Chris Mannix says the Celtics no better than the 6th seed

[Who]

I just got a chance to listen to the audio clip.

Only briefly mentioned Phily but sounded like Mannix expected Evan Turner to have a big season ... only a brief mention but sounded like E.Turner would be the catalyst for Phily's improved performance.

[guava_wrench]

I could easily see us as the 6th seed. Look at how we usually finish regular seasons. We have it in us to be ineffective and mediocre.

There are teams that are up the upswing. We have been on the downswing since KG's legs became a problem.

[jgod213]

Would rather have Stiemsma than Pryzbilla. Pryzbilla had limited mobility, Stiemsma can bother a lot of shots and is a big target under the basket.

I can't understand preferring Steimsma over Pryzbilla.  And Steimsma isn't exactly a Gazelle either.  Pryzbilla is a proven vet and an extremely effective big.  Steimsma has done nothing but play solid D in the D League

Pryzbilla might not play again, he's recovering from a series of awful injuries and might retire.

He was rather ineffective in his last few years. I'm all for taking a chance with him, but he's not a proven veteran anymore.

Agreed.  And although I can't speak to Steimsma's overall defense, I think his shot blocking will translate to the NBA.  If you get as many blocks as he did in the D-League (3.6 per game) I think it translates to allowing you to be a good shot blocker in the NBA (obviously not at the same rate, but nonetheless a shot blocker).  He won the DPOY for the D-League, so there is also potential for more on defense (though that is less certain).

I would like to have him on the bench.  Big body who can challenge some shots and grab boards is fine with me.  We have enough older players of questionable health, I like the young legs like we had with Semih.

Didn't Chris Johnson with the DPoY in the D-League too? He was a lousy defensive player.

Not sure how much NBA level credibility that award has.

And that is exactly why I said that it is not certain he will be a good defensive player overall in that post you just quoted.

The shot blocking numbers do translate I believe (again to a lesser degree).

I like the energy, shot blocking, big body from that last spot on the bench.

I'm with Who on this...i'm not comfortable with him on this team just because he has some pretty numbers from the d-league.  Show me an example of those numbers translating and i'll reconsider...

Meanwhile, a guy named Patrick O'Bryant averaged 17 and 10 with 3.5 BPG in '07/'08 in the d-league.  He went on to put up 1 and 1 with less than half a block per game over the next 2 years at the pro level.  POB has always had the raw ability, but that doesn't mean it translates into a pro-level system.

[colincb]

I don’t see a lot of improvement by teams in our conference outside of the Bulls adding Hamilton, the Heat getting Battier (and losing Z) and the Pacers getting David West and George Hill.  Given that the Pacers won only 35 games last year, I’m not expecting a big surge fromm them to overtake us.  Among the other challengers, Atlanta lost Crawford, the Sixers  didn’t change except for the loss of Kapono, the Magic got the worst of the Bass-BBD deal, and NYK got Chandler and lost Billups. In summary, I don’t see much in the way of change from teams behind us that will threaten us.  I do believe that our top 4 subs will be markedly improved from last year, but it may not be enough to move us up since Doc will have to manage minutes like crazy for the Big 3.

[Lucky17]

I love how prognosticators make these lazy predictions. Celtics are old, so they are vulnerable to injury in a way that younger players are not.

Take the Knicks. Think Amare's knees will hold up under this compressed schedule? He clearly wore down during last season. Last year was the first year since 2007-08 that Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler appeared in more than 70 games. The Knicks have replaced the underrated Chauncey Billups with the tandem of Mike Bibby and Baron Davis, and have little depth beyond the starting lineup. Are they really impervious to injury? Come on.

I still see the Celtics as the class of the Atlantic.

[KP43]

6th Seed??...
Seriously? I mean i could understand if we were no better than the 4th seed but 6??
I mean Knicks, Bulls and Heat could easily get a better record than us, but Orlando and Atlanta? You must be kidding me. No way they gon get a better record than us!

Oh i forgot. The Fat Mamba plays for the Magic they gon win the whole thing! And Atlanta doesnt have any PG problems and their bench.. Best i´ve ever seen! Yea.. Good luck with that..

TP for Fat Mamba LOL

[dark_lord]

the only way the celts would drop that low is if some of the big 4 have significant injuries.  no way a healthy core of pierce, kg, ray, and rondo are a 6th seed.....regardless of the bench/depth

[BballTim]

I could easily see us as the 6th seed. Look at how we usually finish regular seasons. We have it in us to be ineffective and mediocre.

There are teams that are up the upswing. We have been on the downswing since KG's legs became a problem.

  I'm hoping we're on the downswing like we were in 2010, when we went to game 7 of the finals.

