Does Recent Win Streak Change Anything?

[Csfan1984]

Chance to sell higher is about all it might have done. It could make other teams more aggressive in the trade market to stay ahead of the C's. Right now I feel it's

Keepers = The Jays
Deal only for upgrades= Smart, Josh, TL, Grant.
Sell=Everyone else.

The team still lacks consistency game to game and quarter to quarter. Team still lacks shooting and playmakiing. The stars are still inconsistent and don't make their teammates better. The rotation though short struggles with chemistry. They still can't hold big leads and struggle in 4th quarters. This just isn't the year just yet.

[Celtics4ever]

It really should not, we 're not winning the title with the roster as constructed.   We need more talent and a better bench.  We've won a few games but does anyone think we could win a seven game series against the Bucks?

We could, but our chances are slimmer than in the past.

[footey]

It really should not, we 're not winning the title with the roster as constructed.   We need more talent and a better bench.  We've won a few games but does anyone think we could win a seven game series against the Bucks?

We could, but our chances are slimmer than in the past.

If Lopez doesn’t come back I think we match up quite well vs the Bucks and could play a very competitive series.

[LilRip]

The recent win streak made me believe more in Smart as a PG. Not sure if he’s the answer we’re looking for but he does seem more comfortable in that position than the start of the season. Otherwise, i think we largely face the same problems:
- lack of shooting
- jays don’t maximize each other
- still weak at the 4 (I don’t think Tatum as a full time 4 is the answer)

Tatum is only 23 and still has a good 10-15 pounds of full grown man muscle to add over the next 3 years of his contract.

If people don't think he is a PF now, fine. But by the time he fully develops his body, he will be a PF that will have ridiculous advantages over almost every other PF in the game.

It’s also the quickest way to wear him out. At least if we believe that the new rules are here to stay.

Last year, or the few years prior, I would’ve agreed with you. Strength or bulk mattered less when the rules favored the agile players, which is why guys like Horford needed to play the 5, Tatum was the new prototypical 4, etc. With this new brand of physicality allowed, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see the return of physical forwards over the next few years. (note: physical play doesn’t mean the three ball will go away ala 90’s or early 00’s. Shooting/spacing will still be valuable).

As an aside, whenever Tatum gets a big switched onto him, his default is take a stepback 3. When he has a small, he drives and powers through them. I prefer the driving Tatum over the stepback Tatum.

[Celtics4ever]

If Lopez doesn’t come back I think we match up quite well vs the Bucks and could play a very competitive series.

Do you think we could win it?   I too, said we have a chance, but I would favor the Bucks.

Either way, best to dump Schroeder and get under the tax threshold. 

I do think we should be opportunistic with our trade exceptions though and if a Jarret Allen dump comes along get in on the action.  That move really helped CLE but only for a good player.

[Big333223]

Over the whole season, the Celtics have the 8th best net rating in the league, barely behind the Bucks for 7. They're 4th in defense while being an unfortunate 19th in offense.

That isn't during this recent win streak, that's over the whole season. If this team is starting to figure things out, maybe a tweak that settles the offense while maintaining the defense is enough to catapult them into contention.

They're 1 game out of 6th place in the east and because of the jumble at the top of the conference I don't even know that seeding matters. The Celtics have been wildly inconsistent all year, for sure, but who in the East do you really fear?

[Birdman]

We beating bad teams right now..Detroit, New Orleans twice, Sacramento, depleted Miami team, Washington, Orlando tonight…we can’t beat top teams so need some changes

[Silas]

We beating bad teams right now..Detroit, New Orleans twice, Sacramento, depleted Miami team, Washington, Orlando tonight…we can’t beat top teams so need some changes

Looking at the games the Cs have played in the East and the teams currently ahead of them, they have beaten: Miami (2), Toronto (2), Cleveland (2), Milwaukee (2), Philly, and Chicago.  The Cs may not be the best in the east but clearly they can beat good teams in the East.  Remains to be seen about the West.  I think this team needs tweaks not a major overhaul.  Looking forward to a fifth win in a row tonight.

