Scal on the Celtics at the moment

[j804]

https://youtu.be/kWeALnln7Vs?si=ogMDiXpy8fzZ9OQ-

He’s pretty spot on and spitting some facts here. He feels there is time to improve and we can still hit that next gear but it needs to happen soon. Says we have a golden opportunity at a title and need to start acting on it.

I agree with everything he is saying some cool discussion on KGs influence on the 08 team and how they would out tough this current Celtics team. That’s gotta change if we are to win it all. We really need a huge statement game later today.

[celticinorlando]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

[gift]

i don't think the problem with this team is that they have trouble turning it on. they have trouble keeping it on. perhaps it's because their A game is so high-level that it's so difficult to sustain, and also that their B game is good enough to beat everyone too, just at a lower rate. there's a constant temptation to play the B game and it burns them here and there.

[Roy H.]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

[Donoghus]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

True.  From a W/L standpoint, this team is outperforming the '08 team at the moment.

[Kernewek]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

True.  From a W/L standpoint, this team is outperforming the '08 team at the moment.

There may not be anything more hackneyed in sports commentary than 'grit', but 2008 v. 2024 really feels like a contrast of sandpaper & vellum.

[Donoghus]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

True.  From a W/L standpoint, this team is outperforming the '08 team at the moment.

There may not be anything more hackneyed in sports commentary than 'grit', but 2008 v. 2024 really feels like a contrast of sandpaper & vellum.

Sure, but for a team as revered as '07-08 Celtics, they sure had their share of struggles on the way to the title and those of us who were on these boards back then will surely remember the question marks, sky is falling stuff, and pessimism throughout that playoff run.   We knew they were really good but we also had people outright freaking out.

[Roy H.]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

True.  From a W/L standpoint, this team is outperforming the '08 team at the moment.

There may not be anything more hackneyed in sports commentary than 'grit', but 2008 v. 2024 really feels like a contrast of sandpaper & vellum.

Sure, but for a team as revered as '07-08 Celtics, they sure had their share of struggles on the way to the title and those of us who were on these boards back then will surely remember the question marks, sky is falling stuff, and pessimism throughout that playoff run.   We knew they were really good but we also had people outright freaking out.

Yep.  The only real difference is that the 2008 team didn't have a perceived history of coming up short.  But, I can't even imagine if this 2024 had a first round that went seven games, losing all three road games.

That team entered the Finals at 12-8.  This year we're 9-2.

[jambr380]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

True.  From a W/L standpoint, this team is outperforming the '08 team at the moment.

There may not be anything more hackneyed in sports commentary than 'grit', but 2008 v. 2024 really feels like a contrast of sandpaper & vellum.

Sure, but for a team as revered as '07-08 Celtics, they sure had their share of struggles on the way to the title and those of us who were on these boards back then will surely remember the question marks, sky is falling stuff, and pessimism throughout that playoff run.   We knew they were really good but we also had people outright freaking out.

Haha - I'd love to read some of my messages from back then. I remember when I first started coming here, my biggest complaint was Raef LaFrentz. I was a huge huge Antoine fan

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

True.  From a W/L standpoint, this team is outperforming the '08 team at the moment.

yup

[Kernewek]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

True.  From a W/L standpoint, this team is outperforming the '08 team at the moment.

There may not be anything more hackneyed in sports commentary than 'grit', but 2008 v. 2024 really feels like a contrast of sandpaper & vellum.

Sure, but for a team as revered as '07-08 Celtics, they sure had their share of struggles on the way to the title and those of us who were on these boards back then will surely remember the question marks, sky is falling stuff, and pessimism throughout that playoff run.   We knew they were really good but we also had people outright freaking out.

Yep.  The only real difference is that the 2008 team didn't have a perceived history of coming up short.  But, I can't even imagine if this 2024 had a first round that went seven games, losing all three road games.

That team entered the Finals at 12-8.  This year we're 9-2.

I wasn't on CB at the time but If I recall my feelings up to the ECF at the time: going 7 games with Atlanta was 'simply inexcusable', 7 games against Cleveland was 'wow LeBron could really be pretty good pretty soon', and Detroit felt like a comparative cakewalk, emotionally.

[keevsnick]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

True.  From a W/L standpoint, this team is outperforming the '08 team at the moment.

There may not be anything more hackneyed in sports commentary than 'grit', but 2008 v. 2024 really feels like a contrast of sandpaper & vellum.

Sure, but for a team as revered as '07-08 Celtics, they sure had their share of struggles on the way to the title and those of us who were on these boards back then will surely remember the question marks, sky is falling stuff, and pessimism throughout that playoff run.   We knew they were really good but we also had people outright freaking out.

