Are we just about guaranteed a top 10 pick?

[SHAQATTACK]

climb aboard the wiggins tank express......
 woo hoo


we re bad and lov in it.....LoL

[Chris]

But, if Ainge and Stevens know what's good for them, they'll find out what they have in the current roster and build up every player's value as much as possible. Kinda like when Gerald averaged 10 PPG prior to that KG trade.

There's only a limited number of minutes.  How do you go about building up the value of Brooks, Crawford, Lee, and Bogans simultaneously when you have Avery Bradley starting ahead of them?

Bogans' value is set.  That is not changing.  He is an expiring contract.  I also think Lee pretty much is what he is at this point, but a nice little run couldn't hurt him.  I can't see Crawford's value changing much either.  Everyone knows he is a gunner.  The only thing that could change his value is if he suddenly comes back shooting a high percentage from 3.  And if thats the case, it will work itself out. 

So, it comes down to Brooks.  He is the perfect type of player to build value in this type of situation.  He is a talented scorer, and can thrive if you just forcefeed him the ball.  I think they could do that.

[Coach42]

I have to admit this thread is kind of blowing my mind.   They won 41 games last year (granted w/o rondo) and people are predicting 35 wins to playoff appearances?? I don't understand how losing two HOFers  who were also your two best players last year does not result in a significant amount of losses. 

Rondo coming back which is great. He's a fantastic player but his return does not come even close to replacing what was lost.  He also has a ad habit of losing interest in the regular season and generally plays his best when the lights come on. The lights aren't coming on this season. While he may initially be motivated by being the face of the franchise I do not expect that to last longer than say the first 20 or so games.

As currently constructed this team has zero interior defense and no one who can protect the rim. This is where the loss of KG is really going to be felt.  While Bradley, Lee, and occasionally Rondo are excellent defenders they will have nothing behind them and communication will also take a step backward.  Scoring wings like Lebron, Wade, George, Carmelo etc etc should also have a field day with this team as constructed.   

I would also add that our perimeter shooting should become of the worst in the league.   Bradley and rondo are not good shooters. Lee and brooks are ok. KO is nice for a 4. Green in spots.  On the whole nothing terribly reliable.

As for Jeff Green the guy has been in the league for six years and played 5 seasons. At this point he is what he is. A nice complimentary wing who can probably get you 12 ppg and 5 boards on a good team and 15-17 ppg with 6-7 boards on a bad team.  If he's ever more than your third best option you're probably in really big trouble.

Sorry for the rant. I haven't posted in 6 years. If this team wins more than 25 games (as currently constructed) Ill eat my hat.

[LooseCannon]

I have to admit this thread is kind of blowing my mind.   They won 41 games last year (granted w/o rondo) and people are predicting 35 wins to playoff appearances?? I don't understand how losing two HOFers  who were also your two best players last year does not result in a significant amount of losses. 

I think the Celtics under-performed last season and their talent level should have resulted in more than 41 wins.

[celts55]

Don't know where, but if no changes are made (which I believe there will quite a few) this team picks in the top 10.
First I don't care if Rondo is healthy, He's a pass first point guard who makes good players better. The Celtics don't have good players.
I believe theit interior D and rebounding could be even worse than last year. They have defensive presence in the middle.
Unless Stevens is some kind of magician this might be the worst team in the league. Not saying as they are young they could get better in a few years as they are very young, but Rondo, Green, and a bunch of kids aren't going to do much in this league.

[byennie]

Bogans' value is set.  That is not changing.  He is an expiring contract.  I also think Lee pretty much is what he is at this point, but a nice little run couldn't hurt him.  I can't see Crawford's value changing much either.  Everyone knows he is a gunner.  The only thing that could change his value is if he suddenly comes back shooting a high percentage from 3.  And if thats the case, it will work itself out. 

So, it comes down to Brooks.  He is the perfect type of player to build value in this type of situation.  He is a talented scorer, and can thrive if you just forcefeed him the ball.  I think they could do that.

Agree on Brooks being the one to build up. If you can make a strong case that Brooks is a better player after a few months with the C's than when he was drafted, he'll have some value. I think the best way is to create a lot of buzz around improved defense. He has the size to be a plus defender at the SG spot. Additionally if he could improve his 3PT shot, we'd have something. My recipe for success would be turning Brooks into this player (or better, obviously):

15PPG
35% 3PT
Above average defense

All of those are attainable goals and would make him a 6th man or above average starter. It may have to be projectable to that line since I don't think he's getting 30 MPG, but maybe 10 PPG in 20 minutes with the other attributes would be a nice gain.

[Vox_Populi]

It still boggles my mind that people expect a team with Jeff Green as its #1 scorer, and no starting-quality centers on the roster, to even come close to making the playoffs.

The East is still pretty bad.

To address the question, I don't think so. Regardless of what some people say, I don't think you can lose that many games with a healthy Rondo.

[sed522002]

Unless Stevens is some kind of magician this might be the worst team in the league.

