Still can't beat the Heat!!!

[European NBA fan]

The Bulls will struggle this season. Not only will they have Hinrich as their starting point guard for most of the season, but they have lost their bench identity with Asik, Korver, Watson, Brewer. That bench was the key factor for them last season, while Rose was out. And without Rose and the bench mob, they are not a top 3 team in the east.  

[LarBrd33]

lets watch some games first, see who breaks out, and see how the rosters play themselves out. It is way too early to determine stuff like this.

Agreed.

Way too early to make these assumptions.

After all, we were 15-17 up to the All-Star break last season, and we all know how that ended up.

Yeah, us losing to the heat for the second year in a row.

without avery, green, wilcox, JO, and pierce/ray/stiemsma playing injured.

excuses? no but we had almost no depth and we took them to 7. its not the same as "losing to the heat."

Nah you can't do that.  If you're playing the excuse game then you have to acknowledge that the Celtics had trouble beating the Hawks once Horford showed up (understandably rusty with several months away from the game).  Healthy Horford would have been trouble.  You'd also have to acknowledge that the Bulls would have torched us in the 2nd round had they not been without the 2011 MVP and 2nd best player.  Also have to acknowledge that the Heat took care of us easily once Bosh started getting minutes.  

King James and the Heat are the champs until otherwise noted.  The second best team in the East has to be a healthy Bulls team (they were seen as the favorite until the injuries).  Celtics at the most are 3rd.

[Lightskinsmurf]

I know it's early but I think we as fan can see what talent we have.  It's not like we're going to add a big name and I think the Heat are done too.  So with our teams pretty much set, I still say we can't beat them.  It's going to suck to lose to them 3 years in a row is my point.

Yeah, but after witnessing BOS's run post-All Star break last season, we all know we can't make assumptions with THIS group, lol.

While I don't think we will start out slow like that again (thanks to a full training camp and rest in between games), I'm sure we will still have some valleys during the season.

But BOS will end up with another long season next year. Until MIA's beaten us three times in a row I'm not conceding anything to them.

What, twice isn't enough for you?

[pearljammer10]

i think we will finish ahead of indy and it will be close between us and the bulls... thats if we actually play in the regular season and not just wait for the playoffs.

[Celtics4ever]

We had them beat last year and Stern got involved with his refs.   I like our chances the HEAT got lucky this year.   We didn't have Bradley, Ray was hurt, they had tons of ref help, we didn't have Green, we didn't have Wilcox and we still had them beat until Stern interceded.

I bet their are crapping their pants at the idea of playing us.   I can't wait until Rondo blocks Ray Allen.

[bucknersrevenge]

We're about championships I thought! The only reason why I started this thread is to point out I do not think we can beat the Heat.  If we can't beat them then obviously we are not winning #18.  I wanted to see what other fans thought.  Getting to the playoffs, winning the division and making it to the semis or ECF isn't what we want.  So if we do not have a team that I don't think can beat the Heat and many others agree then shouldn't we try something else?

Fair point. If you don't think we can beat the Heat then I see why you would feel that way. Me, I think we can beat the Heat. We got close last year with an ineffective bench and poor perimeter defense that led to WAY too much penetration by LBJ and Wade leading to a slew of open looks by Battier, Chalmers, and Bosh. Their offense hasn't change but we have added more consistent perimeter defense, better bench production and improved overall efficiency.

Rondo is gonna have a ton of toys to play with season and this season he's gonna be dealing to all players like a blackjack deal in Vegas. It's gonna be Nash-esque. No doubt in my mind we can beat Miami.

EDIT: BTW, has anyone seen what's going on with that Bulls team right now? They're getting picked clean. How dare ANYBODY put that Bulls team over us.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

lets watch some games first, see who breaks out, and see how the rosters play themselves out. It is way too early to determine stuff like this.

Agreed.

Way too early to make these assumptions.

After all, we were 15-17 up to the All-Star break last season, and we all know how that ended up.

Yeah, us losing to the heat for the second year in a row.

without avery, green, wilcox, JO, and pierce/ray/stiemsma playing injured.

excuses? no but we had almost no depth and we took them to 7. its not the same as "losing to the heat."

Nah you can't do that.  If you're playing the excuse game then you have to acknowledge that the Celtics had trouble beating the Hawks once Horford showed up (understandably rusty with several months away from the game).  Healthy Horford would have been trouble.  You'd also have to acknowledge that the Bulls would have torched us in the 2nd round had they not been without the 2011 MVP and 2nd best player.  Also have to acknowledge that the Heat took care of us easily once Bosh started getting minutes. 

King James and the Heat are the champs until otherwise noted.  The second best team in the East has to be a healthy Bulls team (they were seen as the favorite until the injuries).  Celtics at the most are 3rd.

The heat did not take care of us easily with bosh. Last i checked they lost to us in game 5, and LEBRON NOT bosh is the one who had the awesome night in game 6, and last I checked we had a 10 point lead on the road in game 7. We just could not close out for all the reasons stated before. Bosh did play well at the end of that game without a doubt. Again though, I'll take Kenny Smith's opinion over yours. Which has been discussed here ad nauseum.

