit mixed, rather than uniformly positive.

I posed the question elsewhere, but it does seem to fit in this discussion.  Does the fact that the C's have basically been playing a playoff style rotation against mostly non (or lesser) playoff competition over this 2 months make the team appear better than it actually is?  And if that is the case, should Udoka really get as much credit for that as many are giving him?  I think the playoffs will really give a real indication of both the coaching job and the talent on the team.  That seems like a fair discussion to have.

Non or lesser playoff competition. I mean, “lesser playoff competition” presumably means teams in the middle of the NBA - say 10-16 by record. If you are smoking those teams game after game, you’re probably pretty good. And the Cs have done that. They’ve also beaten the Nets and Memphis, they were up on GSW when Curry went out (and of course cruised the rest of the way), they only stumbled at the very end against Dallas. Maybe they’ll succeed in the playoffs, maybe they won’t. But there’s a reason the 538 model ranks them where it does; looking only at the record of the teams they’re beating, and how they’re beating them, that performance usually indicates a deep playoff run.