[#1P4P]

We beating bad teams right now..Detroit, New Orleans twice, Sacramento, depleted Miami team, Washington, Orlando tonight…we can’t beat top teams so need some changes

Looking at the games the Cs have played in the East and the teams currently ahead of them, they have beaten: Miami (2), Toronto (2), Cleveland (2), Milwaukee (2), Philly, and Chicago.  The Cs may not be the best in the east but clearly they can beat good teams in the East.  Remains to be seen about the West.  I think this team needs tweaks not a major overhaul.  Looking forward to a fifth win in a row tonight.

Add to that, the Cs are 5 games behind 1st with 29 games left. The positive stats and metrics are plentiful. Given health and rotation/bench improvement, this team can be elite.

Brad and team executives aren’t as self deprecating as some of the individuals here. The starters, Grant, and Josh are staying past the deadline. Other than minor moves including Schroder and the young players, this is the team that is going to the playoffs with good reason.

[ozgod]

Here's our monthly splits up until the game vs Detroit.



Definitely the metrics are better. But as others have mentioned, we need to take them with a grain of salt given the quality of the opponents:



But end of day wins are wins and tempting as it is to diminish the team's achievements due to the quality of their opposition we weren't winning these games earlier in the season. Our wins have coincided with the team being healthy, and with a clear pecking order in the rotation (some aren't happy with Ime just using 8-9 players in the rotation and not seeing the kids playing but there's no longer and odd lineups due to Covid or injuries).

We are fortunate that we have one of the easier schedules in the league for the balance of the season but every team needs some luck to try and make a run and build good habits. I've had this feeling through the season that while we have some fundamentals gaps like shooting, this team's main issues are mental and building winning habits even against easier opponents is important. I really think that Brad and Co will double down on this season and try to make a deep playoff run, and do what they can to improve the team without going overboard.

[Celtics2021]

Here's our monthly splits up until the game vs Detroit.



Definitely the metrics are better. But as others have mentioned, we need to take them with a grain of salt given the quality of the opponents:



But end of day wins are wins and tempting as it is to diminish the team's achievements due to the quality of their opposition we weren't winning these games earlier in the season. Our wins have coincided with the team being healthy, and with a clear pecking order in the rotation (some aren't happy with Ime just using 8-9 players in the rotation and not seeing the kids playing but there's no longer and odd lineups due to Covid or injuries).

We are fortunate that we have one of the easier schedules in the league for the balance of the season but every team needs some luck to try and make a run and build good habits. I've had this feeling through the season that while we have some fundamentals gaps like shooting, this team's main issues are mental and building winning habits even against easier opponents is important. I really think that Brad and Co will double down on this season and try to make a deep playoff run, and do what they can to improve the team without going overboard.

Wins are wins, and it’s not like the teams ahead of us in the standings (whom we have a winning record against as a group, fwiw) don’t also pick up a ton of wins against the bad teams, and they happened to have more of those games early in the year.  And again, we’ve been dominating the bad teams lately — no squeakers (excepting Friday where we could have won by 30 but for garbage time living up to its name).  The Celtics are playing like a top team, have been for 5 weeks, and their season-long numbers, record included, are starting to catch up to that reality.

That said, I don’t see the Celtics doubling down, per se.  Because of the disparity in quality between the top 8 and the bottom 5-7, the success is very tenuous.  I don’t see ownership feeling like being a tax team, so having room to add salary is limited.  The Celtics also aren’t likely to want to trade any significant asset for a rental.  If there’s a player on a cheaper contract with a year left, I could see them trading Romeo/Nesmith and some of their useless contracts (Fernando, Bol, Dozier) to acquire such a player.  I come back to a guy like Justin Holiday as an example, who’s only paid ~$6 million this season and next, which is barely more than what Romeo’s paid next year.  Swap out Romeo for such a player and you’re a better team for the same cost.

[pokeKingCurtis]

Easier schedule, less travel, fewer back to backs

Guys have more of their legs under them - including for jumpshots, more assists for the Jays

Guys get more practice

Jaylen and Jayson can actually communicate to the guys and play as a team better

Hard to say if this will keep going when the schedule gets hard again, but hey I'm enjoying the ride while at it.

[trickybilly]

Not really. Get under the tax line now to avoid the repeater tax, then go all in on next year.