Lebron Fan Here (Coming in Peace)

[Fafnir]

I thought both the Cavs and Celtics were going to beat the Lakers

Me too. I don't know if a healthy C's team could have beaten the Cavs with them having home court advantage. But I'm very confident either of those teams would have beaten the Lakers.

[dannypanic]

Check_my_stats,

I admire your ability to enter enemy territory and engage in a civil converstaion regarding our two teams...it's pretty cool, and also very rare

LeBron is unquestionably the biggest force in the NBA.  He is virtually unstoppable, but I have to admit that some of his antics are nauseating.  I realize that may sound ridiculous coming from a huuge fan of KG, but I would argue that LeBron is often a little too concerned with his own "brand"(so to speak)

For this reason, you must be slightly worried that he may leave town next year for bigger and better things.  And that;s a shame for a franchise that has given him everything and anything he coul've ever wanted

thoughts?

[Check_My_Stats]

Check_my_stats,

I admire your ability to enter enemy territory and engage in a civil converstaion regarding our two teams...it's pretty cool, and also very rare

LeBron is unquestionably the biggest force in the NBA.  He is virtually unstoppable, but I have to admit that some of his antics are nauseating.  I realize that may sound ridiculous coming from a huuge fan of KG, but I would argue that LeBron is often a little too concerned with his own "brand"(so to speak)

For this reason, you must be slightly worried that he may leave town next year for bigger and better things.  And that;s a shame for a franchise that has given him everything and anything he coul've ever wanted

thoughts?

Im actually just a Lebron fan. The respect for me on the board might of just dropped when I stated that, but its the truth. Ever since I saw him play on television in high school I became a huge fan. His off-the court behavior (and on-court) is questionable to say the least. And he is starting to become more of a villain more and more in many people's eyes as it would seem. And about leaving Cleveland, I don't think he does. His ego is way too big to go play on another star player's team. Could you see him taking a backseat to Wade,Kobe,etc.? The Knicks roster has less talent than Cleveland which isn't a good sign. New Jersey has a nice core that Bron may be interested in. Chicago is a possibility, but does Lebron want to be in Jordan's shadow? And from what I understand he is treated like royalty in Ohio. I think and actually hopes he stays in Cleveland. But you never know.

[ACF]

Hey guys, whats up? I just registered today, but I have been following CelticsBlog since last season. A lot of crazy moves this offseason, especially for the top 3 teams in the East (Boston, Cleveland, Orlando). I was just curious as to what type of season you guys were expecting out of your boys in green and how the rest of the East will shape up. Good luck this season!!! (But not too much luck )

Welcome, CMS.

Here's the deal:
1) Boston
2) Cleveland
3) Orlando


 

[GKC]

I think even with a healthy KG last year, we WOULD NOT have beated the Cavs. 

They way the C's played in Cleveland last year gave me no reason to believe they could've stole a game there, and it looked like Cleveland playeed us reasonably close in Boston, so they may have taken a game at the garden. 

I'll always take the garden crowd over anyone, but CLE is a difficult place to play, it seems as though the fans are literally on top of the action, which is a major advantage.

Orlando clearly didn't think so. I mean, Cleveland was one Lebron miracle three away from getting swept.

That being said, I think it's between Boston and Orlando. Orlando now has some STACKED depth (Pietrus, Gortat, Bass, Barnes could probably hold their own against a bad teams starting 5). I also personally don't think the Shaq experiment would work, and it makes big Z waste away on the bench.

It also really depends on the 1 seed. Having to play Orlando / Cle / Bos twice in the playoffs might take the energy out of you.

[Check_My_Stats]

I think even with a healthy KG last year, we WOULD NOT have beated the Cavs. 

They way the C's played in Cleveland last year gave me no reason to believe they could've stole a game there, and it looked like Cleveland playeed us reasonably close in Boston, so they may have taken a game at the garden. 

I'll always take the garden crowd over anyone, but CLE is a difficult place to play, it seems as though the fans are literally on top of the action, which is a major advantage.

Orlando clearly didn't think so. I mean, Cleveland was one Lebron miracle three away from getting swept.

That being said, I think it's between Boston and Orlando. Orlando now has some STACKED depth (Pietrus, Gortat, Bass, Barnes could probably hold their own against a bad teams starting 5). I also personally don't think the Shaq experiment would work, and it makes big Z waste away on the bench.

It also really depends on the 1 seed. Having to play Orlando / Cle / Bos twice in the playoffs might take the energy out of you.

