Lets be thankful for what we had!!!!

[RebusRankin]

My time machine works!! I'm in the future. A future where Cleveland eliminated Boston in 2010. Now to go back in time and make millions betting on sports.

[PosImpos]

My time machine works!! I'm in the future. A future where Cleveland eliminated Boston in 2010. Now to go back in time and make millions betting on sports.

Hate to break it to you but I doubt you'd make all that much money with that "prediction."

[Mr October]

I'm thankful that I'm not a Hawks fan. Yikes!

[PosImpos]

I'm thankful that I'm not a Hawks fan. Yikes!

No kidding.  53 win team gets manhandled in the second round like a lottery team. What makes it worse is they probably aren't going to be any better than they are now with this group.  Joe Johnson will be gone this summer, Bibby is no longer a good starting PG, Marvin Williams is a bit of a bust, and Crawford isn't worth much if he isn't on a hot streak. 

It's got to be painful to watch your team improve steadily every season only to see them peak as second round cannon fodder for the big boys.

The second round is when the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders; Atlanta is clearly a pretender.  Are the Celtics?  Probably...but the verdict is still out on that one.

[FallGuy]

I'm thankful that I'm not a Hawks fan. Yikes!

No kidding.  53 win team gets manhandled in the second round like a lottery team. What makes it worse is they probably aren't going to be any better than they are now with this group.  Joe Johnson will be gone this summer, Bibby is no longer a good starting PG, Marvin Williams is a bit of a bust, and Crawford isn't worth much if he isn't on a hot streak. 

It's got to be painful to watch your team improve steadily every season only to see them peak as second round cannon fodder for the big boys.

The second round is when the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders; Atlanta is clearly a pretender.  Are the Celtics?  Probably...but the verdict is still out on that one.

Can't believe anyone seriously thought the Hawks were a threat for much of anything. With the very odd exception, you need two stars to win a title. And at least one guy who's in the top 5-7 of the whole league. Atlanta has Joe Johnson, who might be the 15th best player in the league. He's a number two guy, not a number one. Add in their lack of size and their indifference to their coach and here's what you get.

Boston won in 08 because Pierce and KG were, in that year, both top-10 players. Kobe finally got Pau and won his ring. Michael got Scottie. It's amazing how sturdy a construction this two-star theory is. Only real exceptions are the Detroit teams.

[PosImpos]

I'm thankful that I'm not a Hawks fan. Yikes!

No kidding.  53 win team gets manhandled in the second round like a lottery team. What makes it worse is they probably aren't going to be any better than they are now with this group.  Joe Johnson will be gone this summer, Bibby is no longer a good starting PG, Marvin Williams is a bit of a bust, and Crawford isn't worth much if he isn't on a hot streak. 

It's got to be painful to watch your team improve steadily every season only to see them peak as second round cannon fodder for the big boys.

The second round is when the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders; Atlanta is clearly a pretender.  Are the Celtics?  Probably...but the verdict is still out on that one.

Can't believe anyone seriously thought the Hawks were a threat for much of anything. With the very odd exception, you need two stars to win a title. And at least one guy who's in the top 5-7 of the whole league. Atlanta has Joe Johnson, who might be the 15th best player in the league. He's a number two guy, not a number one. Add in their lack of size and their indifference to their coach and here's what you get.

Boston won in 08 because Pierce and KG were, in that year, both top-10 players. Kobe finally got Pau and won his ring. Michael got Scottie. It's amazing how sturdy a construction this two-star theory is. Only real exceptions are the Detroit teams.

Yeah.  If Joe Johnson is your best player, you're not winning much unless you also have two other (real) All-Stars (at least) and a team that can play very good defense.

[Eddie20]

The way the present NBA is set up a team builds around one superstar, who you may be lucky enough to get in the draft.  Danny Ainge wasn't lucky enough to have this happen, so he gave us the next best thing.  Three second tier superstars on the same team.  We all knew when it happened we had a three year window to make it happen. 

Doom and Gloom of a post.

How was KG a second tier superstar? KG, that first yr. in green, was still in his prime and it wasn't until injuries derailed him that he began a quick decline.

You forgot about the Pistons? They didn't have one superstar on that team, yet still one a championship and were serious contenders for several seasons.

[GreenFaith1819]

Well, this is a Well-Intended Thread, but I would change one word IMO:

"Let's be Thankful for What we Have"

Series isn't over yet. A Beatdown last night and a 2-1 lead does not end the series. We take care of business tomorrow, and go back up to CLE on Tues, who knows what could happen?

[GreenFaith1819]

Man - we pull this series out somehow, and that massacre in Boston on Friday will be just a Bad Memory. Nothing more.

[PosImpos]

Man - we pull this series out somehow, and that massacre in Boston on Friday will be just a Bad Memory. Nothing more.

Or we could get beaten in 2 out of the next 3 games and the season will just be a bad memory.

