We're All Set!

[raynman]

Carlos Arroyo's signing completed our 15-man roster heading into the playoffs. After a wild couple of weeks following the Trade deadline, we now have our final lineup set for our quest for Banner 18! Being two-deep in every position, it's pretty much safe to say that the only thing standing between the Celtics and the Larry O'Brien trophy is... injuries! But come end of march, I think our players will all be fine and we'll finally have our final rotation (except maybe for JO!). Once our new guys especially Jeff Green settles in and Rondo starts playing like Rondo again, the rest of the league should brace themselves for the Boston Celtics Juggernaut! So barring any more injuries, our playoff rotation should be:
PG - Rondo, Arroyo
SG - Allen, West
SF - Pierce, Green
PF - Garnett, Davis, Murphy
C  - Shaq, Kristic (though i'd prefer Kris to start)
Now tell me how anyone can beat a healthy, well-rested team like that!

We should easily be the #1 seed in the East (i don't think we'll catch SA) and face one of the Texas teams on the way to Banner 18. Here's my playoff prediction:

Round 1 - 4-1 over Charlotte
   Should be a sweep, but we've had our problems with the    'Cats before. Still, this should be easy.
Round 2 - 4-1 over Orlando
   Orlando should barely survive Atlanta and against us, they'd either kill us with their pick and roll or suffocate against our bigs
ECF - 4-2 over Miami
   They might get a new coach, and start getting it together come playoff time, but a couple of gruelling series against the Knicks and Bulls (boozer and/or noah might get injured and lose in 6 or 7, who knows?) and their lack of playoff experience as a team will eventually lead to their demise. 
Finals - 4-2 over Dallas
   LA is peaking right now and their back to championship form, but i think they peaked too soon and Dallas is too deep and hungry for them. San Antonio usually turns it up a couple more notches in the playoffs, but i doubt if their bench would come up bigtime.

That's just my prediction, maybe we'd meet different teams (CHI and SA/LA) but there's one thing I'm sure of :
BANNER 18 is in the bag!

[gar]

Team as constituted is very different than the one that got the last banner. This team has more scorers and if it can keep the defensive intensity should win a lot of games. Finding the chemistry will be challenging. Arroyo has played with JO; and West can hit the ground running. Kristic is fine. Still have to really see full potential of Sasha, murphy and green.

[Megatron]

Your kidding yourself if you think Dallas is making the finals.

They will struggle to get out of the second round, and they might not make it out of the first if they have to face the Blazers.

Lakers have flipped the switch, they are the only team coming out of the west.

[raynman]

Your kidding yourself if you think Dallas is making the finals.

They will struggle to get out of the second round, and they might not make it out of the first if they have to face the Blazers.

Lakers have flipped the switch, they are the only team coming out of the west.

As I said, the Mavs are hungry and deep. And they might have Caron back for the playoffs so they should match up well vs. Kobe. I also think Dirk and co. deserve to get back in the finals, but  don't think they'd win.
Besides, it'd be a nice set-up for the finals NEXT year: Lakers-Celtics grudge match! 1-1 against each other, and 2 championships each since the big three era.. Phil should return one more year, and Shaq'll try to go one up on Kobe.. and, this might be the last chance for ray,pp and kg and kobe to win a championship. Awesome storyline, right?

[makaveli]

No way 'Cats make the playoffs,and no way MIA gets past CHI

[GreenEnvy]

Your kidding yourself if you think Dallas is making the finals.

They will struggle to get out of the second round, and they might not make it out of the first if they have to face the Blazers.

Lakers have flipped the switch, they are the only team coming out of the west.

The Mavs have as good a chance as any team out West right now IMO. If they get Butler back, they may be the favorites. They have the best defense of the elite teams and they can score down the stretch.

I'd say the Lakers will be favored because of who they are (and rightfully so), but after them, it has to be Dallas. The Spurs can't stop people when they need to, and the Thunder have to prove Perkins makes that much of a difference.

If the standings hold, I don't think OKC will have enough to to beat SAS, who will lose to the winner of DAL/LAL. Dallas beat them convincingly earlier in the season and play each other again this weekend.

[clover]

Carlos Arroyo's signing completed our 15-man roster heading into the playoffs. After a wild couple of weeks following the Trade deadline, we now have our final lineup set for our quest for Banner 18! Being two-deep in every position, it's pretty much safe to say that the only thing standing between the Celtics and the Larry O'Brien trophy is... injuries! But come end of march, I think our players will all be fine and we'll finally have our final rotation (except maybe for JO!). Once our new guys especially Jeff Green settles in and Rondo starts playing like Rondo again, the rest of the league should brace themselves for the Boston Celtics Juggernaut! So barring any more injuries, our playoff rotation should be:
PG - Rondo, Arroyo
SG - Allen, West
SF - Pierce, Green
PF - Garnett, Davis, Murphy
C  - Shaq, Kristic (though i'd prefer Kris to start)
Now tell me how anyone can beat a healthy, well-rested team like that!

We should easily be the #1 seed in the East (i don't think we'll catch SA) and face one of the Texas teams on the way to Banner 18. Here's my playoff prediction:

Round 1 - 4-1 over Charlotte
   Should be a sweep, but we've had our problems with the    'Cats before. Still, this should be easy.
Round 2 - 4-1 over Orlando
   Orlando should barely survive Atlanta and against us, they'd either kill us with their pick and roll or suffocate against our bigs
ECF - 4-2 over Miami
   They might get a new coach, and start getting it together come playoff time, but a couple of gruelling series against the Knicks and Bulls (boozer and/or noah might get injured and lose in 6 or 7, who knows?) and their lack of playoff experience as a team will eventually lead to their demise. 
Finals - 4-2 over Dallas
   LA is peaking right now and their back to championship form, but i think they peaked too soon and Dallas is too deep and hungry for them. San Antonio usually turns it up a couple more notches in the playoffs, but i doubt if their bench would come up bigtime.