Its all about the matchups imo. Without Hedo, Orlando has to use a more traditional lineup. One of the things that made them tough to beat was having Shard/Hedo on the perimeter creating mismatches. Orlando added depth, but they are easier to matchup with now imo. Now Lewis has to guard Pierce, Lebron, Granger, Igoudala, etc.

[Chris]

I think even with a healthy KG last year, we WOULD NOT have beated the Cavs. 

They way the C's played in Cleveland last year gave me no reason to believe they could've stole a game there, and it looked like Cleveland playeed us reasonably close in Boston, so they may have taken a game at the garden. 

I'll always take the garden crowd over anyone, but CLE is a difficult place to play, it seems as though the fans are literally on top of the action, which is a major advantage.

Orlando clearly didn't think so. I mean, Cleveland was one Lebron miracle three away from getting swept.

That being said, I think it's between Boston and Orlando. Orlando now has some STACKED depth (Pietrus, Gortat, Bass, Barnes could probably hold their own against a bad teams starting 5). I also personally don't think the Shaq experiment would work, and it makes big Z waste away on the bench.

It also really depends on the 1 seed. Having to play Orlando / Cle / Bos twice in the playoffs might take the energy out of you.

Its all about the matchups imo. Without Hedo, Orlando has to use a more traditional lineup. One of the things that made them tough to beat was having Shard/Hedo on the perimeter creating mismatches. Orlando added depth, but they are easier to matchup with now imo. Now Lewis has to guard Pierce, Lebron, Granger, Igoudala, etc.

That is making a big assumption.  I think it is very likely that they continue to play Lewis at PF, with Carter and either Pietrus or Redick on the wing.  The really will present the same matchup problems they did last year, but will add an extra dimension of a wing who is really among the elite when it comes to creating their own offense.  That was something they really missed last year.

[dannypanic]

I don't know, I'd love to say that we would have beaten CLE, but I highly doubt it

They were running on all cylinders last year, playing excellent defense, and seemed to really get up for the celtics

I'm remembering a Friday night game in Cleveland where we got absolutely waxed...and KG was healthy

That, coupled with how poorly we played their in the playoofs the year before and I just didn't see us beating them this year

Orlando was clearly a bad matchup, but I'll admit I picked CLE in that series as well, and look how that turned out

I guess we'll never know, but I think we clearly owe them one now, because they were the better team last year, period

[Check_My_Stats]

I think even with a healthy KG last year, we WOULD NOT have beated the Cavs. 

They way the C's played in Cleveland last year gave me no reason to believe they could've stole a game there, and it looked like Cleveland playeed us reasonably close in Boston, so they may have taken a game at the garden. 

I'll always take the garden crowd over anyone, but CLE is a difficult place to play, it seems as though the fans are literally on top of the action, which is a major advantage.

Orlando clearly didn't think so. I mean, Cleveland was one Lebron miracle three away from getting swept.

That being said, I think it's between Boston and Orlando. Orlando now has some STACKED depth (Pietrus, Gortat, Bass, Barnes could probably hold their own against a bad teams starting 5). I also personally don't think the Shaq experiment would work, and it makes big Z waste away on the bench.

It also really depends on the 1 seed. Having to play Orlando / Cle / Bos twice in the playoffs might take the energy out of you.

Its all about the matchups imo. Without Hedo, Orlando has to use a more traditional lineup. One of the things that made them tough to beat was having Shard/Hedo on the perimeter creating mismatches. Orlando added depth, but they are easier to matchup with now imo. Now Lewis has to guard Pierce, Lebron, Granger, Igoudala, etc.

That is making a big assumption.  I think it is very likely that they continue to play Lewis at PF, with Carter and either Pietrus or Redick on the wing.  The really will present the same matchup problems they did last year, but will add an extra dimension of a wing who is really among the elite when it comes to creating their own offense.  That was something they really missed last year.

Where does Bass pay at then? 18 million is a lot to pay someone to sit on the bench. Unless they want Pietrus starting at the 3.

[GKC]

I don't know, I'd love to say that we would have beaten CLE, but I highly doubt it

They were running on all cylinders last year, playing excellent defense, and seemed to really get up for the celtics

I'm remembering a Friday night game in Cleveland where we got absolutely waxed...and KG was healthy

That, coupled with how poorly we played their in the playoofs the year before and I just didn't see us beating them this year

Orlando was clearly a bad matchup, but I'll admit I picked CLE in that series as well, and look how that turned out

I guess we'll never know, but I think we clearly owe them one now, because they were the better team last year, period

We also waxed them withough KG and BBD getting tossed in the first half after what would have been a monster game by him.

