Will we make the playoffs this year? Standings, stats and numbers (merged)

[PhoSita]

  It would probably help, although I expect Sully (if healthy) to be a pretty good player going forward. They may end up including one of them in a trade for that better player. I think the players we have are somewhat better than people think they are, hence the hand-wringing that we aren't the 2-3 win team people were expecting us to be at this point in the season.

Well, this goes to the distinction I made earlier -- if the Celtics have a better record than expected this season because the young talent on the team is better than expected, then fine.  That's nice.  We don't need the high lottery pick.

If instead, it's because all you need to make the playoffs this year is a handful of borderline starter / rotation players and maybe one or two above averages guys, then that's not something to be happy about.


Anyways, I'm fine with a Celtics team with Rondo and Sullinger as the #2 and #3 guys, assuming Sullinger stays on track toward borderline All-Stardom and Rondo returns to what he was pre-injury.  We just need to get a really good #1. 

Among the current assets, that leaves the Celtics wit Bradley, Green, Bass, Lee, Olynyk, Faverani, and a bunch of 1st round picks of unknown quality to try and trade for that #1 player. 

Either that, or you need to carve out max cap space (while still leaving room to re-sign Rondo and Sullinger) to sign that guy, and then hope he wants to come to Boston.

[PhoSita]

Alright.  While technically you're correct [...]

Thanks.

[...] my argument is that the opportunity cost -- i.e. the things you'd get if you didn't make the playoffs -- far outweighs any benefits.

Perhaps, but at the same time I don't really like the implications of a Celtics team that's so bad that they miss the playoffs in the Leastern Conference. That's a team that's quite far away from being good, and all they've picked up is someone who's probably going to be a pretty good rookie and might be a superstar someday when Rondo is in his 30's.

I guess the thing is, this Celtics team is probably not very good either way.  Make the playoffs or don't make the playoffs, there are only two good teams in the East this season.

The main difference, then, is the draft pick you get, weighed against the intangible value of the "playoff" experience you earn by playing a series against an equally mediocre 5th seed, or getting murdered by a top 2 seed.


That dilemma you point to -- that the next Celtics star might not get here / fully develop until Rondo is in his 30s -- exists whether the Celtics pick in the lottery this season or not.

[LarBrd33]

with how this season is going and the plummeting value of our draft pick... We honestly might be best off trading both 2014 picks now for an immediate upgrade and just going for it.  Seems it wouldn't take a whole lot to be the 3rd best team in the East.  Might as well just embrace that.

[jc3celticsphan]

question for the tankers.. who was the last superstar to be drafted in the top 5 and win a championship for that same team and how long did it take them?

with that said ill take aaron gordon/center in the mid round and sign gortat or okafor maybe even paul pierce (im sure he rather be here than brooklyn right now)

lot more options then just tank and pray

[Interceptor]

I guess the thing is, this Celtics team is probably not very good either way.  Make the playoffs or don't make the playoffs, there are only two good teams in the East this season.

Yeah, but there's "not good" and there's "the Milwaukee professional basketball team". I feel like if you can't even make the top eight in this conference, that you are quite horrible. A team that is THAT bad, is probably more than a couple of pieces away.

Now it's early, and the Knicks will get Chandler back and Jason Kidd will get cement overshoes, but there are still four spots left after that.

That dilemma you point to -- that the next Celtics star might not get here / fully develop until Rondo is in his 30s -- exists whether the Celtics pick in the lottery this season or not.

Yes, but at least if we make the playoffs there's a decent chance the team is not a train wreck. You can always trade for a star to round out the team.

with how this season is going and the plummeting value of our draft pick... We honestly might be best off trading both 2014 picks now for an immediate upgrade and just going for it.  Seems it wouldn't take a whole lot to be the 3rd best team in the East.  Might as well just embrace that.

So how to you pronounce "Asik", anyway"?

[kozlodoev]

So how to you pronounce "Asik", anyway"?

A-sheek.

