Magic make another pickup with Barnes puts them ahead of Celtics/Ainge

[Atzar]

LOL.  The Magic have acquired Matt Barnes!  It's the end of life on earth as we know it!

Every minute that Barnes takes away from Mickael Pietrus makes the Magic a worse team.

You win.

[Brickowski]

It's 2009, not 2001.  I highly doubt Vince Carter and their bench can push Orlando over the top.  I think Orlando gave up too much to get him.  They are barely a 3-seed at this point IMO.

Who's going to challenge them for the three seed? Washington?

Chicago.

[cdif911]

I think you are underestimating the loss of Hedo...a lot.

as tag team would say, whoop (or is it whoomp) there it is!

[mgent]

One question.  Does anyone legitimately know who they will be starting?  Beyond a guess i mean.
Heck, I'll take a guess.

[guava_wrench]

DAM!
What is up with Orlando making great moves to support Superman?

Lets look at it.
Magic, Celtics, Cavs

Magic got Vince Carter, Ryan Anderson, Matt Barnes, & Bass? DAM!
Cavs got Shaq, Moon and had the best overall record.
And, Anthony Parker, resign Varejao.

Celtics got Sheed, Daniels.
The Celtics have the better quality in the top 7 players, but I think Orlando's bench could be a .500% winning team.

All-Star game will have 3 players from each team or more.

I feel bad for the Eastern conference.
DAM!

You think Anthony Johnson, JJ Redick, Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, and Marcin Gortat could be a .500 team?  Wow. 

Lets look at their team now.
Anderson, Bass, Carter, Gortat, Howard, Johnson, Lewis, Barnes, Nelson, Pietrus, Redick.
Thats 9 dam good players...with Redick and Carter playing their roles.

9 not 7 like the Celtics.
I hope DA has another plan for a PG and a SF/C.
If KG, Sheed, or Perk gets hurt, then the Celtics are screwed.
Especially not knowing about BBD yet.

So you are saying all 9 of those guys outclass House? I can't agree with that. Or are you not including Daniels?

Celts starting 5 and Sheed/Daniels.
Eddie is great, but one dimensional with the 3. Spot and shoot.
No assists, layups, but probably the best 3pt shooter in the league. Luv him for that.
Suspect on D too.

I think you are overestimating what some of those bench guys can do. At least House is great at something and scares the hell out of teams when he gets a little open. Who does Barnes scare on either end of the floor? Johnson had a good game when Rafer was suspended and now he's a superior bench guy in your eyes? Redick is multidimensional? And, of course, Anderson is not even mentionable at this point. We still have to wait to see what he can bring to the table in the NBA.

[wild]

sure Magic had great additions to their lineup

But I've got to say people are "overrating" them right now

We'll just have to see that next season anyway

[Roy Hobbs]

One question.  Does anyone legitimately know who they will be starting?  Beyond a guess i mean.
Heck, I'll take a guess.

I'm guessing it's:

Howard
Bass
Lewis
Carter
Nelson

[mgent]

One question.  Does anyone legitimately know who they will be starting?  Beyond a guess i mean.
Heck, I'll take a guess.

I'm guessing it's:

Howard
Bass
Lewis
Carter
Nelson

I think their team has improved, but i've gotta say, this starting 5 is significantly less scary.  Having 4 guys on the court who can shoot a 3 at all times is just so hard to guard, especially for our Celtic team defense.  Also, when they got hot, they just scored so fast it was impossible to keep up.

[Prof. Clutch]

The 9-7 thing is pretty ridiculous if you're excluding Eddie House but including Matt Barnes and even more egregiously Anderson, who hasn't exactly done anything in the NBA to warrant being called a good rotation player if Eddie House isn't.

Orlando has WAY more depth than us right now. But that doesn't make them a better team. It's true that if we have injuries at certain positions - point guard and small forward specifically - we are going to have a lot of trouble. But if Orlando loses Jameer Nelson, I wouldn't exactly be excited about that team's chances with Anthony Johnson. And then the loss of Hedo, who can actually bring the ball up and let you go big/without a point guard, really stings. And I don't care if they have Gortat, a more than capable backup center - if they lose Howard, they're done. So big injuries can submarine any team regardless of depth.

