Homer Hat off, Will the celtics win banner 18 before KG retires?

[GreenFaith1819]

I voted for 'probably not' but only because I didn't see a better worded option to fit my expectation.  They certainly could win it all, but I think more than likely the Celtics will give us 3 years of a highly contested title chase and will be one of the top 4 or 5 teams in the league each year.

BTW, I just realized that this is post number 2,001 for me.  Hooray second star!

Congrats, Man.

TP & thanks buddy, I'm poppin' champagne over here.  

 

[BballTim]

The odds are against every team every year to win a championship.

The field always has an overwhelming shot at the title.

I think the Celtics have a reasonably good chance to win #18. Things just need yo fall into place like they do for every NBA championship team

  This is the right answer.

[ManUp]

Your poll lacks a grey area. You either think we're likely to win or you concede that we're probably not going to. The way I see it we have as good a chance as anyone. The big X factors for us will be Green and Sullinger. We pretty much know what the other guys will bring.

[Lightskinsmurf]

Hey, i was tempted to make the only options yes or no lol. I want a legit educated GUESS from you guys.

[KGs Knee]

Hey, i was tempted to make the only options yes or no lol. I want a legit educated GUESS from you guys.

So you see it as a black and white issue?  Wasn't there a line in one of the Star Wars movies about only Sith Lords see things in absolutes?  Sith Lords are pure evil I believe.

So, are you admitting you are pure evil? 

[RAcker]

The chances are stacked against them, but it is not out of the realm of possibilities.  I think they will not be a favorite to win the title before KG retires, but if they hit the playoffs at a run and have luck with health, it is certainly possible.

+1

Couldn't have said it better myself.  I find it nearly impossible to take off the "homer hat" completely, but I can be realistic.  Just like any team, we need a little good luck.  But hey, why not us under the right circumstances?  We're loaded with tested vets.

[Lightskinsmurf]

Hey, i was tempted to make the only options yes or no lol. I want a legit educated GUESS from you guys.

So you see it as a black and white issue?  Wasn't there a line in one of the Star Wars movies about only Sith Lords see things in absolutes?  Sith Lords are pure evil I believe.

So, are you admitting you are pure evil?  
[/quote  

 

[Jon]

Of the answers offered, probably not fits the bill.  But as others have said, that goes for pretty much every team to some extent.  Only 1 in 30 teams win it, and even if we were to say there are 4-5 contenders each year, every one of those teams has a less than 50% chance.  

In order for us to win, we're going to have to get a lot of breaks.  We're going to need near-perfect health, KG and PP to maintain last year's level, Rondo to take yet another step, Jeff Green to at least regain his OKC level (if not step it up even more), and for everyone else to pretty much do what they did last year.  

Even then we may need some more injury magic against other teams, since unlike football, elite star power usually beats out depth in basketball.  And right now teams like Miami and OKC have us there.  

[CelticsFanNC]

   I voted probably not.

  I do think we have an outside shot and as long as Ainge and Doc are running this team anything can happen.  I just don't think it is very likely to happen.  

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I voted most likely.

If everything goes right, no bad, season ending injuries we're one of the most experienced, young and deepest teams in the NBA.

As long as everyone stays healthy, fresh and play to their roles and play with heart (which they always do),we can win 18.

[Lightskinsmurf]

A little shocked in the voting. Alot of probably nots but no "Heat are just too good". Are you guys implying we can beat the heat but will probably lose to a western conference team? I know you don't think another eastern conference team will beat us besides the heat.

[KJR]

Yes.

We're in the top 4.  Health is always a variable, and we have more health-related question marks than Miami or OKC.

That said, our best 24 minutes of basketball still beats anyone else.  With depth, we might be able to extend that advantage through an entire game.

Did you notice that our best blowout games in the 1st and 2nd quarters all turned into losses against Philly and Miami.  When we won it was because we kept it close or had a lead and expended the least amount of energy possible.

The team has been playing like this for 2-1/2 years; and we've never had starter caliber players off the bench.

Now, if the starting lineup gets up by 20 points in the first half ... with Green, Terry, Lee, Sullinger and Wilcox coming in ... it's much more likely we keep those leads and the starters can close out games.

A good team should almost never be giving up a 20+ point lead, and yet we did that constantly and still almost got to the Finals.

Our style of play with the starters is still dominant at times ... we just can't keep it up for more than half a game.  If we've solved that problem, we are not merely contenders for the title ...
we are the odds on favorites.

So ... health and enough rotation players to maintain a high level of play = Championship likely.

[tarheelsxxiii]

I'm in the "we need to catch some breaks, as every championship team does... but we're certainly among the contenders every year." Also agree with the person who commented on the importance of Green and Sully's growth & production. Also, how soon will they, Lee and Jet develop the chemistry needed to make a strong run at it?

I don't think the Heat are that good, either. I've written about this ad nauseum, but it's not a fleeting thought for me. They certainly caught a lot of breaks, I think Lebron's supporting cast wildly overachieved, and also I agree with others that OKC and Lakers (esp with Howard) are the better overall teams. OKC shouldn't be intimidated by the bright lights next year, and the Lakers got much better. Spurs are a mystery to me - think they'll need 3-4 guys to shoot over 40% from 3 again to make it to the Finals.

We will need to catch breaks. But I think if we fail to make it to another Finals, it will be because we lost in the ECF, not because we were beaten, imho.

[More Banners]

I voted that I never take my homer hat off.  Heck, I'm ready to put the bench in the HOF.  It's that time of year...optimism everywhere for every team!

For the C's, though, I'm always going to be concerned about the go-to, need-a-bucket scorer as Pierce winds down the clock on his career.

What I do think is that the team can dominate the regular season standings and get a top seed and HCA at least until the ECF, likely against Miami.

We're at least as good as the Pistons team that went to a million straight ECFs, and I think we might do the same.

For the next few years, it comes down to beating Miami.  We'd have to play perfect ball and be healthy or they'd have to have an injury to a key player.  Bosh and Wade are possible injury risks (I think).  Lebron doesn't seem to be.

In basketball, it's the top of the roster that counts in the playoffs, the best 8 players at most.

Frankly, I think Miami has the better starting 5.  Who has the best top-8?

Is Terry, Green, and Wilcox a better bench cast than Allen, Battier, and [their next best bench player], and would that be enough as Pierce and KG fade?

I put us in the ECF for the next 3 seasons.  We'll perhaps make one more Finals with KG.  It's a crapshoot at that point.

[Redz]

I voted probably not, but we'll have a lot of fun trying.