bulls just got beat just as bad as we did. ya'll counting them out too?

[Celtics18]

You know these group of Celtic fans are a bunch of Negative Nellies who is ready to blow up our team with each and every loss and who see anything short of winning a championship as a total failure. If that's the level you need to feel good about a season, guess what, you're going to be a pretty miserable fan. Not only have the Celtics not been looking like they're going to win it this season, but lets grasp at the reality that they only won 1 championship in the last 25 years! You can't just expect that every year your team should be there because it doesn't happen like that. Even the dynasties have 4-6 good years and then its over. We've been blessed with 4 really awesome years and I'd say we'll compete for another good season, but you can't tell these guys that.

You can't tell them that the Celtics are obviously old, have new players and had no time to gel with hardly any practice heading into the season after a lockout.

You can't tell them that they only lost to the Knicks on their home court by 2 measly points.

You can't tell them that they nearly pulled off an awesome comeback against the Miami Heat when they went to a zone defense at the end of the game while they were getting blown out.

You can't tell them that Paul Pierce was on the bench for the first 3 games of the season and that he does matter and that we are 4-1 since his return.

You can't tell them that the Celtics opened the season playing 3 out of 4 nights on the road which would have tired out just about any team.

You can't tell them that losing to the Pacers was just one bad game and Paul Pierce shot 3 for 17.

No, all they want to see is the Negative. They only want to blow the team up. Have no loyalty to our team or players because they prefer to trade them away for just about anything they perceive as value. Want to act like we're the worst team out there. Have hardly a chance at making anything approaching a top 4 seed for the playoffs, let alone even making the playoffs or how about, not even having a winning season.

No, its all just doom and gloom and no faith and let down and woe and sadness and madness and the end of the world.

Yeah, maybe we've grasped that it looks unlikely that we'll be hanging banner #18 at the end of this season. But it's looked very unlikely that was going to happen 90% of the time since 1986. So be miserable if that's the way you want it to be. I could tell which one of you's Id want on the battlefield and which ones should be sent home from bootcamp.

Is it pessimism to recognize that in a condensed season with a huge number of back to backs, teams that are deep, young, and athletic are going to have a very serious advantage over teams that are none of those things?

Maybe? Back-to-backs will probably take a toll on both young and veteran teams. But as far as C's fans being pessimistic, what's new that's just Celts fans being who they are, negative!

I don't think the younger more athletic contenders are necessarily deeper than the Celtics.

I think the condensed season will show some chinks in the armor of teams who rely so heavily on one or two guys to shoulder the load.  We'll see how Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony,  Amare Stoudemire, and the like handle it as the year progresses.

[celtsfan84]

The Spurs are 3-0 since Manu broke his hand with a win over Denver.

The HEAT just beat the Hawks without LeBron and Wade (two players better than anyone in our Big 4).

You are allowed to win games while dealing with injuries and also allowed to score more than 25 points in one half.

Regarding the 08 Celtics and 10 Celtics, yes we remember.  We also remember the 84 Celtics and 86 Celtics. Followed by the 89 Celtics who lost in Round 1. Having similar names and the same colored jerseys doesn't mean the same result.

I think the true pessimism comes from those who don't want us to rebuild so we can sink into an abyss like the mid-90s.  When you rebuild improperly or wait too long, you end up like the 90s Celtics or the current Kings.  Do you want to be the Sacramento Kings?

[greenpride32]

The compressed schedule is really going to take a toll on this team and their record.  I think if our roster is healthy we are capable of beating any team in a 7 game series.  But we're going to end up with a lower seed meaning a path to the Finals is going to be something like @CHI @MIA @WestConfChamp.  The odds of surviving that are not very good, meaning we really need to rely on luck/upsets.

BTW there have been lots of lopsided scores (20+ margins) in the NBA this year due to the schedule.  Just the other night PHX beat POR by over 20; are you going to count POR out because of that?  Regardless of score, the C's have not looked good overall in their first 8 games.

[Lord of Mikawa]

The only bad thing about this Bulls team is that when it sucks, it really sucks. Then D Rose has to will his team back in it and I'm not sure if they can win a championship like that. We don't have that same excuse.

[Tgro]

Is it pessimism to recognize that in a condensed season with a huge number of back to backs, teams that are deep, young, and athletic are going to have a very serious advantage over teams that are none of those things?

Never forget the Champs of '08, or the gutsy warriors of '10.

 

You obviously forgot!

how exactly did i forget, pray tell?

the '10 team slogged through the regular season and went .500 for most of the 09-10 season.  now, this regular season is going to have way more back to backs and tough stretches than that season, and our roster is even older.  

how exactly am i "forgetting" that team when i recognize that in all likelihood this team is going to struggle with the schedule and probably hover near .500 for most of the season?

"I know you all wanna win, but you gotta do it TOGETHER!"
- Doc Rivers

It's amazing you watched the team struggle though the '09-'10 season who did absolutely overcome just about everything and no one and I mean NO ONE gave them a chance and you're the one throwing in the towel after just 8 games this season. 3 of those without Pierce. And your quote asks us to never forget!

REALLY??? Are you serious!?

Do you think the Celtics have gotten as good as they're going to get this year already? Have they gotten it together??? If we shouldn't forget the gutsy warriors of '10, shouldn't we at least give the team of '12 a chance???

Sorry, but you have forgotten.

[vinnie]

No, the Bulls are still a far better team than the Celtics and have a 7-2 record.

I really don't care about the Bulls or anyone else. I care more about what I see in the Celtics, and that is not a team that is going to win the championship. It is disappointing, but they can't win every year. And, it is going to be interesting to watch the rebuilding of this team.