[LarBrd33]

So how to you pronounce "Asik", anyway"?

A-sheek.

Are we sure he's not just a backup big man?  I feel like whoever trades for him runs the risk of taking on a massive bust.

[kozlodoev]

question for the tankers.. who was the last superstar to be drafted in the top 5 and win a championship for that same team and how long did it take them?

The answer is "Dwyane Wade, 3 years", but the question isn't very good.

Many superstars have won titles with the franchises that drafted them, but there's a lot more to a title than just drafting a superstar.

[D.o.s.]

question for the tankers.. who was the last superstar to be drafted in the top 5 and win a championship for that same team and how long did it take them?

The answer is "Dwyane Wade, 3 years", but the question isn't very good.

Many superstars have won titles with the franchises that drafted them, but there's a lot more to a title than just drafting a superstar.

I liked your snarky Kobe answer better.

TP nonetheless.

[PhoSita]

with how this season is going and the plummeting value of our draft pick... We honestly might be best off trading both 2014 picks now for an immediate upgrade and just going for it.  Seems it wouldn't take a whole lot to be the 3rd best team in the East.  Might as well just embrace that.

What, embrace being a poorly managed team?

[kozlodoev]

question for the tankers.. who was the last superstar to be drafted in the top 5 and win a championship for that same team and how long did it take them?

The answer is "Dwyane Wade, 3 years", but the question isn't very good.

Many superstars have won titles with the franchises that drafted them, but there's a lot more to a title than just drafting a superstar.

I liked your snarky Kobe answer better.

TP nonetheless.

I axed it when I figured out it wasn't actually true -- it's still Wade, he won one last season.

Plus, cut me some slack, I't trying to control the caustic tone here :-D

[PhoSita]

I guess the thing is, this Celtics team is probably not very good either way.  Make the playoffs or don't make the playoffs, there are only two good teams in the East this season.

Yeah, but there's "not good" and there's "the Milwaukee professional basketball team". I feel like if you can't even make the top eight in this conference, that you are quite horrible. A team that is THAT bad, is probably more than a couple of pieces away.

Now it's early, and the Knicks will get Chandler back and Jason Kidd will get cement overshoes, but there are still four spots left after that.

That dilemma you point to -- that the next Celtics star might not get here / fully develop until Rondo is in his 30s -- exists whether the Celtics pick in the lottery this season or not.

Yes, but at least if we make the playoffs there's a decent chance the team is not a train wreck. You can always trade for a star to round out the team.

I guess I don't understand your reasoning.

If the difference between winning the Atlantic Division and getting a top 10 pick is 35 wins versus 30 wins, is that really such a huge thing?

I don't understand the idea that "Make the playoffs = your team isn't bad" and "Don't make the playoffs = your team is unredeemably bad."

In this Eastern Conference, our team will still be bad whether they make the playoffs or not.  The Celtics will still be more than a couple pieces away even if they back their way into the playoffs!


The "Milwaukee Professional Basketball Team," by the way, is missing some key players -- arguably their two best players in Ilyasova and Sanders.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

So how to you pronounce "Asik", anyway"?

A-sheek.

Are we sure he's not just a backup big man?  I feel like whoever trades for him runs the risk of taking on a massive bust.

I'm not sold on him either.

[kozlodoev]

The "Milwaukee Professional Basketball Team," by the way, is missing some key players -- arguably their two best players in Ilyasova and Sanders.

Ilyasova played yesterday, but I agree he was quite easy to miss.

[PhoSita]

So how to you pronounce "Asik", anyway"?

A-sheek.

Are we sure he's not just a backup big man?  I feel like whoever trades for him runs the risk of taking on a massive bust.

I'm not sold on him either.

Asik is a proven commodity as far as being a defensive anchor and rebounder.  If that's all you need in a starting center, he's a perfectly fine one to have.

He's on a similar level to Perk as an offensive player, though, with a slight advantage in that he hasn't suffered a catastrophic knee injury yet, and he's two inches taller.