[Fafnir]

the only way the celts would drop that low is if some of the big 4 have significant injuries.  no way a healthy core of pierce, kg, ray, and rondo are a 6th seed.....regardless of the bench/depth

I agree, and if Mannix thinks we're going to have major injuries again and play poorly for long stretches due to the compressed schedule his prediction makes sense.

I think he's wrong, but I'm not going to freak out about it.

[guava_wrench]

I could easily see us as the 6th seed. Look at how we usually finish regular seasons. We have it in us to be ineffective and mediocre.

There are teams that are up the upswing. We have been on the downswing since KG's legs became a problem.

  I'm hoping we're on the downswing like we were in 2010, when we went to game 7 of the finals.

Fortunately, likelihood is not outcome.

Even the a priori best prediction will be different from the actual outcome, so it isn't anything to worry about. If the best team in the league has a 40% chance of winning it all, that means that the odds are the best team won't win.

[Snakehead]

Would rather have Stiemsma than Pryzbilla. Pryzbilla had limited mobility, Stiemsma can bother a lot of shots and is a big target under the basket.

I can't understand preferring Steimsma over Pryzbilla.  And Steimsma isn't exactly a Gazelle either.  Pryzbilla is a proven vet and an extremely effective big.  Steimsma has done nothing but play solid D in the D League

Pryzbilla might not play again, he's recovering from a series of awful injuries and might retire.

He was rather ineffective in his last few years. I'm all for taking a chance with him, but he's not a proven veteran anymore.

Agreed.  And although I can't speak to Steimsma's overall defense, I think his shot blocking will translate to the NBA.  If you get as many blocks as he did in the D-League (3.6 per game) I think it translates to allowing you to be a good shot blocker in the NBA (obviously not at the same rate, but nonetheless a shot blocker).  He won the DPOY for the D-League, so there is also potential for more on defense (though that is less certain).

I would like to have him on the bench.  Big body who can challenge some shots and grab boards is fine with me.  We have enough older players of questionable health, I like the young legs like we had with Semih.

Didn't Chris Johnson with the DPoY in the D-League too? He was a lousy defensive player.

Not sure how much NBA level credibility that award has.

And that is exactly why I said that it is not certain he will be a good defensive player overall in that post you just quoted.

The shot blocking numbers do translate I believe (again to a lesser degree).

I like the energy, shot blocking, big body from that last spot on the bench.

I'm with Who on this...i'm not comfortable with him on this team just because he has some pretty numbers from the d-league.  Show me an example of those numbers translating and i'll reconsider...

Meanwhile, a guy named Patrick O'Bryant averaged 17 and 10 with 3.5 BPG in '07/'08 in the d-league.  He went on to put up 1 and 1 with less than half a block per game over the next 2 years at the pro level.  POB has always had the raw ability, but that doesn't mean it translates into a pro-level system.

I am not that familiar with Steimsma so forgive my possible ignorance, but I don't think he is similar to POB.  POB's issues were all mental, he had the physical tools but didn't seem to care and was very weak mentally and had a bad attitude (remember his reported run in with KG?).  Steimsma doesn't seem like he has those issues, so I think his ability to translate to the NBA seems much greater than POB.

Trust me, I know he isn't a lock to contribute.  But I like the potential.

[Sketch5]

Its possible, with all the back to backs, and short season, I think Doc will be playing the bench a lot. Saving the elder legs for the playoffs.

This might work in the C's benefit. Elder teams have done better in the playoffs with a short season. Spurs won it last time this happened.

The bench will get a ton of experience and learn to play with each other very well. And the starters will save there legs being fresh for the playoffs, while the other teams fight for spots, and then possibly be worn out or banged up for the playoffs.

I think with one or two more small moves the C's can contend if healthy. So who cares if they are a 6th seed. I say come in under the radar, and upset some teams along the way to banner 18. It would be good for the league to proving building these super teams just don't work.

[KGHurtYourFeelings]

I've got no problem with Steimsma sitting at the end of our bench, and I'm certainly not going to write him off.

But I'm not very optimistic about him becoming a productive member of the squad.

As always, I would be very happy to be wrong, and again, it doesn't hurt to have a big young body with potential upside.

[Q_FBE]

Only if one of the big 4 go down or if we choose to rest and coast like in 2010

I don't think Resting and Coasting is an option in a 66 game season. We would be better served getting off to a 20 and 5 start and then "Manage Minutes and Matchups" Believe or not the veteran teams will benefit by having played together in past years and those will be the teams getting off to the best starts. The young teams won't have the experience or maturity to stay with the top veteran teams. I think Chris Mannix missed that point.

[heitingas]

I don't mind finishing 6th, as we play the 3rd seed, not miami or chicago in the first round.

Then in the 2nd round we'll probably face chicago.

And most importantly last year the 15th to 17th picks in the draft went to the 5th,6th,7th seed in the east.

I hope we get 7th and face chicago and win a tiebreaker with eastern/western teams and get the 15th pick in the draft.