Yep.  The only real difference is that the 2008 team didn't have a perceived history of coming up short.  But, I can't even imagine if this 2024 had a first round that went seven games, losing all three road games.

That team entered the Finals at 12-8.  This year we're 9-2.

I wasn't on CB at the time but If I recall my feelings up to the ECF at the time: going 7 games with Atlanta was 'simply inexcusable', 7 games against Cleveland was 'wow LeBron could really be pretty good pretty soon', and Detroit felt like a comparative cakewalk, emotionally.

The difference between that team and this team is that team was in its first seaosn together, so any shortcomings in the early rounds weren't perceived as part of a pattern whereas this team has had the Brown/Tatum core for a while so any loss is an indictment of a perceived pattern of failure.

Now how fair is that? IMO the Tatum/Brown core has really only been a true contender for 3 seasons. Tatum took the leap to top 10 and Brown to top 25 player 4 years ago but that team also just had no other talent, they were running out Tristan Thompson at center and Fournier was their third offensive option. Then they got White and the team took off in 2022 with Rob Williams ascension. So in their 3 year true contending run they lost in Finals lost in ECF due to bad shooting luck, and then this year. So it kind of silly to say they have a pattern of coming up short imo. Young teams almost never win.

[kraidstar]

Refreshing to hear someone from the Celtics say what we all have been screaming the last few seasons. Scal is 100 percent correct.

Scal is right.  Of course, somebody could also remind him that the 2008 team had some brutal playoff losses.

True.  From a W/L standpoint, this team is outperforming the '08 team at the moment.

There may not be anything more hackneyed in sports commentary than 'grit', but 2008 v. 2024 really feels like a contrast of sandpaper & vellum.

Sure, but for a team as revered as '07-08 Celtics, they sure had their share of struggles on the way to the title and those of us who were on these boards back then will surely remember the question marks, sky is falling stuff, and pessimism throughout that playoff run.   We knew they were really good but we also had people outright freaking out.

The officiating had a lot to do with it. That was back in the David Stern era where game-rigging was a lot more blatant.

Atlanta shot 47 free throws (!) in a 3 pt victory in game 6, and 74 more overall for the series. This same Atlanta team put up only 65 points in game 7 lol. They weren't that good. Cleveland/LeBonds also got a ridiculously favorable whistle.

We were the much better team in both series IMO.

[bdm860]

A couple of minor tidbits in there I found interesting (though not really C's related):

Scal said he went into Thibs office and asked why Jimmy Buitler wasn't playing more when they were all with the Bulls (Scal's last year, Butler's rookie year when he only played 8.5mpg in 42 of 66 games).

So I then googled it as I figured there was already discussion on it, found this:

Still, Scalabrine needed to understand from his coach: why wasn’t Butler playing? Why was a player so talented getting buried in the rotation?

“Thibs is like, ‘With young players, man, you got to make them work for everything,'” Scalabrine said. “When they work for everything, they end up knowing how important it is and how much each possession matters. So that’s how you bring along young players. Keep them hungry. Keep them humble. Keep them working.

“And I really can’t argue with that. I don’t disagree with anything he said. Now the meeting’s over, break bread, me and Thibs are always good even when he’s threatening to cut me. And he was right. Jimmy Butler worked his ass off. He always wanted to play. And he always believed in himself. And he got down when he wouldn’t play but it never stopped him from working. On his body. On his conditioning. On his game.”

Definitely sounds like not playing a rookie just because he's a rookie thing.  Now I'm a fan of bringing rookies a long slowly, and keeping them on a short leash, but <10mpg and a bunch of DNP-CDs seems too extreme when vets on the team think the rookie should be playing.



And then Scal says he adds extra sauce to his stories/reporting, so by his own admission, Scal may be hyping up/embellishing some things.

[Ed Hollison]

I'm one of those people who loved the 2008 team (and the whole KG/Pierce era) but I think it's too easy to criticize the current team, because this is a totally different era.

Offensive basketball has totally exploded, and you just can't play the "grit and balls", grind-it-out style of those old Celtics teams. So, when these current Celtics are up 13 and see a mega-explosive offensive team like the Pacers close the gap, I don't think, "Oh, the 2008 team would have never allowed that", but rather, "This is basketball in the year 2024."

In hindsight, old championship teams are always remembered as less flawed than they really were. If the 2023-24 Celtics win this title, I'm certain the same thing will happen when they are discussed 15 years from now.