Good news for the Celtics: the "experts" still don't believe

[wahz]

well Im an expert too and I say "Nine"
 

We still have to get by Cleveland and any reasonable person knows we should be very worried. But if we do, go check the Orl/Bos games this year. Nothing will be easy but looking at those box scores should give anyone as much of a positive out look as thinking about last years playoffs. Sheed was brought in to d up in these two series and he has very much got the job done despite what the majority of the posters here think

[Birdbrain]

The C's are nine wins away from the NBA title. How many will they get?

Abbott: Four.

But ... you're asking me? I picked but one sweep in the second round, and it was the only series that was not a sweep. And it gets worse. The sweep I picked was Cleveland over Boston. Now I think the most likely scenario is the Celtics will win, and then fall in seven to Orlando.

Adande: Three more. One in this series and two against the Magic.

Arnovitz: Zero ... and I mean this with no disrespect. Boston has been the better team for five games, but this story seems ripe for redemption. The Celtics will put up a fight in Game 6 (when do they not?), but a Cavs victory would mean the Celtics must return to Cleveland to win their third road game of the series. As smart as the Celtics have been in this series, James doesn't figure to fail the Cavs again.

Broussard: Zero. However, Boston will beat Orlando if it closes out Cleveland. If healthy, the Celtics can beat anyone.

Hollinger: Two. I like their odds on Thursday given my unprofessional diagnosis that LeBron's injury is affecting him more than he's letting on, but I don't see anybody beating Orlando in a series right now.

Sheridan: One or two. I think they can get past the Cavs, because Boston knows how to slay a wounded animal. But I think Orlando would take them in five in the conference finals.

Stein: Three or four more wins at best. The Magic's sweeping days in this postseason are over, but they're not going to lose a series to these Celtics if that's whom they get in the Eastern Conference finals. Too many weapons for the Celts' weary legs to deal with.

Thorpe: Three. In his tenure, Kevin Garnett made the difference for this team, more or less, with his inspiring play. But guess which team gave him the most trouble this season: yep, the Magic, holding him to 10.5 ppg and less than 38 percent from the field. And Rashard Lewis loves playing the Celtics. Magic in 6.

Link.

The conventional wisdom now seems to be that we may scrape by Cleveland due to Lebron's elbow, but that we don't have a chance against the mighty Magic.

Abbott: Don't try to cover up your Cavs in 4 pick by saying C's will go down in 7 to Orlando.  You've been outed already.

Sheridan - Boston knows how to play a wounded animal = my predictions have proven I don't know anything.

Broussard is the size of one of LJ's ---- and has been attached to them for a very long time.  Not a shocker.  And who cares if he's wrong because he knows that everyone else knows about sentence #1 trumping actual basktetball knowledge.

HollinPer - nuff said, he knows less than my 5 yr old.

Thorpe - I'll take KG over the 110 million guy any day.

Stein - Translation the C's are old.  Thanks.  

Arnovitz - No offense dude you aren't even a blimp on my NBA Experts radar.  Do you blog?

[angryguy77]

I used to get annoyed with this, but not anymore. I love it when they are made to look like morons after the C's prove them wrong.

Can you imagine what they will say if they beat the Magic? I know, it will be LA in 5 or 6 again. I almost enjoy the confused looks on their faces more than a series win.

[PosImpos]

Well, the experts have a right to believe that LeBron could go supernova and pull this one out - crazier things have happened.

I think they're foolish not to give the Celtics a better chance against the Magic (assuming they advance).  We beat the Magic on Christmas without Paul Pierce in a defense-heavy scrap, and then we lost two games to the Magic after holding double digit leads.  That's the old Celtics team of the regular season that blew those leads.  The only game against the Magic that the Celtics lost convincingly was early in the season.  I don't think you can read too much into the regular season series.

I believe the Celtics are playing on a different level now.  They are healthy, they are focused, they are motivated.  If they lose to the Cavs or Orlando, it won't be because they have a mental breakdown - at least not for a whole series.

[Prof. Clutch]

Hahaha.  Well, I like being the counted out underdog.  I hope it continues the whole playoffs.

[Drucci]

Hilarious predictions. Sure, the series is far from over but wow... to still be overlooked like that against Orlando if we were to face them... didn't the 2008 Finals and these playoffs taught them a lesson about the C's? And their ridiculous predictions of Cleveland being unbeatable last year because they swept the first two rounds too?

Sure, the Magic is playing very well and is a great team with multiple weapons, a good coach and good defense. But their sweep against Charlotte wasn't easy, and the Hawks were just pathetic (not to mention the Magic is Atlanta's nemesis, and got destroyed by them during the 4 regular season meetings).

I like that we're still underdogs though, and probably will be till the end if we keep advancing. It only adds to the joy of the Celtics wins to see that we're making the "experts" eat their words.

PS : Chris Broussard sees Boston not winning any more game and the Cavs winning 10 more games to ultimately win the championship... Keep drinking the kool-aid Chris!

[Mr October]

I would prefer that the BSPN experts were all still picking Cleveland.

One game at a time, one quarter at a time, one play at a time.

Go Celtics!!

[RAcker]

I said this before the season even started.  I think the Magic and Cavs made big mistakes by making moves to adjust for a matchup with each other giving no thought to how they might match up with the C's.

We see that Shaq has been underwhelming for the most part and I think that VC will be the same situation in the next round.  Lewis might be the biggest obstacle that even Howard, but I'll take my chances with the way KG is playing right now.

[celticinorlando]

first..the magic are PRAYING they get the cavs in the next round...they want no part of a healthy boston team

second. we need to finish this tonight. because I for one will enjoy the fact boston knocked the cavs out of the playoffs.

[RAcker]

first..the magic are PRAYING they get the cavs in the next round...they want no part of a healthy boston team

I absolutely agree with this.  There will be some massive diapers needing changing in Orlando if we close it out tonight.

[Celts17Pride]

It will be that way until they are raising the trophy in the air. Even then they still will have doubts.

[celticinorlando]

i actually want james to score big tonight. because then when boston wins...it wont be about the fact of what the cavs didn't do to win...it will be what boston did to win it.

[FallGuy]

Agree with those who say the Magic would prefer to face Cleveland.

I'm going to withhold judgment until I see how tonight goes but if we end up facing Orlando it's going to be another brutal war. I do worry about our energy level and what it'll take to overcome that deep, well-coached team.

[Ersatz]

I don't see why these "experts" never look at the matchups and just look at who the hot team is.....

It's all about matchups in the playoffs!

Well, according to Hollinger, the Celtics "can't score against the Magic." Which seems ridiculous to me, but I haven't looked it up to see what he means. Besides, what if they can't score against us (ie, our resurgent D)?

[j804]

first..the magic are PRAYING they get the cavs in the next round...they want no part of a healthy boston team

is that the word around Orlando?