Has the Cs championship window already closed?

[ScoobyDoo]

Defiantely a great question and a fair one to ask. My answer is, if we're healthy, there is no one even close, including the Lakers as currently constructed.

If the Lakers trade for Bosh, and again, we are 100% healthy I say the lakers are now very close and that series would be a complete toss up, much like the Lakers/Celtics series in the 80's...anybody's guess.

The Hawks? If we're 100% healthy? We win 4-2, going away. I like the point brought up that the Hawks took us to seven in the first playoff series this team polayed. The Celts had incredible pressure on them that series. As the playoffs rolled on they learned how to play together.

Orlando? Not a chance against us 100% healthy.
Cleveland? They always scare me but again if we're healthy, we win.

I think we're ending the run with these guys but I see this year and next as very winnable for us, if we're 100% healthy.

And if with KG it really is just a hyper-extended knee and his is structuarlly sound, I expect us to in fact be 100% healthy. Pierce and Ray will be fine, barring any major disaster.

But Doc really needs to trim Pierce and Ray's minutes, now.

[BballTim]

So, do you expect the Celtics to be 100% healthy going into the playoffs?  I don't, expecially since Rivers overplays Pierce and Allen.

They will likely lose home court to boot.  I expect the Mavs to win tonight, with poor Scalabrine trying to stop Nowitzki.

  We don't have to be 100% healthy, just healthier than we are now when we're having multiple injuries at the same position. No team can survive that. And we can win the title without home court, even if we're not 100% healthy.

[Bankshot]

They were healthy two years ago and it took them 7 games to ge3t past the Hawks.  The Hawks are a better team now, and the Celtics are old, tired and injured.

Take off the emerald colored glasses.

The Celtics are better too, with the addition of Wallace.

[More Banners]

I like our starting 5, healthy, against just about any other starting 5 on any team.  After that, it gets dicey, and we need more than 5-6 guys to win it all.

Against Atlanta, I worry about a matchup involving BBD.  I don't think he is quick enough, long enough, etc.  Tyrus Thomas would help us against a team like the Hawks more than BBD, even though I like BBD...but who does he match up favorably against?  Nobody we're worried about (ATL, CLE, LAL, even Lewis in ORL).  

I like Daniels, but, given his health history, I wouldn't say there is better than a 70-75% chance of him being healthy for any given month, including the playoffs.  And he backs up too many positions...we need him too much.  He's a gamble, which is why we got him for short money.

If 'Sheed's fat A$$ is in shape by the playoffs, I'll stop Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.ing about his fat A$$ coming in out of shape, because he'll be worth it.  The 3rd year of his deal is another story...

That brings us to everyone else.  Tony "Tazmanian Devil" Allen is a bit unpredictable for meaningful minutes in the playoffs, when posessions count.  Eddie is a one-trick pony who should only be used situationally, not as a regular.  Scal is Scal...he's not going to lose too many games for us, but we know better than to think he'll win any, either.  Nobody else should have much of a chance of seeing the court in the playoffs.

I think we need to go at least 9, maybe 10 deep to win it.  By my count, we're only about 7 deep with playoff rotation guys, with Eddie and Daniels, combined, being #7.

So we can go deep in the playoffs, but Ray and PP will wear out fast.  Might be pretty ugly by June, if we get that far.

[Neurotic Guy]

They were healthy two years ago and it took them 7 games to ge3t past the Hawks.  The Hawks are a better team now, and the Celtics are old, tired and injured.

Take off the emerald colored glasses.

If I had emerald colored glasses I would be certain the C's are a championship contender for the next 2 years. But, while I am not sure, I think it's possible.  That is, IMO, reasonable rather than wishful.  compared to the 1007-8 team, this team, if healthy, has a much better center, a much better point guard, a much better back-up center, and better back-up 4.  It is down-graded at back-up 3 (Posey, but I believe BBD at the 4 is better than Posey when he played 4) and the Big Three are a notch below where they were (though I think the downgrade there is small if healthy).   

Emerald glasses would view this team as likely to be healthy.  Realistic optics would see them as unlikely to be 100% healthy.   But it is clearly possible.

[winsomme]

I like our starting 5, healthy, against just about any other starting 5 on any team.  After that, it gets dicey, and we need more than 5-6 guys to win it all.

I agree that we need more depth and versatility on our bench to have a really good shot at the Finals this year. As it stands now, we could make it back, but it would be as you said "dicey."

We would need a lot of things to break our way...

ideally  IMO we need someone who can play some SF and some PF....The more I think about it, I would love to add Ty Thomas...

He would help against ATL (against Josh Smith), ORL (Lewis), and CLE (another matchup to throw at LeBron, even if only as a help defender)...

[moiso]

They were healthy two years ago and it took them 7 games to ge3t past the Hawks.  The Hawks are a better team now, and the Celtics are old, tired and injured.

Take off the emerald colored glasses.

The Celtics are better too, with the addition of Wallace.

