Do we really suck this year?

[DarkAzcura]

I have no clue how this team is going to score. PP was our only player who could create. Rondo is a distributor, not an alpha scorer. This team will prob average in the 70 pts per game. You're not going to win many games that way..

It's not about who can score individually but how we can score as a team. Something Doc failed miserably at implementing last season with the most offensive firepower he's probably ever had.

Between Lee, Bradley, Rondo, Green, Olynyk, Sully, and Bass you actually have plenty of offensive talent to work with and an elite PG to help make that process much easier. Our scoring talent/options are no worse than a team like Indiana of last year honestly (they weren't very good either, but they were decent enough). It's our defense that will struggle.

Seriously? That team has a young superstar on the wing! Not one of those guys you mentioned has averaged more than say 10 pts a game save Green.

I guess it's possible that one will break out and become a 20+ scorer, but I'm not betting on it

Paul George is good, but he is a little bit overrated (scoring ability that is) after that playoff run. Sure, he can turn into a superstar, but the George at face value last season is no better than Jeff Green scoring wise. His playmaking is what really separates him from Green. Luckily we have an elite PG to make up for that.

Every guy I listed can score 10-12 points on average. They are all skilled enough to do it with Green capable enough to score 18-20. Rondo can give you 15. I didn't want to break it down individually because that's not really how I look at it. I just see a lot of offensive talent. It doesn't mean any one of these guys will score 20 a game. Every player I listed has at least one good to great offensive trait that can be used in a system. If you have 6 guys averaging double digits on your team, your team usually ends up being decent enough offensively.

I think it will be our defense that knocks us down into the lottery, not our offense. I'm not sure I believe this is our final roster anyway..

[LooseCannon]

There's a lot of uncertainty.  The team is not guaranteed to suck, but it's not guaranteed to not suck.

[DarkAzcura]

There's a lot of uncertainty.  The team is not guaranteed to suck, but it's not guaranteed to not suck.

Yeah, pretty much this. This team can go anywhere, though, I think their maximum potential is 40 wins with this current roster and experience. Any where from 25-40. Around ~34 if I had to bet.

[Vermont Green]

At this point, I see the opening night starting line up as

Bradley
Lee
Wallace
Green
Humphries

Yes, that team sucks.

I predict that Wallace will play well enough to get himself traded and then we will suck more.  It is OK though, we are rebuilding.  Every team has to go through it eventually.  Just so long as it only lasts a couple of years.

I like our young players as a start to a future better team but I think all are complementary players at best.  We are going to need some studs before we are good again.

[wdleehi]

It is not going to be good.


The team traded away KG and Pierce. 



The teams defensive backbone.  The teams best shot creator/maker.  (not to mention it's 2nd best shot maker and one of its best defenders)


The defense is going to take a big hit.  There is nothing in the center of the lane to scare the other team.  There is nothing to cover for the the chances good perimeter defenders take. 



We have seen teams in the past with one really good player and some role players and young pieces.  It wasn't pretty those years for Pierce either (and that's when the East was much weaker)  It wasn't pretty in Minn for KG. 

[Sketch5]

At this point, I see the opening night starting line up as

Bradley
Lee
Wallace
Green
Humphries

Yes, that team sucks.

I predict that Wallace will play well enough to get himself traded and then we will suck more.  It is OK though, we are rebuilding.  Every team has to go through it eventually.  Just so long as it only lasts a couple of years.

I like our young players as a start to a future better team but I think all are complementary players at best.  We are going to need some studs before we are good again.

No way thats the opening night line up.

Theres back up SF. Wallace would have to go out at the 5 minute mark to give Green a rest at the 9 minute mark.

Plus I doubt there are players here that will be here opening night, things could change. But with who we have I see more, because of subbing reasons.

Bradley
Lee
Green
Sully
Fav

Or if they decide to develop players while Rondo is healing...

Pressey
Lee
Green
Olynyk
Sully

Or...Just kidding, proabably could come up with 5 more line ups that make sense. But, Wallace most likely will come off the bench, because Green would just add to the log jam at PF.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Humps is still here that he's starting to bump his worth up.   

[JHTruth]

We will be absolutely horrific. Amazingly bad.

Last year with KG off the floor, the Celtics were the worst defensive team in the league. The WORST. With him we were top 3. He is now gone.

We have no proven No 1 option. Our best player is coming back from knee surgery. JEFF GREEN IS OUR BEST player. Nothing against Jeff but come on. Let's be real here.

My advice, start checking out nbadraft.net and draftexpress.com

[gar]

I say we play Green and Wallace with Green at SG. Talk about match up problems.

[gar]

I say we play Green and Wallace with Green at SG. Talk about match up problems.

Actually the only way Danny clears the log jams at SG and PF is by showcasing guys to improve their trade value. So he needs to play Crawford and Humph if he wants to trade them. Same goes for Wallace and Bogans.

Will not be pretty!

[bfrombleacher]

I say we play Green and Wallace with Green at SG. Talk about match up problems.