And I agree, the Heat are the team to beat in the east right now and they deservedly should be. But for the Original Poster who started the thread his defeatist attitude is sad indeed.

oh and yes he can do that, bottom line is regardless who was out for the bulls, heat, celtics, hawks, is the heat were supposed to DESTROY the celts in 4 maybe 5. in no way shape  or form did they demonstrate that nor were they in a position to do that. The heat were in a fight for their lives and they knew it. The celtics shoulda/coulda have beaten the sixers in 5....and we all know it but they got lax. The sixers did not play us like we did the heat. Our offense was better against the heat than philly.  I'll give the sixers credit for that.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

We had them beat last year and Stern got involved with his refs.   I like our chances the HEAT got lucky this year.   We didn't have Bradley, Ray was hurt, they had tons of ref help, we didn't have Green, we didn't have Wilcox and we still had them beat until Stern interceded.

I bet their are crapping their pants at the idea of playing us.   I can't wait until Rondo blocks Ray Allen.

we outplayed them in 4 straight games. we could have won the series in 5. sound crazy? not at all if people actually watch the process and not just the boxscores. and to think the heat were supposed to beat us in 5 and we almost did the same to them. we will be better this year and much deeper. I expect the heat to be better also. They are the team we have to gun for. be nice if they flop in the first round though so we do not even have to play them. I'll take it anyway I can get it. 18 that is! But if we have to which I expect we will be ready.

[RJ87]

So why even bother playing the games? Let's forget training camp, send everyone home and pack it in. We can get the gang back together when Lebron blows out a knee.

Whatever to this thread. I'm excited about our team and this upcoming season - really, I haven't been this impressed by a Celtics offseason since 2007.

I think this team can take down the Evil Empire the Heat.

[Lightskinsmurf]

lets watch some games first, see who breaks out, and see how the rosters play themselves out. It is way too early to determine stuff like this.

Agreed.

Way too early to make these assumptions.

After all, we were 15-17 up to the All-Star break last season, and we all know how that ended up.

Yeah, us losing to the heat for the second year in a row.

without avery, green, wilcox, JO, and pierce/ray/stiemsma playing injured.

excuses? no but we had almost no depth and we took them to 7. its not the same as "losing to the heat."

Nah you can't do that.  If you're playing the excuse game then you have to acknowledge that the Celtics had trouble beating the Hawks once Horford showed up (understandably rusty with several months away from the game).  Healthy Horford would have been trouble.  You'd also have to acknowledge that the Bulls would have torched us in the 2nd round had they not been without the 2011 MVP and 2nd best player.  Also have to acknowledge that the Heat took care of us easily once Bosh started getting minutes.  

King James and the Heat are the champs until otherwise noted.  The second best team in the East has to be a healthy Bulls team (they were seen as the favorite until the injuries).  Celtics at the most are 3rd.

The heat did not take care of us easily with bosh. Last i checked they lost to us in game 5, and LEBRON NOT bosh is the one who had the awesome night in game 6, and last I checked we had a 10 point lead on the road in game 7. We just could not close out for all the reasons stated before. Bosh did play well at the end of that game without a doubt. Again though, I'll take Kenny Smith's opinion over yours. Which has been discussed here ad nauseum.

And I agree, the Heat are the team to beat in the east right now and they deservedly should be. But for the Original Poster who started the thread his defeatist attitude is sad indeed.

oh and yes he can do that, bottom line is regardless who was out for the bulls, heat, celtics, hawks, is the heat were supposed to DESTROY the celts in 4 maybe 5. in no way shape  or form did they demonstrate that nor were they in a position to do that. The heat were in a fight for their lives and they knew it. The celtics shoulda/coulda have beaten the sixers in 5....and we all know it but they got lax. The sixers did not play us like we did the heat. Our offense was better against the heat than philly.  I'll give the sixers credit for that.

I hate when people use this STUPID argument. Doesn't matter how many games it takes you to beat a team all that matters is you beat the team. Took us 7 games to beat the hawks and the cavs in the championship year so what.
Please do NOT belittle other people, their posts, or their arguments.

[fairweatherfan06]

Celtics will finish 4th for playoff seeding and will face the Knicks in the first round next year, squeeking by them in 7 games which will match us up against the Heat in the semis.  As constructed how do you see us doing minus any major injuries to either team??

Playoff seedings

1. Heat
2. Indy
3. Bulls
4. Celtics
5. Knicks
6. Nets
7. Cavs
8. Milwaukee

No way Indy is talented enough for a second seed. Not sold the Bulls sans Rose can get a third seed either, although the Central division is weak, so there is that.  Outside of the fact that the Atlantic will be tougher with an improved Knicks, Nets, and Philly still being pretty good. Our path to a 2nd seed seems pretty clear. Atlanta and Orlando are in full rebuild, Cavs and Bucks may fight for an 8th seed but I think the Wizards as constructed look like a 6 or 7 seed. Not accounting for injuries on PAPER its the Heat, Celtics and everybody else in the East.

