HOLLINGER picks celtics 3rd in East 43-23

[keyes4323]

John Hollinger is someone I respect. He has the Celtics finishing 3rd in the east and matching up with the pacers in the first round.. Bird vs Ainge... young vs old.. This got me a little excited about this years celtics I still believe they can make a run... Was 3rd to high?

[Roy H.]

I think 43-23 and a #3 seed are both reasonable projections.  That extrapolates to 53 wins in an 82 game season, which again seems reasonable.

[Snakehead]

Hollinger usually is down on our team and I disagree so it's kind of selective if I get behind him now  

What is the reasoning for his projection?

[indeedproceed]

I think the toll the condensced schedule will place on the Celtics' starters will prove to be too much, especially if (when) JO misses considerable time. I see us finishing around 4th or 5th and just praying we come around healthy at the end.

That said, 3rd seems to be the ceiling. We're not going to out-run the Bulls or Heat in the regular season without an injury to LBJ or Derrick Rose. We couldn't do it last year, and there is no way we can do it this year.

[Donoghus]

John Hollinger is someone I respect. He has the Celtics finishing 3rd in the east and matching up with the pacers in the first round.. Bird vs Ainge... young vs old.. This got me a little excited about this years celtics I still believe they can make a run... Was 3rd to high?

If things break right and this team stays healthy, its certainly feasible.

I still think the condensed schedule will be this team's biggest enemy when it comes to where they finish in the East.  To me, 3rd is a bit high and I think they'll be more middle of the road but its a realistic enough prediction.

[keyes4323]

I think it shows that he is down on Orlando.. to me that is the only team that stands in the way of the celtics getting the 3 seed. NY just doesnt have enough on the bench or in the back court to finshed 3rd..

[KGHurtYourFeelings]

John Hollinger is someone I respect. He has the Celtics finishing 3rd in the east and matching up with the pacers in the first round.. Bird vs Ainge... young vs old.. This got me a little excited about this years celtics I still believe they can make a run... Was 3rd to high?

I'm not a huge Hollinger fan, but I agree with his prediction and his logic was sound

[StartOrien]

I can't see anyone but the Pacers jumping us.

[quidinqui33]

Here is Hollinger's write up from ESPN Insider, I agree with his assessment for the most part, I think Sasha might be a little better than he implies:

It's amusing that the same Celtics fans who wanted Jeff Green tarred and feathered last spring now think they're hosed because he's out for the season. It's a loss, but he's a backup small forward and they can do other things with their lineups to mostly cover his absence. As long as they can avoid playing Sasha Pavlovic in an actual game, they'll be fine.

The more worrying problem for Boston is the grueling nature of the schedule, which will be magnified for the Celtics because of their age and mediocre bench. The theft of Brandon Bass from Orlando should help, and I suspect they'll get a lot more from Jermaine O'Neal than they did last season. Still, this team tied for 17th in offensive efficiency in 2010-11 and should be mediocre again; Boston is counting on its defense being at or near the top of the league to keep it in contention.

Perhaps it will be, but the combination of age, schedule and coaching staff defections (Tom Thibodeau left two years ago and Lawrence Frank this past offseason) might cause some slippage. All of Boston's bench players are good defenders except offseason pickup Chris Wilcox, but the C's still will have great difficulty retaining their No. 2 ranking in defensive efficiency.

Here's one other bummer for Boston: There are no games before Christmas this year. Over the past four seasons, the Celtics were a ridiculous 94-14 (.870) before Santa's arrival and a much more pedestrian 140-80 (.636) afterward.

In the big picture, the Celtics shape up for this season as Mavericks East: They're a Tier B contender, but rather than ride their veterans slowly down the tubes, they've built around short-term contracts and given themselves an opportunity to completely reshape the roster after the season. Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo are the only rotation players with contracts for next year, presuming Bass opts out, and Boston will have more than $20 million in cap space and two first-round picks next summer.

[KCattheStripe]

I would love a situation in which we play the Bulls in the semis and NYK play the Heat. I like both Atlantic eam's chances in those series and I think we can beat the knicks.

[Evantime34]

I really don't know what to make of this. I really don't like Hollinger because he often bags on the majority of the players I like and most noteably knocks the Celtics down a peg.

Now I will find myself using this article as defense when my Knicks fan friends say we're going to suck.

[BballTim]

I think the toll the condensced schedule will place on the Celtics' starters will prove to be too much, especially if (when) JO misses considerable time. I see us finishing around 4th or 5th and just praying we come around healthy at the end.

That said, 3rd seems to be the ceiling. We're not going to out-run the Bulls or Heat in the regular season without an injury to LBJ or Derrick Rose. We couldn't do it last year, and there is no way we can do it this year.

  Last year we were in the driver's seat for top seed until Rondo's March swoon. This year, with the busy schedule, I don't think they should kill themselves over seeding but I don't see a big dropoff from where we ended up last year.

[j804]

It's funny I made that comparison when preseason started that we can be a sleeper like the Mavs were out west

[LooseCannon]

I think 43-23 and a #3 seed are both reasonable projections.  That extrapolates to 53 wins in an 82 game season, which again seems reasonable.

He predicted 51 wins last season, so either he thinks the Celtics have improved or he is hedging less against a possible decline due to age.  It's possible the Big Three could all be above-average NBA starters at their positions for three more seasons.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

TP to OP for being the first to mention this on CB.