I'll take the fact that without injuries, the 5 guys who are gonna be playing on the court for the Celtics are gonna be better than the 5 guys playing on the court for the Magic. If it was a battle of the 7th through 11th men, they'd beat us. But if it's a battle of the 7th through 11th men, then neither of these teams is going anywhere. And contrary to your statement, no a team of Anthony Johnson, JJ Redick, Mickael Pietrus, Ryan Anderson/Matt Barnes and Marcin Gortat would not win anywhere near 40 games.  

Exactly what I wanted to say, TP.

[Prof. Clutch]

To the OP, look, I was a fan of Barnes and had hopes that the Celtics would land him.  But his acquisition is not the thing that all of a sudden puts them over the top.  He is a solid player, but he is simply not talented or impacting enough to be the difference maker between a Championship or not.  I guess my question as a direct query to the title of this thread is, did you believe that before Barnes the Magic were not "ahead" of the Celtics?  Because if Barnes is the thing that makes you think they are now better than the Celtics, you are overrating him.

Nobody knows what's going to happen this season because there is too much to take into account -injuries, chemistry, schedule, etc.  The magic could make it work better than they did last season, and they definitely reloaded their roster as best they could to provide it with a ton of talent.  But I think it is more likely, despite all their pick-ups, that they will have trouble finding that same cohesive punch that they had this past year.

As for the Celtics, this offseason has been a dream compared to last season's nightmare.  They aren't done yet, and though it remains to be seen just how it will all work out once they get on the court, I am exceedingly happy about their desire to spend money and surround the team with real talent.  If things go ahead as they seem to be, the Celtics could put out a second unit of:

Marbury
House
Daniels
BBD
Sheed

which would be a very dynamic and versatile group.  I don't think Barnes is the key to anyone's season.

[Fafnir]

It's 2009, not 2001.  I highly doubt Vince Carter and their bench can push Orlando over the top.  I think Orlando gave up too much to get him.  They are barely a 3-seed at this point IMO.

Who's going to challenge them for the three seed? Washington?

Chicago.

Chicago doesn't have the players to beat out the Magic over a long season. Their already small rotation lost its main 3-point threat in Ben Gordon. They also lack any size or post players.

[Greeny]

A) No Daniels yet
B) No BBD yet
C) No Marbury yet

Magic HAVE Gortat, Barnes, Pietrus, Anderson. (BENCH)

Half of the replies to this post have included BBD, Daniels, Marbury as Celtics players.

IF the C's get these guys than great. We lock up banner 18.

What alot of you people forget is that the Celtics bench would lose a 10-20 point leads every night. Don't you remember BBD crying?

I cant believe that more people wouldnt agree that the Magic have done a better job picking up a supporting cast.

Celts top 5 or 6 with Sheed would win, but the Celtics do not have a 6 man rotation.
The Magic will now be able to go to their bench more often.
Doc will have trouble with matching up players.

AGAIN, who is our backup PG, C or F. Assuming Sheed is playing C, who will be the PF?
The Celtics as of now have no depth.
Eddie House - Please......
I sit behind his wife at the games, and I love him and his game, but he is a shooter.
Thats it. A shooter with spirit, hustle, and emotion. Great!


By the way- Barnes will not take time away from Pietrus. They will be playing together.

OK
Celtics - Sheed (Marbury/BBD/Daniels UNSIGNED)
Magic - SIGNED Gortat, Barnes, Bass, Carter, Anderson  (Loss of Hedo)

Stop dreaming and realize/admit that the Magic have made some great moves.
Barnes just adds another piece to the puzzle. I NEVER stated Barnes was the greatest signing or the best player.

[Greeny]

The Magic have a better bench...as of now.

Carter, Bass, Anderson, Barnes beat Hedo, Lee, Battie, Alston hands down.

