We will definitely be contenders next season.

[Celtics4ever]

I do think Johnson will be able to play and contribute at some level this year.   He is a superb athlete, got better every year in one of the most physical conferences in the NCAA.  I don't think he will dominate but he has length and can jump and that is two things Davis doesn't bring to the table.  He can shoot and although we not had much luck with Big Ten big men like acie Earl I hope this kid will be different. The big knock on him is his build but Camby had a nice career with a similiar build so I for one don't worry.   Danny has had more luck than most finding guys this low.   The odds are on our sides that he will be able to play.

[paulcowens]

To me it's beyond completely ridiculous to assert that we WILL be contenders.  This team is riddled with weaknesses and question marks.  Seriously!  Four of our five starters are getting social security.  Our other starter seems to be widely considered the most overrated player in basketball.  Our top three bench guys have seriously underperformed or struggled with injury.  And anything beyond that is sheer speculation.   Last year we all quite reasonably thought  we were on our way to a championship.  This coming year, whenever it happens, will be a different story.

BUT, I also don't get the waves of despair, even hysteria, that seem to roll through the Celtics fandom.  While it's reasonable to recognize that this is a team that could crash and burn, it's also to recognize that the upside could be fantastic.   We all know from the late Russell years that grizzled, veteran Celtic teams can do amazing things, and the flip side of the team we have now being loaded with question marks is that it is loaded with possibilities.  We still have the Big Three, and they still seem to be functioning at a high level.   We still have one of the most talented young players, a guy who has consistently raised the level of his game year to year.  We should be very excited to see what Rondo does next year.  Our bench starts with three guys who could probably  start for a lot of other teams.  The cupboard may be getting dusty, but it's far from bare.

What worries me the most is that Rivers doesn't seem to be interested in bringing in coaching help.  Rivers seems to be a great coach for Xs and Os, and for veterans, but he seems to do a sorry job with the younger guys.  We REALLY need to be bringing the younger guys along right now.

[Yogi]

To me it's beyond completely ridiculous to assert that we WILL be contenders.  This team is riddled with weaknesses and question marks.  Seriously!  Four of our five starters are getting social security.  Our other starter seems to be widely considered the most overrated player in basketball.  Our top three bench guys have seriously underperformed or struggled with injury.  And anything beyond that is sheer speculation.   Last year we all quite reasonably thought  we were on our way to a championship.  This coming year, whenever it happens, will be a different story.

BUT, I also don't get the waves of despair, even hysteria, that seem to roll through the Celtics fandom.  While it's reasonable to recognize that this is a team that could crash and burn, it's also to recognize that the upside could be fantastic.   We all know from the late Russell years that grizzled, veteran Celtic teams can do amazing things, and the flip side of the team we have now being loaded with question marks is that it is loaded with possibilities.  We still have the Big Three, and they still seem to be functioning at a high level.   We still have one of the most talented young players, a guy who has consistently raised the level of his game year to year.  We should be very excited to see what Rondo does next year.  Our bench starts with three guys who could probably  start for a lot of other teams.  The cupboard may be getting dusty, but it's far from bare.

What worries me the most is that Rivers doesn't seem to be interested in bringing in coaching help.  Rivers seems to be a great coach for Xs and Os, and for veterans, but he seems to do a sorry job with the younger guys.  We REALLY need to be bringing the younger guys along right now.

   It's ridiculous to assert that we will win the championship, but not that we will be contenders.  We are contenders based on talent, but we can't account for injuries. 
1) We have 4 reigning all-stars.
2) We have 3 guaranteed Hall-of-Famers, and 2 multiple time all-stars starting.  That's experience.
3) Youth with good upside.  Bradley, Green and Johnson (3 first round picks).
4) A top-tier Coach with a ring.
5) A GM that got us a ring starting from scratch.
6) Excellent Chemistry between our Coach, our 4 best players and Glen Davis.
   I know we lost to Miami, but that hardly nullifies the fact we were contenders.  Not all contenders can win a championship.  We had very bad luck with injuries through out the season.  We actually played the series with our starting Center suffering from back spasms and a broken wrist.  Our starting point guard got his arm nearly ripped off in game 3.  Our back up point guard and our lock-down wing defender was playing with a twisted ankle and coming off wrist surgery.  Despite all of this Miami outscored us only by an average of 4.2 ppg.
   Losing our primary wing, Marquis Daniels, in the middle of the season created a huge hole which caused us to trade for Jeff Green.  Despite what people say, I doubt they would've been any happier with Sasha Pavlovic or even Anthony Parker defending Wade, Carmello, Lebron, Stoudemire, Deng, Boozer, Bosh etc.  At the very least Green is young, athletic, long and can guard 3 positions reasonably.   

