if pierce was telling the truth

[boscel33]

is this team a legitimate contender if what he says about coming back too soon from his injury is the truth.  maybe he is now getting back into form. 

am i drinking kool-aid, or is this possible?

[Roy Hobbs]

The team has been playing a lot better lately.  I've said all along, if this team is completely healthy, it's the best team in the NBA.

[lon3lytoaster]

Paul and KG are certainly looking fresher recently. That leads me to believe they both had lingering injuries during our slump. Seeing Paul drive to the hoop and KG rebounding is very encouraging, I still think there's another title run in this team if we're healthy.

[2short]

The team has been playing a lot better lately.  I've said all along, if this team is completely healthy, it's the best team in the NBA.

agreed pierce is playing like pierce and kg is showing more lateral speed and his defensive presence is finally coming around

[PosImpos]

The team has been playing a lot better lately.  I've said all along, if this team is completely healthy, it's the best team in the NBA.

Best in the NBA may still be a stretch even if they are healthy.  If Sheed were as good as we hoped he'd be at the start of the season, I'd agree with you. 

Still, a healthy Celtics squad is definitely a tough one to beat.  We'll see if they have what it takes soon enough.

[Fafnir]

The team has been playing a lot better lately.  I've said all along, if this team is completely healthy, it's the best team in the NBA.

Its us the Cavs or the Lakers. Those three teams when completely healthy stand out as the best to me.

Orlando is close, but the wildly inconsistent play from Jameer and Carter makes me doubt them.

[LB3533]

Nuggets look very vulnerable with injuries to K-Mart, Birdman and Coach Karl.

Lakers have been pretty mediocre on the road all season long.

Cavs are the only real threat to the Celtics.

Magic, I don't buy it.

[BballTim]

  IF Paul Pierce was telling the truth?

  Paul Pierce IS the truth!


   And what he said was probably correct as well.

[Andy Jick]

How bad do they want it?  Will their bodies allow them to?

That's all it comes down to...

[Birdbrain]

The team has been playing a lot better lately.  I've said all along, if this team is completely healthy, it's the best team in the NBA.

Best in the NBA may still be a stretch even if they are healthy.  If Sheed were as good as we hoped he'd be at the start of the season, I'd agree with you. 

Still, a healthy Celtics squad is definitely a tough one to beat.  We'll see if they have what it takes soon enough.

I pretty much agree with this although I actually still believe this will be the case come playoff time.

Top to bottom they are the most talented team in the league when everyone is playing at peak capacity. Now that hasn't happened all at once at no part of this season but, there is still some time left. 

The C's road record makes them contenders.

[dark_lord]

The team has been playing a lot better lately.  I've said all along, if this team is completely healthy, it's the best team in the NBA.

co-sign.  i would also add completely focused to go along with completely healthy.

[ThaPreacher]

The team has been playing a lot better lately.  I've said all along, if this team is completely healthy, it's the best team in the NBA.

I think you are quite right.  If you examine the Orlando Games, the Laker games, 2 of the 3 games against Cleveland, and a few of the other games that got away from us, what you saw were times in the game when the Celtics were dominant, for 3 quarters out of 4.  However, their lapses and discontinuity from starters to bench, and bench to starteres, cost them the games.

It may come down to the team that gets the hottest in the playoffs.  Or it might come down to the coaches that make playoff adjustments in the matchups will determine the winner this year. While I would not be surprised if there were an upset somewhere,

I believe the report of the Celtics demise is greatly exaggerated and premature

[Chief]

The team has been playing a lot better lately.  I've said all along, if this team is completely healthy, it's the best team in the NBA.

If we stay healthy, we'll find out April 4th.

[pearljammer10]

It so nice watching this team play healthy. It is amazing how well they play together when everyone is comfortably running on all cylinders... KG looks great, he definitely was either nursing his bum leg for the first 3/4 of the season or had another injury that he wasnt telling about.

[Celtics17]

It's hard to tell with the C's. We do have a title contending team, there is no question about that. The question is wether they will all show up for the playoffs or if health issues will limit the team's competitiveness. All 4 of the Eastern  conference top teams are legitimate threats to reach the finals with Cleveland and Boston looking to have the best chance. Cleveland will need Shaq to be in top physical condition though and my bet is he isn't. He has a history of being out of shape if he is not playing and for that matter if he is playing. A month or 6 weeks out right before the playoffs will hopefully take a bigger toll on Shaq's game then Cleveland expects.