The Celtics didn't understand how to raise their intensity a level in that series.  It wasn't that the Hawks were so good.  I agree with Brickowsi that we may never be 100% healthy, but if we are I think people are underestimating how dominant of a team we are.  If KG's wheels are still on when the playoffs start, I think we are a much better team than we were in our championship year.  Not only from the additions of Quis and Sheed, but I think the drastic improvement of Rondo and Perk more than make up the the decline in the Big 3.

[dlpin]

The celtics are a championship contender this year. Heck, if we're not, who is?

Regarding the hawks: they overachieved in the playoffs in 08, and underachieved in 09. Right now they might look hot, but they have been unusually healthy (only 1 starter missing 1 game, in a team that is normally so injury prone that last year only 2 starters played in more than 70 games). Not only have they been unusually healthy, but Woodson has been worse than Doc in managing minutes (just look at the drop in mpg between the 6th and 7th man in their rotation)

As far as us being old: our starters are on average younger than the lakers'. Kobe is not that far behind KG in career minutes played, and he is currently doing that same thing that doomed last year: playing through regular season injuries which might become worse by playoff time.

Regarding next season, old or not old a lot is going to change in the league next year that even if we were younger or healthier it might have not mattered. Several teams have the possibility of adding not one, but two max type players which would render most things we could do moot, and we can't really predict right now.

Point being, if we are talking odds and probabilities, I like our probability of winning it all as they currently arebetter than if we trade one of the starters (barring some unforeseen gift by some struggling team, which is not something we can really plan for).

[moiso]

The celtics are a championship contender this year. Heck, if we're not, who is?

Regarding the hawks: they overachieved in the playoffs in 08, and underachieved in 09. Right now they might look hot, but they have been unusually healthy (only 1 starter missing 1 game, in a team that is normally so injury prone that last year only 2 starters played in more than 70 games). Not only have they been unusually healthy, but Woodson has been worse than Doc in managing minutes (just look at the drop in mpg between the 6th and 7th man in their rotation)

As far as us being old: our starters are on average younger than the lakers'. Kobe is not that far behind KG in career minutes played, and he is currently doing that same thing that doomed last year: playing through regular season injuries which might become worse by playoff time.

Regarding next season, old or not old a lot is going to change in the league next year that even if we were younger or healthier it might have not mattered. Several teams have the possibility of adding not one, but two max type players which would render most things we could do moot, and we can't really predict right now.

Point being, if we are talking odds and probabilities, I like our probability of winning it all as they currently arebetter than if we trade one of the starters (barring some unforeseen gift by some struggling team, which is not something we can really plan for).

tp, good post.

[Chief]

It's getting close, but not totally closed yet. I Danny makes the right deal, the window might be open for a long time. Ainge has to look long term as well as short term.

[Jon]

It's way too early for this conversation.  The only way that the window is closed is if KG is permanently hurt, and it doesn't look that way.  It's also quite possible that after catching the injury bug this year, they could be quite healthy next year and extend the window another couple of years. 

It also depends on how good Rondo and Perk get.  If they continue to get better, the Big Three can slip a little without the whole team slipping.

I don't think anything is all that crucial over the next few months except getting healthy.  As long as they're healthy, they're contenders. 

Also, outside of KG's injury, I'm not sure anything else can be attributed to age.  Pierce's injury was of the freak sort, Rondo's very young, and Daniels's could've happened to anyone. 

[Brickowski]

It looks to me as though KG's knee will never be the same again.  Pierce has knee issues too.  Sheed is 35 years old.  Daniels is on a one year deal, and Ray (35 years old) is in the last year of his deal as well.

There's Rondo, Perkins and a bunch of gimpy old men.  That's the reality.

[BballTim]

It looks to me as though KG's knee will never be the same again.  Pierce has knee issues too.  Sheed is 35 years old.  Daniels is on a one year deal, and Ray (35 years old) is in the last year of his deal as well.

There's Rondo, Perkins and a bunch of gimpy old men.  That's the reality.

  Sure, just like it was the reality before Pierce had his knee infection and we were playing better than anyone else in the league.

[RAcker]

It looks to me as though KG's knee will never be the same again.  Pierce has knee issues too.  Sheed is 35 years old.  Daniels is on a one year deal, and Ray (35 years old) is in the last year of his deal as well.

There's Rondo, Perkins and a bunch of gimpy old men.  That's the reality.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Also, with Scal, TA, Giddens and Walker, even perhpas Baby, we might be able to put together a package that nets us a real spark plug at the trade deadline this year.

I don't this team is complete yet and I'm not just talking about all the guys we currently have out and have had out all season.

Think about all the injuries we've had and then thnink about us being only 1-2 games off the best mark in the league having played more games than most on the road as well...

This team healthy plus a smart trade at the deadline, this team is down right scary.

For that matter, I think we're down right scary this year and next as currently constitited and with just adding one vet point.