Calm down everyone, well be fine

[theswitch]

Tough beat for Boston. Will be fine once Pierce, Pietrus get into the lineup. Size still an issue. JO: no points, one rebound.

Chris Mannix and I agree with the OP as well.

He is right, but also right about JO. This team does not have a center

Not sure what happened to camp MVP.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Tough beat for Boston. Will be fine once Pierce, Pietrus get into the lineup. Size still an issue. JO: no points, one rebound.

Chris Mannix and I agree with the OP as well.

He is right, but also right about JO. This team does not have a center

Not sure what happened to camp MVP.

I think it's mainly a result of playing 2 fast pace dynamic offenses filled with talented athletic players.

I think he'll be better against other teams, but certainly discouraged by what I'm seeing.

[theswitch]

Tough beat for Boston. Will be fine once Pierce, Pietrus get into the lineup. Size still an issue. JO: no points, one rebound.

Chris Mannix and I agree with the OP as well.

He is right, but also right about JO. This team does not have a center

Not sure what happened to camp MVP.

I think it's mainly a result of playing 2 fast pace dynamic offenses filled with talented athletic players.

I think he'll be better against other teams, but certainly discouraged by what I'm seeing.

Wishful thinking, would like to see JJJ play at least a little bit against these athletic teams. Should see a little bit of him tomorrow.

[cman88]

I thought JO played pretty well against the Knicks..2 blocks, 6points. he had a horrid game today though.

[guava_wrench]

time to step away from the ledge guys. we are missing our #1 scorer and 2nd best SF off the bench to take on lebron..even just add pierce and we are a totally different team. Everyone expected us to lose this game on this board, and now all of a sudden its a sign we are done?

...  I'd feel a lot better if we weren't so dependent on the good health of a lot of older guys who have been dealing with injury issues.  Pierce's heel has the potential to be something that slows him down all year.  Same with Pietrus' knees, and same with everything about JO.  KG's missed some time, and very well could do so again this year.  Love seeing Quis back, but he's made of glass.  Ray's been a warrior, but he's barely younger than Bill Russell.

That's a lot of our best players and a lot of our depth that we really need to stay healthy to make a real run this year.  I just worry that the odds say we lose a couple of these guys for an extended period this year.

Which means...  we're likely going to be playing a lot of games without Pierce, or without KG, or relying on guys like Bradley or Dooling to play extended minutes on the bench.  That's just how the team is set up right now - the odds really seem stacked against this team being able to play up to its potential.

It is worth the gamble. Better to take the chance that we can be healthy enough in the playoffs to make it interesting than to begin the descent into rebuilding mediocrity which is also a gamble.

I say max out the good years and then if we end up no longer playoff contenders, so be it. It happens to everyone except the Lakers unless they draft an all time great.

[apc]

i have seen a lot of positive in the first two games. nice comebacks, bench contribution. i think we have what to look forward to.

[Yugocelt]

Braveheart performances against NY and Miami.  This team has heart.  We will be fine.

[twinbree]

The team needs time. A lot of it. So it's too early for me to fret. The short training camp and preseason really hurts because Doc's system needs a lot of practice especially defense. Even during the season when the team goes a few games without practice Doc would start complaining about slippage. I can't imagine how hard it is to get the new guys assimilated on the fly.

The advantage we had the past couple of seasons starting strong out of the gate was continuity. This season we basically have Rondo, Ray, KG and a bunch of new guys.

[action781]

Extremely happy with how the celts have stayed in close games against 2 of the best teams in the eastern conference without Pierce.  I didn't think I could be as happy with an 0-2 start as I am now.

[nicknorman]

Not only did we almost win, we did it with 2 awful 4th quarter calls, a bad tech, and JO basically being an afterthought.  KG wasn't his dominent self either.

If anything these games prove that DOC is an elite coach, especially with the zone d that Spoelstra had no response to except luck out on Cole finding his shot.

The Celts have had an impossible schedule so far, and are showing flashes of greatness.  Wait till they come home and get Pierce back.

[vinnie]

The team needs time. A lot of it. So it's too early for me to fret. The short training camp and preseason really hurts because Doc's system needs a lot of practice especially defense. Even during the season when the team goes a few games without practice Doc would start complaining about slippage. I can't imagine how hard it is to get the new guys assimilated on the fly.

The advantage we had the past couple of seasons starting strong out of the gate was continuity. This season we basically have Rondo, Ray, KG and a bunch of new guys.

And thus the problem. I heard the other night that with the compressed schedule, teams will be lucky to get 12 or 13 full practices this year. Just one more thing that does not bode well and why I think they will win 38 games max.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I thought JO played pretty well against the Knicks..2 blocks, 6points. he had a horrid game today though.

Sure, good if you are a bench player but sadly, he is the starter! He hasn't been good in either of our 4 games!

[theswitch]

I thought JO played pretty well against the Knicks..2 blocks, 6points. he had a horrid game today though.

Sure, good if you are a bench player but sadly, he is the starter! He hasn't been good in either of our 4 games!

I thought JO looked pretty solid in the preseason - then again, the Raptors don't have anywhere near the athleticism of the Knicks or Heat. This performance stands out as his sole real terrible game, I thought he was fine against NYC.

[gar]

I thought JO played pretty well against the Knicks..2 blocks, 6points. he had a horrid game today though.

Sure, good if you are a bench player but sadly, he is the starter! He hasn't been good in either of our 4 games!

I thought JO looked pretty solid in the preseason - then again, the Raptors don't have anywhere near the athleticism of the Knicks or Heat. This performance stands out as his sole real terrible game, I thought he was fine against NYC.

Rebounding once again is the killer. Both teams are shooting high percentages; but to be down ten one rebounds is not going to get it done.

[j804]

Tough beat for Boston. Will be fine once Pierce, Pietrus get into the lineup. Size still an issue. JO: no points, one rebound.

Chris Mannix and I agree with the OP as well.

yeah, so far I think the only thing we can be sure of is that JO looks just about done and this team desperately lacks a true center.  otherwise, they've played two very good teams and been in it at the end despite missing their best offensive player.

the fact that JO looks like a complete non-factor is a pretty serious concern, though.  we really need to be getting production from a guy who plays 20+ minutes a night.  without JO, this team is totally lacking in size.

Eric Dampier? Mbenga? JO is that bad I don't see how it hurts