Celtics vs Cavs,Wizards,Raptors,Hawks,Bucks

[saltlover]

Hawks shouldn't be on this list.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if they finished ahead of the Knicks or Nets.  I'd also add the Bobcats as a team to compete for one of the last two spots.  Big Al is an upgrade, and Cody Zeller should not be overlooked.  They wouldn't be my first choice to make the jump, but I think they're at a different level than Orlando and Philly, and will probably finish ahead of a couple other teams on this list.

[ronaldo943]

2013 wizard team wins 29 last year and havent made the playoffs in a lifetime and they are better? Wall is better than rondo? Wiz dont even have a legit sf

Hawks lost smith and he is a better player than milsap and brand combined.

Yet they went 24-25 with Wall so that is saying alot. Ainge would trade Rondo for Wall in a heartbeat. They have Martell Webster and Ottor Porter.

Either way the Hawks have a pretty decent team and they have Lou Williams back.

If celts got wall i would puke. The guy is not a pure pg and likes to chuck the ball frequently. Cant believe u mentioned webster and porter. First webster hasnt lived up to expectations and porter was prob the worse sl rookie for a top 10 pick. Hasnt proven anything

Wizards havent picked up much help this yr and i cant see them being any better this upcoming yr.

Well I mean his AST% was a 43.9 only behind Rondo, Paul, and Vasquez so for not being a true PG he is pretty good. He shot a FG% of .441 which isn't amazing, but isn't bad at all. He is only 22. Yeah I can see why you would puke.

I could care less whether Webster has lived up to his expectations as the guy had a pretty solid year and was pretty amazing from downtown at .422%.

[Tr1boy]

2013 wizard team wins 29 last year and havent made the playoffs in a lifetime and they are better? Wall is better than rondo? Wiz dont even have a legit sf

Hawks lost smith and he is a better player than milsap and brand combined.

Yet they went 24-25 with Wall so that is saying alot. Ainge would trade Rondo for Wall in a heartbeat. They have Martell Webster and Ottor Porter.

Either way the Hawks have a pretty decent team and they have Lou Williams back.

If celts got wall i would puke. The guy is not a pure pg and likes to chuck the ball frequently. Cant believe u mentioned webster and porter. First webster hasnt lived up to expectations and porter was prob the worse sl rookie for a top 10 pick. Hasnt proven anything

Wizards havent picked up much help this yr and i cant see them being any better this upcoming yr.

Well I mean his AST% was a 43.9 only behind Rondo, Paul, and Vasquez so for not being a true PG he is pretty good. He shot a FG% of .441 which isn't amazing, but isn't bad at all. He is only 22. Yeah I can see why you would puke.

I could care less whether Webster has lived up to his expectations as the guy had a pretty solid year and was pretty amazing from downtown at .422%.

Wall for what he is has led the wiz to nowhere. And a healthy rondo would outplay him in a game. Same goes for green vs webster. Webster while a decent 3 pt shooter has little to offer elsewhere, especially with his mediocre d.

Wiz in general is a poor defensive team. At least the hawks will play solid d

[D.o.s.]

2013 wizard team wins 29 last year and havent made the playoffs in a lifetime and they are better? Wall is better than rondo? Wiz dont even have a legit sf

Hawks lost smith and he is a better player than milsap and brand combined.

Yet they went 24-25 with Wall so that is saying alot. Ainge would trade Rondo for Wall in a heartbeat. They have Martell Webster and Ottor Porter.

Either way the Hawks have a pretty decent team and they have Lou Williams back.

If celts got wall i would puke. The guy is not a pure pg and likes to chuck the ball frequently. Cant believe u mentioned webster and porter. First webster hasnt lived up to expectations and porter was prob the worse sl rookie for a top 10 pick. Hasnt proven anything

Wizards havent picked up much help this yr and i cant see them being any better this upcoming yr.

Well I mean his AST% was a 43.9 only behind Rondo, Paul, and Vasquez so for not being a true PG he is pretty good. He shot a FG% of .441 which isn't amazing, but isn't bad at all. He is only 22. Yeah I can see why you would puke.

I could care less whether Webster has lived up to his expectations as the guy had a pretty solid year and was pretty amazing from downtown at .422%.

Wall for what he is has led the wiz to nowhere. And a healthy rondo would outplay him in a game. Same goes for green vs webster. Webster while a decent 3 pt shooter has little to offer elsewhere, especially with his mediocre d.

Wiz in general is a poor defensive team. At least the hawks will play solid d

You think 22 year old Rondo could best 22 year old John Wall?

Seriously?

[rondoallaturca]

It's untrue that Wall hasn't led the Wizards anywhere. Without him, the Wizards are awful. With him, they're a borderline .500 team. From his summer league production, I'm not counting on much from Porter, but Beal is super promising, and Nene/Okafor is a underwhelming, overpaid, but serviceable frontcourt. All of them have injury concerns, but if they can stay healthy the Wizards can definitely make some noise in a top-heavy East.

That being said, I would not choose Wall over Rondo. Honestly, when it comes to Rondo, I hate saying this but statistics go out the window when it comes to him. Rondo's effort is frustrating to say the least during the regular season, but he still plays good enough to get a decent team into the playoffs. Once he's in the postseason though, he goes into beast mode. Seriously, come playoff time and there's no other PG on his level outside of CP3. Hell, to me Rondo is a top 10 player in the league when considering postseason performance only.

[blink]

Top five, near locks to make playoffs:

Miami
Brooklyn
Chicago
New York
Indiana

Next five, any three could be a playoff team:

Detroit
Boston
Washington
Cleveland
Toronto

Bottom five, unlikely to make playoffs:

Atlanta
Milwaukee
Orlando
Charlotte
Philadelphia

I like your optimism, but I don't see us as better right now than the Cavs and Hawks (maybe the wizards too.  Cleveland added talent to their roster that already had young talent.  If Bynum can actually play 1/2 a season I could see the cavs in the 7th or 8th spot.  The hawks in about the same area.