It's a win-win really.

But seriously, even if we don't win another game in the post-season we still had a relatively good season.  Who knows how long it might be before we have another 50 win season?  How long will it be before we can even seriously call our team a contender?  Who knows. 

So despite its lows this season was better than what we could have been saddled with.  The fact that we all care so much about this team speaks to how good we really have it.  We could be like fans of the Nets...adopting apathy as a defense mechanism.

[GreenFaith1819]

Man - we pull this series out somehow, and that massacre in Boston on Friday will be just a Bad Memory. Nothing more.

Or we could get beaten in 2 out of the next 3 games and the season will just be a bad memory.

It's a win-win really.

But seriously, even if we don't win another game in the post-season we still had a relatively good season.  Who knows how long it might be before we have another 50 win season?  How long will it be before we can even seriously call our team a contender?  Who knows. 

So despite its lows this season was better than what we could have been saddled with.  The fact that we all care so much about this team speaks to how good we really have it.  We could be like fans of the Nets...adopting apathy as a defense mechanism.

This is true, Pos...everything you said. I'd TP you but the Karma thing prevents me from doing so.

At least we're not ATL, LOL...they can't solve ORL to save their lives. At least we soundly defeated CLE once, and nearly beat them in game two. ATL has been throttled in all games, and I see nothing different for game 4.

We are playing probably the best team in the NBA right now, and I still like our Opportunity.

Must take care of business on Sunday.

[PosImpos]

Man - we pull this series out somehow, and that massacre in Boston on Friday will be just a Bad Memory. Nothing more.

Or we could get beaten in 2 out of the next 3 games and the season will just be a bad memory.

It's a win-win really.

But seriously, even if we don't win another game in the post-season we still had a relatively good season.  Who knows how long it might be before we have another 50 win season?  How long will it be before we can even seriously call our team a contender?  Who knows. 

So despite its lows this season was better than what we could have been saddled with.  The fact that we all care so much about this team speaks to how good we really have it.  We could be like fans of the Nets...adopting apathy as a defense mechanism.

This is true, Pos...everything you said. I'd TP you but the Karma thing prevents me from doing so.

At least we're not ATL, LOL...they can't solve ORL to save their lives. At least we soundly defeated CLE once, and nearly beat them in game two. ATL has been throttled in all games, and I see nothing different for game 4.

We are playing probably the best team in the NBA right now, and I still like our Opportunity.

Must take care of business on Sunday.

Well, if you ask me the Magic are the best team in the NBA atm, then Cleveland then either Phoenix or LA (jury's out).  But yeah, basically.  Sunday might as well be Game 7.

[GreenFaith1819]

Man - we pull this series out somehow, and that massacre in Boston on Friday will be just a Bad Memory. Nothing more.

Or we could get beaten in 2 out of the next 3 games and the season will just be a bad memory.

It's a win-win really.

But seriously, even if we don't win another game in the post-season we still had a relatively good season.  Who knows how long it might be before we have another 50 win season?  How long will it be before we can even seriously call our team a contender?  Who knows. 

So despite its lows this season was better than what we could have been saddled with.  The fact that we all care so much about this team speaks to how good we really have it.  We could be like fans of the Nets...adopting apathy as a defense mechanism.

This is true, Pos...everything you said. I'd TP you but the Karma thing prevents me from doing so.

At least we're not ATL, LOL...they can't solve ORL to save their lives. At least we soundly defeated CLE once, and nearly beat them in game two. ATL has been throttled in all games, and I see nothing different for game 4.

We are playing probably the best team in the NBA right now, and I still like our Opportunity.

Must take care of business on Sunday.

Well, if you ask me the Magic are the best team in the NBA atm, then Cleveland then either Phoenix or LA (jury's out).  But yeah, basically.  Sunday might as well be Game 7.

Isn't Phoenix the Story? I'm happy for Grant Hill. There is nothing really to dislike about Phoenix for me.

They are about to become the one roadblock to LA making it out of the west, I think.

But sorry to dislodge the thread, folks.

No matter what happens, this has definitely been a good ride. I will never forget that news I got on that summer morning in 2007 in the Very Hot Arabian Gulf while I was on deployment. The Spurs had just won the title, and I woke up that morning on the ship to business as usual.

By the time I ate breakfast and proceeded up to my workspace, A Spurs Diehard came up to me and I was getting ready to hear his spiel for the umpteenth time, except this time he grinned and said "Hey man, your boys just got KG and Ray Allen."

As I came to find out, we picked up Ray a few days earlier, and then KG followed.

Yes it has been a Great Ride.

But I just don't believe it's over yet.

[PosImpos]

Yes it has been a Great Ride.

But I just don't believe it's over yet.

Does anybody ever really believe that when the time comes?

[butterbeanlove]

Let's be thankful we're healthy as we've been all year... so we've got a shot in theory.