Only because of the presence of Bass vs. Battie.  Remove that one from the table ... I'll take Hedo, Lee, and Alston over Carter, Anderson, and Barnes today AND that doesn't even consider Lee's immense upside potential.   

Let's look at the top 4 off the bench

Wallace, Daniels, Davis, House

vs

Pietrus, Gortat, Anderson, Redick

Personally if they were to play a 4 on 4, the Celtics would win that because Wallace is by far the best player of the group. 

Where is Barnes, and when did we sign BBD/Daniels?
Barnes, Pietrus, Anderson, Redick, Gortat

vs

Wallace, House, Scal, Giddens, TA
I guess its ok to dream a little....

[SCBirdman]

A) No Daniels yet
B) No BBD yet
C) No Marbury yet

Magic HAVE Gortat, Barnes, Pietrus, Anderson. (BENCH)

Half of the replies to this post have included BBD, Daniels, Marbury as Celtics players.

IF the C's get these guys than great. We lock up banner 18.

What alot of you people forget is that the Celtics bench would lose a 10-20 point leads every night. Don't you remember BBD crying?

I cant believe that more people wouldnt agree that the Magic have done a better job picking up a supporting cast.

Celts top 5 or 6 with Sheed would win, but the Celtics do no have a 6 man rotation.
The Magic will now be able to go to their bench more often.
Doc will have trouble with matching up players.

AGAIN, who is our backup PG, C or F. Assuming Sheed is playing C, who will be the PF?
The Celtics as of now have no depth.
Eddie House - Please......
I sit behind his wife at the games, and I love him and his game, but he is a shooter.
Thats it. A shooter with spirit, hustle, and emotion. Great!


By the way- Barnes will not take time away from Pietrus. They will be playing together.

OK
Celtics - Sheed (Marbury/BBD/Daniels UNSIGNED)
Magic - Gortat, Barnes, Bass, Carter, Anderson  (Loss of Hedo)

Stop dreaming and realize/admit that the Magic have made some great moves.
Barnes just adds another piece to the puzzle. I NEVER stated Barnes was the greatest signing or the best player.

Nobody is saying the Magic have not made some good moves, but they have not acquired a bench player like Rasheed Wallace. Barnes is no better than Daniels, and is actually more versatile. When BBD and Marbury resign, The C's bench officially is better than theirs, to go along with the best starting five in the NBA.

Boston has 2 former all-stars and bigtime talents coming ff the bench in Sheed and Starbury, who will be much improved this season. BBD put up great numbers in the playoffs. Eddie is a great 3 point shooter. Daniels averaged 13 ppg last season.

Wallace>Gortat
BBD>Anderson
Daniels=Pietrus
House=Reddeick
Marbury> whoever

Gortat versus Sheed is a mismatch
BBD is better than Ryan Anderson, because he is proven
Daniels versus Pietrus/Barnes is a wash. Pietrus and Barnes are better 3 point shooters, but Daniels has the overall better game and is solid on the defensive end.

I like House better than Reddick, but reddick played pretty well in the playoffs. Both are spot up 3 point shooters.
Marbury will be back in form this year and that makes him better than any reserve pg Orlando has.

Starters
Perkins<Howard
KG>Bass
Pierce>Lewis
Ray>Carter
Rondo>Nelson

so, I still view the C's as the superior team. Rondo and Allen get a small edge over Nelson and Carter, while PP and KG are clearly the better players.

[paintitgreen]

Greeny, I'll say I for one never said anything about Davis or Marbury. But Daniels, while not a done deal, I did include. I guess I should wait to see what happens there, but I only included him when you did, by saying it's 9 v. 7 in terms of good rotation players. I stand by everything I said earlier - more depth doesn't make a better team. It just makes a deeper team. And I can't see Barnes and Anderson counting as solid rotation players if House doesn't count as one. I tend to agree House has some limitations and is more of a specialist than a rotation player unless you bring in the pieces to allow him to be a rotation player but until I see Anderson and Barnes prove anything on a consistent basis, I'd put them in the House/Redick/Scalabrine range.