But I really think we (celtics) are one of the hardest team to predict for this season.  With RR and JS coming back from injuries and new players and a new coach it is really just impossible to tell where we land.

[syfy9]

The Bobcats have a decent chance of being better than Boston next season, and the Pistons are on paper much, much more talented than the Celtics.

[Vox_Populi]

Waiters? bradley is more proven and a better player.

Bradley is not a better player than Waiters.

[rondoallaturca]

Also, Hawks and Raptors shouldn't be on this list. With the Hawks, their only main losses were Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia. Paul Millsap may be a PF downgrade, but he's still a heck of a player and quite underrated IMO. Even at his advanced age, Elton Brand is still better than Zaza. They also added Schroeder through the draft and some nice depth in Ayon and Carroll. The Hawks may have slipped a bit, but they finished 6 games over .500 last season, and should be a good bet to finish above .500 again this season. Same with the Raptors. They were a .500 team after the Rudy Gay trade, and Derozan and Valanciunas are only going to get better. Meanwhile, Boston barely finished a game above .500 last season with Terry, Pierce, and KG on board. Sure, Rondo is back this year, but I'm pretty sure he won't be able to fill the value of three aging but still productive veterans (okay, maybe two, Jet was just trash last season).

[syfy9]

Waiters? bradley is more proven and a better player.

Bradley is not a better player than Waiters.

I'd rather have Bradley on my team than Waiters.

I am inclined to think that I am more open minded to other teams and pessimistic against the Celtics, but in my mind, Waiters doesn't have the potential to make up for the lack of game-changing ability that Bradley has. 

[Vox_Populi]

Waiters? bradley is more proven and a better player.

Bradley is not a better player than Waiters.

I'd rather have Bradley on my team than Waiters.

I am inclined to think that I am more open minded to other teams and pessimistic against the Celtics, but in my mind, Waiters doesn't have the potential to make up for the lack of game-changing ability that Bradley has.

It would depend for me. If I had Irving, I'd probably rather have Bradley. If I have a point guard like Rondo, or one with a limited offensive skill-set, I'd much rather have Waiters. Those are two extremes though, even if I'm in the middle, I'd still rather take Waiters.

Waiters is a poor defender, but his offensive promise and above average passing elevate him above Bradley, at least in my opinion. Besides, effort, concentration and an understanding of the system can make a decent defender out of a hopeless one, but Bradley probably won't ever become much more then a spot up shooter and a good cutter. Waiters isn't as good as Beal, but he's a more talented player and has a higher ceiling than Bradley.

[LooseCannon]

Easy question. Are Cavs,Wizards,Raptors,Hawks,Bucks better than the Celtics right now??

If none of these teams are not better, than why do the Celtics have no chance to make the playoffs??

If one or several of these teams are better, how are they better??

The Hawks and Wizards are definitely better.

The Bucks and Cavs could very well be better, and even the Raptors could be.

I wouldn't put money on the Celtics being better than any of those teams.

I'd feel pretty safe betting that the Celtics will end up with a better record than at least one of those teams.

[indeedproceed]

Easy question. Are Cavs,Wizards,Raptors,Hawks,Bucks better than the Celtics right now??

If none of these teams are not better, than why do the Celtics have no chance to make the playoffs??

If one or several of these teams are better, how are they better??

The Hawks and Wizards are definitely better.

The Bucks and Cavs could very well be better, and even the Raptors could be.

I wouldn't put money on the Celtics being better than any of those teams.

I'd feel pretty safe betting that the Celtics will end up with a better record than at least one of those teams.

Yeah but which one? That's the tough part. They're better than Cleveland if Bynum this, or Irving that..they're better than Washington if Wall this..they're better than Milwaukee if Larry Sanders and Brandon Knight don't grow..

All those teams, you need an 'if'. They will probably be better than at least one, but a good number of those teams need a decent growth or good chemistry after a roster shakeup, or both.

[LooseCannon]

Easy question. Are Cavs,Wizards,Raptors,Hawks,Bucks better than the Celtics right now??

If none of these teams are not better, than why do the Celtics have no chance to make the playoffs??

If one or several of these teams are better, how are they better??

The Hawks and Wizards are definitely better.

The Bucks and Cavs could very well be better, and even the Raptors could be.

I wouldn't put money on the Celtics being better than any of those teams.

I'd feel pretty safe betting that the Celtics will end up with a better record than at least one of those teams.

Yeah but which one? That's the tough part. They're better than Cleveland if Bynum this, or Irving that..they're better than Washington if Wall this..they're better than Milwaukee if Larry Sanders and Brandon Knight don't grow..

All those teams, you need an 'if'. They will probably be better than at least one, but a good number of those teams need a decent growth or good chemistry after a roster shakeup, or both.

I'm just taking the Celtics against the field.  I can see things going right for some of those teams.  I can't see things going right for all of those teams.

[Tr1boy]

There is more to talent why teams like the wiz and cavs have been bad. They lack leadership, still too young, and play with inconsistent defensive effort. Couple that , that both teams dont have a legit starting sf and questionable frontcourt health.

The bucks lost jennings, ellis, and reddick and got knight and mayo make them worse at the backcourt. The raptors are iffy , especially with lowry as their pg and the hawks while still a solid team i know will b worse with losing smith and completely replacing his overall production.

Celts also lost two key components but only 1 a really big one in kg. Green is going to replace pierce at the sf spot, and hopefully a combination of oly, sully, hump, fav can hold down the fort for now/long term upfront. Our overall depth is better than last year also.