With teams like Philly trying to bottom out I seriously doubt the C's will be the worst team. I even see the Lakers worse off than the C's (especially depending on when Kobe returns). With that being said, I don't expect them to make a bunch of noise next season either. They could possibly in the top 10 pick.

[SHAQATTACK]

Unless Stevens is some kind of magician this might be the worst team in the league.

With teams like Philly trying to bottom out I seriously doubt the C's will be the worst team. I even see the Lakers worse off than the C's (especially depending on when Kobe returns). With that being said, I don't expect them to make a bunch of noise next season either. They could possibly in the top 10 pick.

we can be worse than Philly .....we have a right to try ........why should we pretend not to want a shot a the number one choice and sit by and let lakers or Philly take what should be ours.......sit Rondo and play Fab .....   we can do this !

[popcontest]

... and why?

Yes -- the Brooklyn pick is an injury or two away from the lottery. Disaster in Park Slope 2013-2014.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Serious question, do you think Fab will actually get minutes this year?

He may be too bad to even play in a tanking / rebuilding year. Impossible? Maybe not. His lack of coordination could literally make him a threat to injure our young players.

[Yogi]

I have to admit this thread is kind of blowing my mind.   They won 41 games last year (granted w/o rondo) and people are predicting 35 wins to playoff appearances?? I don't understand how losing two HOFers  who were also your two best players last year does not result in a significant amount of losses. 

Rondo coming back which is great. He's a fantastic player but his return does not come even close to replacing what was lost.  He also has a ad habit of losing interest in the regular season and generally plays his best when the lights come on. The lights aren't coming on this season. While he may initially be motivated by being the face of the franchise I do not expect that to last longer than say the first 20 or so games.

As currently constructed this team has zero interior defense and no one who can protect the rim. This is where the loss of KG is really going to be felt.  While Bradley, Lee, and occasionally Rondo are excellent defenders they will have nothing behind them and communication will also take a step backward.  Scoring wings like Lebron, Wade, George, Carmelo etc etc should also have a field day with this team as constructed.   

I would also add that our perimeter shooting should become of the worst in the league.   Bradley and rondo are not good shooters. Lee and brooks are ok. KO is nice for a 4. Green in spots.  On the whole nothing terribly reliable.

As for Jeff Green the guy has been in the league for six years and played 5 seasons. At this point he is what he is. A nice complimentary wing who can probably get you 12 ppg and 5 boards on a good team and 15-17 ppg with 6-7 boards on a bad team.  If he's ever more than your third best option you're probably in really big trouble.

Sorry for the rant. I haven't posted in 6 years. If this team wins more than 25 games (as currently constructed) Ill eat my hat.

One thing I feel people do not understand is that Paul, KG and Terry were built for the playoffs.  They did not win us a lot of games in the regular season.  They play a plodding, intelligent version of basketball that is ultra efficient in the playoffs and very ineffective in the regular season. 

Think about how many awful teams beat us in the regular season the last few years?  Teams like Detroit, New Orleans, Charlotte all feasted on us with Paul, KG and Terry.  This is because those teams played freely and at a high pace.  This strategy does not translate into the playoffs where the pressure is magnified a hundred times.  All the three pointers and circus shots disappear in the playoffs. 

Our defense will take a big step back without KG and Paul.  We are lacking a rim protector, but our defense will still be very good by the end of the year.  Our offense will take a step forward without them.  We will be a much more exciting team to watch in the regular season. 

[aingeforthree]

How can you guarantee anything in this league when you have an entirely different roster ?

How's Humphries/Wallace game complimented when Rondo hits his stride and is 100 % ?

Will Rondo even be 100 % ? Sullinger ?

What will Marshon Brooks bring to the 2nd unit ?

How will the rookies(Olynyk)perform & help in the win column ?

Will Stevens adjust to the NBA and add to the win total ?

There is so much up for grabs that nobody can say whether or not we do or don't make the playoffs.  We know what players could do last year, the year before, etc.  Doesn't mean they'll perform the same going forward (good or bad).

It's up in the air right now.

[erisred]

I have Boston in the 8-12 range at the moment. Fair chance of a top ten pick.

Yeah, that's where I have them, too. Still plenty of time for moves to be made that could push the C's in either direction before the season starts, though.

[LooseCannon]

Serious question, do you think Fab will actually get minutes this year?

He may be too bad to even play in a tanking / rebuilding year. Impossible? Maybe not. His lack of coordination could literally make him a threat to injure our young players.

I think it's reasonable that he ends up with the sort of minutes Ian Mahinmi had early in his career.  He played 6.3 minutes per game in 26 games in his second season, then signed with Dallas as a free agent and averaged 8.7 minutes in 56 games before having his break-out year in his fourth season.  Well, fifth if you count the season he missed (what would have been his second) or at least didn't play any NBA games in after surgery for a bone avulsion.

Playing 5mpg in half the games would seem like reasonable progress to me.