If the Celtics are 85% healthy come playoff time- can anyone stop us?

[chambers]

Hi there,
So i'm new here, but i'm a die hard celts fan since i was 15 (im 25 now).

Anyway, no matter which way i look at the playoffs, I simply can't see many teams competing with us as a healthy squad come playoff time over 7 game series.

The only guys i think that we should be worried about down the stretch in the east are the heat.
Even then i still can't really see how they fair against our size and bench over a 7 game series.
Is it just me or am i thinking the only team competing with us inside this year are the lakers?
Our list is quite old, but [dang] are we DEEP!
On most sports sites i see comments from heat or lakers fans laughing at how old the celtics are and how our age means we wont survive the playoffs...
who are these guys kidding?
what has changed from last year other than:
KG getting healthier (hold my breath!)
*shaq coming in+JO
*nate getting better.
*Marquis getting better.
*big baby crushing souls off the bench.( i dont care what anyone says about his hornets game- he has been a monster off the bench.) His productivity is so efficient.
Ray+paul playing excellent and consistent.
*delonte west coming in like a hungy junkyard dog off the bench on defense and offensive.

Imagine this squad vs the lakers last year.
I'm seeing some sportsbetting sites offering 6.8-1 odds on the celtics to win the title.
i know who i'm putting my money on.
go celts!

[Eddie20]

Yeah, we'll be really tough to beat.

Think Doc will use a shorter 9 man rotation. With Baby, Shaq (think Perk starts), West, & Daniels off the bench. I see JO and Robinson being used sparingly.

JO if we have foul issues and Nate if we need a scoring punch.

I really think JO should be the one Doc uses to close games. He has the length and size, unlike Baby, to defend bigger players, but unlike Shaq and Perk isn't a liability at the FT line and can also create more spacing than either of them.

[chambers]

Yeah i agree on the first part about JO.
I think he'll come in when shaq or KQ pick up a few quick fouls each, or to hack someone like bynum/howard/gasol and just be a presence when garnett is out.

I prefer baby over JO because of his rebounding positioning and offensive spark.
I guess it depends where we want to create the mismatch.
If JO can lose a bit more weight (which he will), and start to play his role with more court time(which he will) then it'll make docs life much easier.
I am excited to see marquise/west/rondo in action running the fast breaks.

[moiso]

We have some injury prone players so 85% is a good number to hope for.  It depends on the players who are injured.  If it's Pierce, Rondo, or KG we won't win a title.  We can win minus anyone else.

[chambers]

agreed.
Although i'd say we'd find it hard to win without:
Ray
paul
KG
Rondo

the big four.

If these four guys show up to round one of the playoffs i like our chances against anyone.

[Roy H.]

Like others have said, it depends who the 85% who are healthy are.

If each player on the team is operating 15% below peak capacity, sure, I think we'll win.

If everyone is at 95% of peak capacity, except that KG is out of the lineup, I don't think we'll win.

Basically, I agree that we need our "big four" to be close to full health.  If that's the case, I think Doc will be able to mix and match with the rest of our depth to be competitive with anybody.

[Vermont Green]

I agree with Roy H that KG is absolutely the key with Pierce being close behind.  If either of these two are in the 15% unhealthy, the other 85% doesn't matter.  We have seen what happens with KG out or gimpy and it is not pretty.

The next tier is Rondo and Ray.  I think we have shown that we can win without Rondo, especially if we have both West and Robinson available, but only if KG and PP are 100%.  I am not so sure what happens without Ray.  I guess Delonte and Daniels could take minutes and probably we are still pretty strong.  Rondo and Ray are of course very helpful so we are better (and perhaps equally importantly deeper) with them healthly but take one of them out of the equation and I don't feel like it completely ends our title hopes, just increases the incline.

[KCattheStripe]

Like others have said, it depends who the 85% who are healthy are.
Basically, I agree that we need our "big four" to be close to full health.  If that's the case, I think Doc will be able to mix and match with the rest of our depth to be competitive with anybody.

HOORAY DOCS ROTATIONS!

[snively]

I'm hoping the 15% injured are Gody, Bradley and Erden.  The top 12 of our roster is the best in league.

[rsan]

The more bigs we got the better. Its actually a blessing in disguise that they are getting hurt now than later. Gives the bench minutes to develop as well

[j804]

The real other key is of course them not being injured, but not burnt out/exhausted down the stretch as well. We need Rondo at full speed, KG fully active, and the attacking Paul we saw through our winning streak.

[wahz]

no. I count us as about 60% right now. We haven't been 85% this year.

[PosImpos]

Yes.

[KungPoweChicken]

The Heat are going to be a force come playoff time. If the Celtics are not 100% healthy, or very close to 100%, they will not beat them.

[pearljammer10]

If the Celtics arent 100% healthy come playoff time they are going to have a tough playoff run. If we can get 100% percent healthy we should be able to beat anyone in a seven game series. We might need all 7 games against a few teams, but I think at 100% this team can win a game 7 against anyone.