[LeoMoreno]

TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THIS SEASON:

Remember 2009/2010. We weren't a factor in the regular season. We lost 4 to Atlanta. We lost to Clippers after having 20+ lead. We lost more than 15 games that season after having 20+ lead. Everyone was talking about us being done. Then we went on to beat Miami 4-1 after everyone predicting 4-1 in the favour of Heat. We passed Cleveland with 4-2 after predictions of us losing 1-4, we spat on Orlando, and we came 4 points away from winning a championship.

REGULAR SEASON DOES NOT MATTER, PLAYOFFS DO.

[PosImpos]

Is it pessimism to recognize that in a condensed season with a huge number of back to backs, teams that are deep, young, and athletic are going to have a very serious advantage over teams that are none of those things?

Never forget the Champs of '08, or the gutsy warriors of '10.

 

You obviously forgot!

how exactly did i forget, pray tell?

the '10 team slogged through the regular season and went .500 for most of the 09-10 season.  now, this regular season is going to have way more back to backs and tough stretches than that season, and our roster is even older. 

how exactly am i "forgetting" that team when i recognize that in all likelihood this team is going to struggle with the schedule and probably hover near .500 for most of the season?

"I know you all wanna win, but you gotta do it TOGETHER!"
- Doc Rivers

It's amazing you watched the team struggle though the '09-'10 season who did absolutely overcome just about everything and no one and I mean NO ONE gave them a chance and you're the one throwing in the towel after just 8 games this season. 3 of those without Pierce. And your quote asks us to never forget!

REALLY??? Are you serious!?

Do you think the Celtics have gotten as good as they're going to get this year already? Have they gotten it together??? If we shouldn't forget the gutsy warriors of '10, shouldn't we at least give the team of '12 a chance???

Sorry, but you have forgotten.

Right now, I'm only talking about the regular season.  I've not forgotten anything.  Everything we've seen from this team (and from other older teams in the past) suggests that they're going to struggle during this regular season.

As for the playoffs, I've had my expectations pretty much set since before the season started, and those expectations haven't changed any.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

What is most telling to me after 1/8 the season is this trend:

2007-2008:  9-1  finished: 66-16
2008-2009:  8-2  finished: 62-20
2009-2010:  8-2  finished: 50-32
2010-2011:  8-2  finished: 56-26
2011-2012:  4-4

The team has had good starts the past four years that helped keep their record floating later in the season when their performance slumped.  4 years in a row.

This year, their starting record is poor enough that they will need to improve their performance later on in the year to boost their record for the playoffs.  The exact opposite situation.

Maybe it's a case of these players having 'caught the rabbit' and not really caring until playoffs time.  But if that's the case, we'd have to question why it wasn't the case last year, and the year before that, and before that.

In the seasons prior, did they not have a training camp and many more preseason games? Yea, okay.

[MF Doom]

excuses are for losers. the celtics aren't winning this year. go figure

[RayAllen4Three]

TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THIS SEASON:

Remember 2009/2010. We weren't a factor in the regular season. We lost 4 to Atlanta. We lost to Clippers after having 20+ lead. We lost more than 15 games that season after having 20+ lead. Everyone was talking about us being done. Then we went on to beat Miami 4-1 after everyone predicting 4-1 in the favour of Heat. We passed Cleveland with 4-2 after predictions of us losing 1-4, we spat on Orlando, and we came 4 points away from winning a championship.

REGULAR SEASON DOES NOT MATTER, PLAYOFFS DO.

Except for the fact that the reason we didn't win the finals is because we couldn't hold a 4th quarter lead. The same problem we had ALL THROUGHOUT THE REGULAR SEASON.

If you think the problems we're having now, getting off to slow starts and an inability to beat contenders; if you think those problems are going to go away just because the playoffs roll around...

Not to mention the fact that we didn't have home court advantage ultimately hurt us in the finals, not to mention the road it took to get there...

Don't tell me Regular Season doesn't matter.

[Lord of Mikawa]

I don't see why we aren't on the constant attack early on. The defense will come.

[PosImpos]

Except for the fact that the reason we didn't win the finals is because we couldn't hold a 4th quarter lead. The same problem we had ALL THROUGHOUT THE REGULAR SEASON.

Yep.

[Lord of Mikawa]

Except for the fact that the reason we didn't win the finals is because we couldn't hold a 4th quarter lead. The same problem we had ALL THROUGHOUT THE REGULAR SEASON.

Yep.

Stop it. You are making me have flashbacks when I watched that game in the 3rd Quarter and I was like "ah man why can't this be 2008".

[kgiessler]

What is most telling to me after 1/8 the season is this trend:

2007-2008:  9-1  finished: 66-16
2008-2009:  8-2  finished: 62-20
2009-2010:  8-2  finished: 50-32
2010-2011:  8-2  finished: 56-26
2011-2012:  4-4

The team has had good starts the past four years that helped keep their record floating later in the season when their performance slumped.  4 years in a row.

This year, their starting record is poor enough that they will need to improve their performance later on in the year to boost their record for the playoffs.  The exact opposite situation.

Maybe it's a case of these players having 'caught the rabbit' and not really caring until playoffs time.  But if that's the case, we'd have to question why it wasn't the case last year, and the year before that, and before that.

In the seasons prior, did they not have a training camp and many more preseason games? Yea, okay.

I think the meaning behind what I was saying has been lost.  I'll copy a reply I made earlier to a similar comment.

"No, they [didn't].  It's not to suggest that there aren't reasons they haven't started out as well.  Some poster earlier went on an on about the reasons the Celtics aren't doing well.

The reasons persist. Having a reason for doing poorly is not a substitute for doing well."

At the end of the day, the situation exists that the team's record needs to be compensated in the other direction than it has been in the past four years.

They need to do *better* later in the season whereas they have consistently done *worse*.