[RJ87]

Celtics will finish 4th for playoff seeding and will face the Knicks in the first round next year, squeeking by them in 7 games which will match us up against the Heat in the semis.  As constructed how do you see us doing minus any major injuries to either team??

Playoff seedings

1. Heat
2. Indy
3. Bulls
4. Celtics
5. Knicks
6. Nets
7. Cavs
8. Milwaukee

No way Indy is talented enough for a second seed. Not sold the Bulls sans Rose can get a third seed either, although the Central division is weak, so there is that.  Outside of the fact that the Atlantic will be tougher with an improved Knicks, Nets, and Philly still being pretty good. Our path to a 2nd seed seems pretty clear. Atlanta and Orlando are in full rebuild, Cavs and Bucks may fight for an 8th seed but I think the Wizards as constructed look like a 6 or 7 seed. Not accounting for injuries on PAPER its the Heat, Celtics and everybody else in the East.

The funny thing is, if you go over to Blog-A-Bull, there are diehard Bulls questioning if they'lleven make the playoffs this season and if they do it will be as 7th or 8th seed at best. And here people are handing them the 3rd seed. Comical.

[bucknersrevenge]

Celtics will finish 4th for playoff seeding and will face the Knicks in the first round next year, squeeking by them in 7 games which will match us up against the Heat in the semis.  As constructed how do you see us doing minus any major injuries to either team??

Playoff seedings

1. Heat
2. Indy
3. Bulls
4. Celtics
5. Knicks
6. Nets
7. Cavs
8. Milwaukee

No way Indy is talented enough for a second seed. Not sold the Bulls sans Rose can get a third seed either, although the Central division is weak, so there is that.  Outside of the fact that the Atlantic will be tougher with an improved Knicks, Nets, and Philly still being pretty good. Our path to a 2nd seed seems pretty clear. Atlanta and Orlando are in full rebuild, Cavs and Bucks may fight for an 8th seed but I think the Wizards as constructed look like a 6 or 7 seed. Not accounting for injuries on PAPER its the Heat, Celtics and everybody else in the East.

Indy has an extraordinarily deep and talented team. However one move they made is a bit puzzling and that was moving Collison for Mahinmi. They replaced Collison with DJ Augustin and to me that is a net downgrade. Augustin doesn't have the toughness and the moxie to run that team with the same aggression Collison did and that could be a big difference. He's certainly not as good defensively.

We have some injury question marks on our team for sure but on paper, Can't nobody tell me we aren't as talented as that Indy team.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

lets watch some games first, see who breaks out, and see how the rosters play themselves out. It is way too early to determine stuff like this.

Agreed.

Way too early to make these assumptions.

After all, we were 15-17 up to the All-Star break last season, and we all know how that ended up.

Yeah, us losing to the heat for the second year in a row.

without avery, green, wilcox, JO, and pierce/ray/stiemsma playing injured.

excuses? no but we had almost no depth and we took them to 7. its not the same as "losing to the heat."

Nah you can't do that.  If you're playing the excuse game then you have to acknowledge that the Celtics had trouble beating the Hawks once Horford showed up (understandably rusty with several months away from the game).  Healthy Horford would have been trouble.  You'd also have to acknowledge that the Bulls would have torched us in the 2nd round had they not been without the 2011 MVP and 2nd best player.  Also have to acknowledge that the Heat took care of us easily once Bosh started getting minutes. 

King James and the Heat are the champs until otherwise noted.  The second best team in the East has to be a healthy Bulls team (they were seen as the favorite until the injuries).  Celtics at the most are 3rd.

The heat did not take care of us easily with bosh. Last i checked they lost to us in game 5, and LEBRON NOT bosh is the one who had the awesome night in game 6, and last I checked we had a 10 point lead on the road in game 7. We just could not close out for all the reasons stated before. Bosh did play well at the end of that game without a doubt. Again though, I'll take Kenny Smith's opinion over yours. Which has been discussed here ad nauseum.

And I agree, the Heat are the team to beat in the east right now and they deservedly should be. But for the Original Poster who started the thread his defeatist attitude is sad indeed.

oh and yes he can do that, bottom line is regardless who was out for the bulls, heat, celtics, hawks, is the heat were supposed to DESTROY the celts in 4 maybe 5. in no way shape  or form did they demonstrate that nor were they in a position to do that. The heat were in a fight for their lives and they knew it. The celtics shoulda/coulda have beaten the sixers in 5....and we all know it but they got lax. The sixers did not play us like we did the heat. Our offense was better against the heat than philly.  I'll give the sixers credit for that.

I hate when people use this STUPID argument. Doesn't matter how many games it takes you to beat a team all that matters is you beat the team. Took us 7 games to beat the hawks and the cavs in the championship year so what.

sure, winning is winning no matter how many games... but clearly you have missed all the points that were made in my post and the prior arguments that they debunk if you watched all those games. Did I say we won the series?  Go back and reread the post.

[Redz]

A lot of guys will need to step up, but if the majority of the Celts play up to their potential and KG & PP stay rested and healthy, this team will be an awful lot of fun to watch.

I really think this season is all about Doc Rivers having his dream team.  They really could flourish.