[FatjohnReturns]

To me it's beyond completely ridiculous to assert that we WILL be contenders.  This team is riddled with weaknesses and question marks.  Seriously!  Four of our five starters are getting social security.  Our other starter seems to be widely considered the most overrated player in basketball.  Our top three bench guys have seriously underperformed or struggled with injury.  And anything beyond that is sheer speculation.   Last year we all quite reasonably thought  we were on our way to a championship.  This coming year, whenever it happens, will be a different story.

BUT, I also don't get the waves of despair, even hysteria, that seem to roll through the Celtics fandom.  While it's reasonable to recognize that this is a team that could crash and burn, it's also to recognize that the upside could be fantastic.   We all know from the late Russell years that grizzled, veteran Celtic teams can do amazing things, and the flip side of the team we have now being loaded with question marks is that it is loaded with possibilities.  We still have the Big Three, and they still seem to be functioning at a high level.   We still have one of the most talented young players, a guy who has consistently raised the level of his game year to year.  We should be very excited to see what Rondo does next year.  Our bench starts with three guys who could probably  start for a lot of other teams.  The cupboard may be getting dusty, but it's far from bare.

What worries me the most is that Rivers doesn't seem to be interested in bringing in coaching help.  Rivers seems to be a great coach for Xs and Os, and for veterans, but he seems to do a sorry job with the younger guys.  We REALLY need to be bringing the younger guys along right now.

  It's ridiculous to assert that we will win the championship, but not that we will be contenders.  We are contenders based on talent, but we can't account for injuries.  
1) We have 4 reigning all-stars.
2) We have 3 guaranteed Hall-of-Famers, and 2 multiple time all-stars starting.  That's experience.
3) Youth with good upside.  Bradley, Green and Johnson (3 first round picks).
4) A top-tier Coach with a ring.
5) A GM that got us a ring starting from scratch.
6) Excellent Chemistry between our Coach, our 4 best players and Glen Davis.
   I know we lost to Miami, but that hardly nullifies the fact we were contenders.  Not all contenders can win a championship.  We had very bad luck with injuries through out the season.  We actually played the series with our starting Center suffering from back spasms and a broken wrist.  Our starting point guard got his arm nearly ripped off in game 3.  Our back up point guard and our lock-down wing defender was playing with a twisted ankle and coming off wrist surgery.  Despite all of this Miami outscored us only by an average of 4.2 ppg.
   Losing our primary wing, Marquis Daniels, in the middle of the season created a huge hole which caused us to trade for Jeff Green.  Despite what people say, I doubt they would've been any happier with Sasha Pavlovic or even Anthony Parker defending Wade, Carmello, Lebron, Stoudemire, Deng, Boozer, Bosh etc.  At the very least Green is young, athletic, long and can guard 3 positions reasonably.  

Did you watch the playoffs. Green got torched repeadetly. He was respobsible for more defensive breakdowns than any other Celtic on the floor. Possibly he gets better with a training camp and a full year. Last year though he was terrible on the defesnisve side.

[Yogi]

Did you watch the playoffs. Green got torched repeadetly. He was respobsible for more defensive breakdowns than any other Celtic on the floor. Possibly he gets better with a training camp and a full year. Last year though he was terrible on the defesnisve side.

   Lebron James will get his points on any defense.  I remember Jeff Green doing a pretty good job defensively.  Of course he had more defensive breakdowns than Rondo, Allen, Pierce and JO.  Who wouldn't? especially having only a handful of practices to learn the toughest defense in the league.  Do you think the smaller, slower Pavlovic or Parker would even be able to stay in front of Lebron James let alone contest his shots?

http://www.celticsblog.com/2011/5/8/2160170/jeff-greens-defense-on-lebron-was-a-story

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/833581-boston-celtics-could-making-jeff-green-a-starter-bolster-their-title-hopes

[Neurotic Guy]

If we were starting a season with Antoine Walker and Vitaly Potompenko in the starting lineup, I'd be a fool to be hopeful.  However, we still have KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo playing at high levels -- therefore, as a fan, I see no reason to predict doom and gloom. 

The misery of being a fan of a bad team is bad enough, why would I choose to feel hopeless when there are still 4 potential all-stars on this team.  Those predicting the fall of the C's may be correct, but I just don't see the point in taking a 'half-empty' viewpoint.

[anthony83]

Had Rondo been healthy, the celtics would have gone to either 6 or 7 games with Miami this past postseason and possibly won the series.

If we have our big 4 healthy, a center who can produce something (whether that be defensive presence or be an offensive non-liability), and our aging big three don't decline too precipitously, then I think we can go toe-to-toe with any team in the NBA in a 7 game series.

 +1