#1 Factor Haunting the Celtics over these past 4 seasons?

[LB3533]

Injuries are a big concern, but every team runs into this concern from time to time.

I think the biggest factor was our depth and poor bench. Now some of this had to do with injuries and our bench became our starters, and also sometimes our bench became injured too or unavailable (Delonte West).

I just remember every year we try to "reload" in the offseason and it seems as though each and every offseason we get some decent bench players, but they either turn out to be injury prone, unavailable, or ineffective.

I just don't think Danny has done a good job assembling the parts to surround our core.

[bbd24]

Injuries are a big concern, but every team runs into this concern from time to time.

I think the biggest factor was our depth and poor bench. Now some of this had to do with injuries and our bench became our starters, and also sometimes our bench became injured too or unavailable (Delonte West).

I just remember every year we try to "reload" in the offseason and it seems as though each and every offseason we get some decent bench players, but they either turn out to be injury prone, unavailable, or ineffective.

I just don't think Danny has done a good job assembling the parts to surround our core.

Pretty tough statement to make when your team makes it to the Eastern Conference Finals 3 out of 5 years with the big 3.  That's a heck of a job by your GM, especially when 3 guys make a ton of 'loot' and limit your cash on hand.

[theswitch]

It's pretty hard to foresee two heart aneurysms to arguably your two main bench players.

[Fafnir]

KG's major injury, nothing more nothing less.

He was out one playoff run and relatively hobbled as far as rebounding and other aspects of his game for another playoff run (one in which the C's made game 7 of the Finals ANYWAYS)

KG got 4, 4, 6, 6, 10 , 6, 3 rebounds in the 7 games while playing 30+ minutes in all but one of them. By the next year he'd recovered fully and was more in a natural level of decline due to age, but Ray Allen/PP's decline set in more severely...

Even considering that, the team acquitted itself very well. The Celtics franchise has won so many close games in their many other titles, we came out the wrong side of one during the first three years when we were setup to be the best team in the league. Sucks but it happens.

[Prof. Clutch]

I think rebounding has been consistently a problem over the last few years.

[Donoghus]

Injuries.  No doubt in my mind.  

KG in '09 most likely cost the Celtics back to back titles.

Then you look at 2010 and the Finals and if Perk doesn't get hurt in Game 6, then you're looking at a possible 3-peat.

'10-11, I think was due to a combination of injuries, father time, and depth.  Probably the worst Celtics team of the past five year and that's really not meant to be demeaning.

This season was another combination of injuries, father time playing a much bigger role, and depth. Injuries & depth hand in hand this season. Yet, they were still a title contender.

#1, though?  Gotta be injuries.

[BballTim]

  Injuries is generally the reason that we lose our depth. Dooling/Bradley/Green/Wilcox/(Bass or JO) would be the best bench in the league. Also, multiple injuries at the same postion can be painful, like Bradley and Allen or KG and Powe (imagine, we'd hve gone at least to the ECF and possibly to the finals in 2009 if we'd just had a healthy Leon Powe).

[bbd24]

Injuries.  No doubt in my mind.  

KG in '09 most likely cost the Celtics back to back titles.

Then you look at 2010 and the Finals and if Perk doesn't get hurt in Game 6, then you're looking at a possible 3-peat.

'10-11, I think was due to a combination of injuries, father time, and depth.  Probably the worst Celtics team of the past five year and that's really not meant to be demeaning.

This season was another combination of injuries, father time playing a much bigger role, and depth. Injuries & depth hand in hand this season. Yet, they were still a title contender.

#1, though?  Gotta be injuries.

It really is the only option.  Like you state, injuries kept you from a banner in 2010.  You can even make a case that the same happened this year, with key guys like Wilcox, Green, & Bradley out.  Those are a lot of minutes to lose & make patch work out of.

Ainge has done one heck of a job with our roster the last 5 years.  I mean the 2nd and 3rd stringers could compete right in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference.  That's pretty darn solid.

[Jon]

It really is injuries.  And not just the fact that had KG not gotten hurt in 2009, Perk in 2010, and Shaq last year, they might've won a title.  It's as others have said that KG took really two years to recover from the injury, and even then, wasn't the same. 

It'd be one thing if he simply missed 2009, but the injury hurt him in 2010 too.  Had he bounced back to '08 level in '10, there likely wouldn't have been a Game 7 (or perhaps even a Game 6). 

And while every team has injuries, let's not pretend like it's always equitable.  This year we certainly can't use that excuse given the what Orlando, Chicago (and even Miami) had to deal with, but in other years we could've. 

[mctyson]

Injuries are a big concern, but every team runs into this concern from time to time.

I think the biggest factor was our depth and poor bench. Now some of this had to do with injuries and our bench became our starters, and also sometimes our bench became injured too or unavailable (Delonte West).

I just remember every year we try to "reload" in the offseason and it seems as though each and every offseason we get some decent bench players, but they either turn out to be injury prone, unavailable, or ineffective.

I just don't think Danny has done a good job assembling the parts to surround our core.

Bob Ryan made this argument when the Big 3 were first assembled, basically saying that we had the worst bench in the NBA, and that this would be our downfall.  It wasn't great, but the need for a good bench was certainly overrated.

If you want to make the bench/depth argument, I would tie it back to injuries, and say that our lack of a strong bench and depth forced our starters to maybe play more than Doc would have like to play them, and that this eventually takes a toll with age.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Injuries.  No doubt in my mind.  

KG in '09 most likely cost the Celtics back to back titles.

Then you look at 2010 and the Finals and if Perk doesn't get hurt in Game 6, then you're looking at a possible 3-peat.

'10-11, I think was due to a combination of injuries, father time, and depth.  Probably the worst Celtics team of the past five year and that's really not meant to be demeaning.

This season was another combination of injuries, father time playing a much bigger role, and depth. Injuries & depth hand in hand this season. Yet, they were still a title contender.

#1, though?  Gotta be injuries.

Ditto. KG's was the worst, derailing the '09 campaign and severely limiting his level of play in '10. I think they had a serious shot at a three-peat, and thinking about that really bums me out—to think, we could've had 19 or 20 banners by now! Danny almost gave us the greatest Celtics run since Russell's era, but here's to hoping the next good era happens soon, and ISN'T wrecked by injuries.

[2short]

Injuries.  No doubt in my mind.  

KG in '09 most likely cost the Celtics back to back titles.

Then you look at 2010 and the Finals and if Perk doesn't get hurt in Game 6, then you're looking at a possible 3-peat.

'10-11, I think was due to a combination of injuries, father time, and depth.  Probably the worst Celtics team of the past five year and that's really not meant to be demeaning.

This season was another combination of injuries, father time playing a much bigger role, and depth. Injuries & depth hand in hand this season. Yet, they were still a title contender.

#1, though?  Gotta be injuries.

wow great basketball minds think alike 
tp for being so exact in what i think is the correct answer

[GreenNote]

I think rebounding has been consistently a problem over the last few years.

I agree

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I think rebounding has been consistently a problem over the last few years.

I agree

I absolutely agree, although if KG had been healthy in the '10 Finals, I think Boston would've won (KG hit double digits in rebounds in only 1 of the 7 games).

[Fafnir]

I think rebounding has been consistently a problem over the last few years.

I agree

I absolutely agree, although if KG had been healthy in the '10 Finals, I think Boston would've won (KG hit double digits in rebounds in only 1 of the 7 games).

I can't say rebounding over injuries, when KG's (and some others) injury was the root start of the rebounding and offensive woes of the C's.