C's have one more title run left

[xmuscularghandix]

This is really the last topic I want to see right about now. If you think this team is coming back intact next year after the enormous disappointment that was the regular season and now this game 7 debacle, I've got a timeshare to sell you down by the Florida keys .

Ray Allen said there isn’t anywhere else he’d rather be.

And we still have KG, Paul, and Rondo.

Plus if Ray is gonna leave i’m sure we could get a S/T.

[rondohondo]

Not unless #19 turns out to be one of the 3 best players in the entire draft.

If the C's can somehow get Luke Babbit or Ekpe Udoh they would be inn business, I am hoping one of them falls or we can trade up .

[twinbree]

Seeing how far we got this postseason and remembering how washed up we looked in the regular season, I'd be the last person to declare the window closed. I'll believe it when I see it and for now I'll feel pretty good about our chances. 

[Kuberski33]

What hurts most about this is this is it's likely the last time around for this group.  Unless Danny pulls a rabbit out of his hat in the draft, there's likely going to be a step back next season - especially if Sheed retires, Ray doesn't come back and Doc is gone.

I'm not doubting Danny's ability to right the ship, but I think it's going to take awhile.

[rondohondo]

What hurts most about this is this is it's likely the last time around for this group.  Unless Danny pulls a rabbit out of his hat in the draft, there's likely going to be a step back next season - especially if Sheed retires, Ray doesn't come back and Doc is gone.

I'm not doubting Danny's ability to right the ship, but I think it's going to take awhile.

Whay would sheed retire? He has 2 years left on his contract

Ray would be better with more rest during the season as a 6th man.

[rjsuperfly66]

What hurts most about this is this is it's likely the last time around for this group.  Unless Danny pulls a rabbit out of his hat in the draft, there's likely going to be a step back next season - especially if Sheed retires, Ray doesn't come back and Doc is gone.

I'm not doubting Danny's ability to right the ship, but I think it's going to take awhile.

Whay would sheed retire? He has 2 years left on his contract

Ray would be better with more rest during the season as a 6th man.

!.  Does Ray want to be 6th man?
2.  Is he willing to take 6th man money?
3.  If Ray 6th man, who starts?

[Edgar]

What hurts most about this is this is it's likely the last time around for this group.  Unless Danny pulls a rabbit out of his hat in the draft, there's likely going to be a step back next season - especially if Sheed retires, Ray doesn't come back and Doc is gone.

I'm not doubting Danny's ability to right the ship, but I think it's going to take awhile.

Whay would sheed retire? He has 2 years left on his contract

Ray would be better with more rest during the season as a 6th man.

!.  Does Ray want to be 6th man?
2.  Is he willing to take 6th man money?
3.  If Ray 6th man, who starts?

yes
yes
joe

dreams...lo;)

[Andy Jick]

That thud you heard tonight was the window slamming shut...  I appreciate this team's effort, but they are done...

[xmuscularghandix]

What hurts most about this is this is it's likely the last time around for this group.  Unless Danny pulls a rabbit out of his hat in the draft, there's likely going to be a step back next season - especially if Sheed retires, Ray doesn't come back and Doc is gone.

I'm not doubting Danny's ability to right the ship, but I think it's going to take awhile.

Whay would sheed retire? He has 2 years left on his contract

Ray would be better with more rest during the season as a 6th man.

!.  Does Ray want to be 6th man?
2.  Is he willing to take 6th man money?
3.  If Ray 6th man, who starts?

1. He’d be a big minute 6th man
2. 6th man money?
3. Some young winger

[ManUp]

Next year at this time Pierce will be 33, Garnett will be 35, and Allen will be 35. How much better of a season will these guys have to have for us to win it next year, and is it realistic to expect that? Time works the same way for us as it does everyone else. At some point we have to accept that this team is old. Sorry to sound so negative, but that's just how I see it.

[slamtheking]

before last night's game, I thought they had another year as a contender.  after last night's game, I'm seeing too many older players not producing at the levels they need to.