Just saying

[BballTim]

I think even with a healthy KG last year, we WOULD NOT have beated the Cavs. 

They way the C's played in Cleveland last year gave me no reason to believe they could've stole a game there, and it looked like Cleveland playeed us reasonably close in Boston, so they may have taken a game at the garden. 

I'll always take the garden crowd over anyone, but CLE is a difficult place to play, it seems as though the fans are literally on top of the action, which is a major advantage.

Orlando clearly didn't think so. I mean, Cleveland was one Lebron miracle three away from getting swept.

That being said, I think it's between Boston and Orlando. Orlando now has some STACKED depth (Pietrus, Gortat, Bass, Barnes could probably hold their own against a bad teams starting 5). I also personally don't think the Shaq experiment would work, and it makes big Z waste away on the bench.

It also really depends on the 1 seed. Having to play Orlando / Cle / Bos twice in the playoffs might take the energy out of you.

Its all about the matchups imo. Without Hedo, Orlando has to use a more traditional lineup. One of the things that made them tough to beat was having Shard/Hedo on the perimeter creating mismatches. Orlando added depth, but they are easier to matchup with now imo. Now Lewis has to guard Pierce, Lebron, Granger, Igoudala, etc.

That is making a big assumption.  I think it is very likely that they continue to play Lewis at PF, with Carter and either Pietrus or Redick on the wing.  The really will present the same matchup problems they did last year, but will add an extra dimension of a wing who is really among the elite when it comes to creating their own offense.  That was something they really missed last year.

  It should be an easier matchup for Paul instead of having to guard Hedo.

[GKC]

I think even with a healthy KG last year, we WOULD NOT have beated the Cavs. 

They way the C's played in Cleveland last year gave me no reason to believe they could've stole a game there, and it looked like Cleveland playeed us reasonably close in Boston, so they may have taken a game at the garden. 

I'll always take the garden crowd over anyone, but CLE is a difficult place to play, it seems as though the fans are literally on top of the action, which is a major advantage.

Orlando clearly didn't think so. I mean, Cleveland was one Lebron miracle three away from getting swept.

That being said, I think it's between Boston and Orlando. Orlando now has some STACKED depth (Pietrus, Gortat, Bass, Barnes could probably hold their own against a bad teams starting 5). I also personally don't think the Shaq experiment would work, and it makes big Z waste away on the bench.

It also really depends on the 1 seed. Having to play Orlando / Cle / Bos twice in the playoffs might take the energy out of you.

Its all about the matchups imo. Without Hedo, Orlando has to use a more traditional lineup. One of the things that made them tough to beat was having Shard/Hedo on the perimeter creating mismatches. Orlando added depth, but they are easier to matchup with now imo. Now Lewis has to guard Pierce, Lebron, Granger, Igoudala, etc.

That is making a big assumption.  I think it is very likely that they continue to play Lewis at PF, with Carter and either Pietrus or Redick on the wing.  The really will present the same matchup problems they did last year, but will add an extra dimension of a wing who is really among the elite when it comes to creating their own offense.  That was something they really missed last year.

  It should be an easier matchup for Paul instead of having to guard Hedo.

Could be the other way round. Vince Carter does a much better job of guarding Pierce than Hedo does.

[ACF]

I'm remembering a Friday night game in Cleveland where we got absolutely waxed...and KG was healthy

And I'm remembering a game in which we
beat them by 11 points (105-94) without KG.

[dannypanic]

I'm remembering a Friday night game in Cleveland where we got absolutely waxed...and KG was healthy

And I'm remembering a game in which we
beat them by 11 points (105-94) without KG.

I hear ya, man, I just think we would have had an extremely difficult time stealing a game in Cleveland(which is what we would've had to do)


Unfortunately, the C's havent had much(if any) success in that building

[Fafnir]

I'm remembering a Friday night game in Cleveland where we got absolutely waxed...and KG was healthy

And I'm remembering a game in which we
beat them by 11 points (105-94) without KG.

I hear ya, man, I just think we would have had an extremely difficult time stealing a game in Cleveland(which is what we would've had to do)


Unfortunately, the C's havent had much(if any) success in that building

Two years ago we should have won a game there. Ray Allen had two free throws to win it, and bricked them both.