That's just my prediction, maybe we'd meet different teams (CHI and SA/LA) but there's one thing I'm sure of :
BANNER 18 is in the bag!

Doc's in the paper this morning  saying they'll be down to an 8-9 man rotation by the playoffs.  So I would think of Arroyo and Murphy as injury insurance like most of the the other late additions.  The only new guys in that rotation IMO at Green and Krstic.

[Celtics4ever]

Dirk absolutely choked the one finals he was in and Dallas has a history of being soft.   I would not bet on Dallas.

[OsirusCeltics]

Carlos Arroyo's signing completed our 15-man roster heading into the playoffs. After a wild couple of weeks following the Trade deadline, we now have our final lineup set for our quest for Banner 18! Being two-deep in every position, it's pretty much safe to say that the only thing standing between the Celtics and the Larry O'Brien trophy is... injuries! But come end of march, I think our players will all be fine and we'll finally have our final rotation (except maybe for JO!). Once our new guys especially Jeff Green settles in and Rondo starts playing like Rondo again, the rest of the league should brace themselves for the Boston Celtics Juggernaut! So barring any more injuries, our playoff rotation should be:
PG - Rondo, Arroyo
SG - Allen, West
SF - Pierce, Green
PF - Garnett, Davis, Murphy
C  - Shaq, Kristic (though i'd prefer Kris to start)
Now tell me how anyone can beat a healthy, well-rested team like that!

We should easily be the #1 seed in the East (i don't think we'll catch SA) and face one of the Texas teams on the way to Banner 18. Here's my playoff prediction:

Round 1 - 4-1 over Charlotte
   Should be a sweep, but we've had our problems with the    'Cats before. Still, this should be easy.
Round 2 - 4-1 over Orlando
   Orlando should barely survive Atlanta and against us, they'd either kill us with their pick and roll or suffocate against our bigs
ECF - 4-2 over Miami
   They might get a new coach, and start getting it together come playoff time, but a couple of gruelling series against the Knicks and Bulls (boozer and/or noah might get injured and lose in 6 or 7, who knows?) and their lack of playoff experience as a team will eventually lead to their demise. 
Finals - 4-2 over Dallas
   LA is peaking right now and their back to championship form, but i think they peaked too soon and Dallas is too deep and hungry for them. San Antonio usually turns it up a couple more notches in the playoffs, but i doubt if their bench would come up bigtime.

That's just my prediction, maybe we'd meet different teams (CHI and SA/LA) but there's one thing I'm sure of :
BANNER 18 is in the bag!

Yup, I'm thinking the same thing. The Jason Kidd factor makes Dallas more mentally tough. They have size, defense, and versatile scoring. Honestly, I think a Mavs team would be harder to beat than the Lakers but Celtics are still gonna win. Dirk always abuses Gasol and Tyson Chandler can guard Bynum one on one.

And you're right about the Lakers peaking too early. I think they are trying too hard show everyone they still got it, but they will eventually be worn out. And no one mentions that the Lakers bench is horrible! They may not have been great players, but Farmer, VuyaEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline., and Josh Powell kept up the lead when the starters were on the bench. A lack of a bench makes the starters play more minutes, like that Spurs-Lakers game on Sunday. That big lead they created was diminishing because their bench was not scoring. And the starters had to come back. That would wear on them when the playoffs come. Laker's ain't goin back to the Finals

[droponov]

Dirk absolutely choked the one finals he was in and Dallas has a history of being soft.   I would not bet on Dallas.

By "choked" you mean "had teammates, especially the 2nd and 3rd options, playing awfully"?

[Schintzius]

Besides, it'd be a nice set-up for the finals NEXT year: Lakers-Celtics grudge match! 1-1 against each other, and 2 championships each since the big three era.. Phil should return one more year, and Shaq'll try to go one up on Kobe.. and, this might be the last chance for ray,pp and kg and kobe to win a championship. Awesome storyline, right?

Next year's seemingly unavoidable lockout has me assuming that THIS is the last run for our big 3.   Hope I'm wrong.

[jsingh1699]

rondo
allen
pierce
kg
shaq

main 4 guys off the bench for us:
dwest
green
bbd
krstic

who are the last 3 guys on the bench tho?

we have to choose btwn arroyo, wafer, pavlovic, murphy, jo

[chambers]

rondo
allen
pierce
kg
shaq

main 4 guys off the bench for us:
dwest
green
bbd
krstic

who are the last 3 guys on the bench tho?

we have to choose btwn arroyo, wafer, pavlovic, murphy, jo

JO is #1 because we will need his defense vs bigs like dwight and bynum/gasol/noah/boozer etc when shaq is in foul trouble.
I don't care what anybody says JO is still a defensive beast down low.

#2 is murphy because of his size and ability to spread the floor with the 3. beleive me he will start hitting this shot soon and it will be a great relief off the bench vs someone like lakers, forcing lamar odom or tyrus thomas to guard out on the 3 point line while rondo and delonte zip inside and out.

#3 is probably wafer over pavlovic coming in for ray/delonte.
Is sasha shows defensive tenacity then he has a shot at a spot too though. I think this spot is still up for grabs.