* PP and Ray were too gassed playing D to produce on offense.  * PP's D may even be questioned after watching Artest play a major factor in the Lakers last 2 wins.
* KG was getting killed on the boards this series.  He and Sheed were the only bright spot on offense but they are not the rebounders they once were.
* Perk regressed throughout the season to be a complete liability on offense.
* Rondo has got to get a consistant shot and hit a respectable percentage of FT's.
* As good as the bench as looked at times this year where the team could reasonably feel they had 12 players that could contribute, the bench wasn't good enough. 
* Daniels, who was supposed to be our answer for stopping the leagues's premier scoring wings, was a complete bust. 
* Shelden just fell apart in the playoffs. 
* Sheed, although competitive in the postseason, totally dogged it during the regular season. 
* House/Nate didn't contribute most nights. 
* TA had a solid season by TA standards but his offense is lacking. 
* BBD plays hard which is great but he's still too short for his position and cannot play above the rim which is not good for your backup 4/5.  The jumper he developed last year was non-existant this year.
* Finley was such a liability on D that even though the C's could have really used his shooting, he would have cost them more points on D.

All in all, the regular season was a horror to sit through and cost them in the end.  I really believe the lack of HCA for 3 rounds of the playoffs finally caught up to the C's last night.  Not to mention the fact this team took too many games off this series-->every game after traveling they just came out completely flat. 
This team needs an infusion of energy and players that can truly score.  Unless Danny pulls off some signing and drafting miracles this offseason to get that energy and scoring punch that will win more regular season games and have enough gas for a deep playoff run, this team will be hardpressed to make it this far again.

[Who]

Ron Artest was 7-18 from the field, 2-7 from downtown and 4 turnovers.

Can we stop making his offensive contributions sound so mighty?

He struggled offensively, he just shot the ball a lot. 18 shots and 5 FTAs to get 20 points is not good. He gave a decent offensive performance (a timely three, a breakaway layup, a couple of offensive rebounds leading to easy scores) but it was far from a good night offensively. A lot of negatives that are being ignored.

[housecall]

Ron Artest was 7-18 from the field, 2-7 from downtown and 4 turnovers.

Can we stop making his offensive contributions sound so mighty?

He struggled offensively, he just shot the ball a lot. 18 shots and 5 FTAs to get 20 points is not good. He gave a decent offensive performance (a timely three, a breakaway layup, a couple of offensive rebounds leading to easy scores) but it was far from a good night offensively. A lot of negatives that are being ignored.

I agree...some of his shots were more timely than mighty.tp

[Evantime34]

I agree we have another year.

I realize all the older players are declining but we were only 5 points away from a championship. If Perk plays I think we win that game because we don't get crushed on the offensive glass.

Next year KG, Paul and Ray will get even more rest than they did in the regular season. If we can resign Ray, TA and Nate we will still have all the pieces that made this run.

We also have a decent pick in this years draft which we could turn into either a scorer (to help take the offensive load off the older guys) or an Athletic big that could help us on the boards.

Who knows, Ray could come back the same due to his conditioning and KG could be better due to being a year away from surgery. But I'm gonna take the position that they all will continue to decline.

So the big 3 get worse. Rondo will continue to get better, say what you want about him but he has improved every year. People were killing Baby in the regular season but he played well in the playoffs and I see him improving. Perk is one of the hardest workers on the team so if his knee injury doesn't take the whole offseason to recover from he should be better.

The improvements of the young guys won't negate the decline of the big 3 but it will temper it. With the remaining roster spots we should be able to get some players that will give us more than guys like Finley, Quis, and Shelden at the end of the bench.

In the end I think the team is just as good next year if not better.

[moiso]

We won't challenge for a title next year with the current rotation.  We can still win with these guys on the team but their roles need serious reducing, with some younger talent picking up the slack.
I love the Ray Allen as a 6th man idea.  Morrow or Miller sounds great.  We definitely need a young athletic big man, and someone to take on some of the scoring load because the big 3 are too streaky to count on every night.
With the current roster, I would give Baby and Robinson more of the offensive focus, and put the big 3 in the background a little more.  Obviously signing another scorer would be a huge benefit.