Actually the only way Danny clears the log jams at SG and PF is by showcasing guys to improve their trade value. So he needs to play Crawford and Humph if he wants to trade them. Same goes for Wallace and Bogans.

Will not be pretty!

Bogans in my opinion will not be showcased that much.

And what better way to showcase players than by letting Brad Stevens optimize the lineup.

[gpap]

The part that bothers me is that Ainge hasn't signed a single free agent with the exception of the unknown two (Pressey and Faverani.)

And there were decent free agents this offseason that could've helped this team including Dalembert, Nate Robinson, OJ Mayo, Chris Kaman, Monta Ellis, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith and Paul Millsap.

Heck, I would've even taken Nazzy Mohammed or Elton Brand.

And I would still take either Mo Williams or Antwan Jamison.

[bfrombleacher]

The part that bothers me is that Ainge hasn't signed a single free agent with the exception of the unknown two (Pressey and Faverani.)

And there were decent free agents this offseason that could've helped this team including Dalembert, Nate Robinson, OJ Mayo, Chris Kaman, Monta Ellis, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith and Paul Millsap.

Heck, I would've even taken Nazzy Mohammed or Elton Brand.

And I would still take either Mo Williams or Antwan Jamison.

Ainge himself doesn't know what the hell's gonna happen with the roster.

If we're somewhat competitive, move pieces before the deadline to give the kids nice playoffs experience.

[gpap]

The part that bothers me is that Ainge hasn't signed a single free agent with the exception of the unknown two (Pressey and Faverani.)

And there were decent free agents this offseason that could've helped this team including Dalembert, Nate Robinson, OJ Mayo, Chris Kaman, Monta Ellis, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith and Paul Millsap.

Heck, I would've even taken Nazzy Mohammed or Elton Brand.

And I would still take either Mo Williams or Antwan Jamison.

Ainge himself doesn't know what the hell's gonna happen with the roster.

If we're somewhat competitive, move pieces before the deadline to give the kids nice playoffs experience.

I wouldn't do that. If we end up being competitive, then we should hang onto whoever is helping us win games and then ADD onto that, not subtract.

I wouldn't look at the roster as myopically as "there's veterans and there's kids, and we don't want to stun the kids growth."

If you're playing well, age shouldn't play a role.

However like yourself and DA, I also have no clue how good this team is going to be. I mentioned in an earlier response, I don't think we'll know til after October (maybe not til almost halfway through the season.)

I am hoping (and this is likely best case scenario) that the Celtics end up doing similar to what the Red Sox did this year.

No one thought the Red Sox were going to be any good this year, and as of August 1st, they're the best team in baseball. Not only that, they were buyers at the deadline instead of sellers.

Everyone was unsure about John Farrell after a disappointing 2 year managing stint in Toronto, and he's done a remarkable job (especially with the pitching staff.)

And all this after the Sox dealt their top names last year (Beckett, Crawford, Gonzo.) Similarly to the Celts dealing Paul and Kevin this year. Hopefully the Celts and Stevens take a similar route as the Red Sox and Farrell.

[chambers]

I've said it from the day kg +the captain were traded...
We have a very good perimeter combination that is very good at defending the perimeter.  This same combination, no matter what line up you use, is a terrible shooting combination.

We lost our only defensive big man and have not replaced him with anyone remotely close. I mean not even 25% of KG's defensive impact vocally or literally in the paint, pick and rolls or switches.
Our basket protection will be competing against the 76ers for the worst in the league.
Even the suns, cavs and bobcats have bigs that do an adequate job of patrolling the paint and altering shots. Al Jefferson is a better interior defender than ANYONE on this team. Bismack Biyambo is a better defender than anyone on this team. I never thought that I'd actually say that or contemplate that but that's what happens when you rebuild. 
Who scores in the paint for us? Who shoots threes and jumpshots now that Pierce, Terry and KG are gone?
Unless you have 2 of the top 5 wing playersin the world AND an All Star big man like the Heat....the rule is that Bigs rule the NBA. We don't have bigs.
We will get destroyed inside by pretty much every team we play on both ends. We can't stop interior scoring and we'll have a tough time scoring against 12 of the 15 teams in the East. That would be okay if we could shoot, but we can't!
Our best player is coming off surgery and our starting sophomore power forwardnis coming off surgery
Our head coach has zero NBA experienceand although I have ko doubt he's eventually going to be awesome,  he's going to need a good 100 games to have any idea what the best way to utilize this team is.
People seem to think Stevens is gonna step in and continue n where Doc left off. Hes got to earn the trust and respect from a group of NBA players. There's a reason they've hired so many old school assistants around him because he's a fish out of water. The NBA made Pitino and Calipari look foolish.  Keep that in mind.

This will be a wake up call for most Celtics fans that are entertaining some fantasy of making the playoffs. The next season will be rough. The bookmakers have us as the 3rd to 4th worst team. The SB nation and ESPN votes are in and we are a bottom 4 or 5 team in both.
Its great to be optimistic, but use some logic and be at least realistic at our lack of inside presence and scoribg.

[BASS_THUMPER]

no..

not really