If the Season Ended Today

[Celtics18]

Well as of today...

1/11/14 8:00AM Eastern -  If the season ended today...


#1 - As fully expected, talent is king and Brooklyn is A-Ok.  Up to the 7th seed in the playoffs thanks to a 5 game win streak.  #16 pick would go to Atlanta.

#2 - Boston sitting with the 5th best odds in the draft thanks to a 7 game losing streak.  A half game out of the 4th worst record.  Looking really good from a draft perspective.  We aren't out of the woods yet... we're a mere 2 games out of the playoffs.

#3 - Atlanta has won 2 in a row... still standing tall with the 3rd seed.  We would have their pick right now... #20.

#4 - Knicks have won 3 in a row and are a game out of the playoffs.  New York teams should make the playoffs this year.

#5 - Chicago wants to tank, but they have won 4 in a row... sitting at the 5th seed with the #18 pick.


Things to watch:  Rondo might be back within the week.  Should be interesting to see how we handle this situation.  Pretty sure Boston would love to have a Top 5 pick.  We currently have a Top 5 odds.  Rondo's return could jeopardize our draft.  It's no longer #9 vs #15... we're talking about having 8% chance at #1.  10% chance at #2 ,  11% chance at #3, 26% chance at #5 , 36% chance at #6 and 8% chance at #7.    A top 7 pick would be a lock if the season ended today...  and we have 7 guys people are very fond of:  Wiggins, Parker, Randle, Exum, Embiid, Smart, Gordon.

Who still wants to see this team make a run for the 8th seed?  Anyone?

Me. 

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Very much at the crossroads, if we are going to make a run for the playoffs, we should trade for guys that make sure we are in it at least to make an impact, not just be cannon fodder, if not, then we should dump some more salary to be absolutely sure the roster can't possibly sneak into the playoffs.

[slamdunk]

I see no reason to go for the playoffs. It's not like you have young impact talent that would benefit from getting playoff experience.

[Yenohb]

I see no reason to go for the playoffs. It's not like you have young impact talent that would benefit from getting playoff experience.

Arguable. We have Sully(21), Bradley(23), Crawford(24), Olynyk(24), 3 are starters and 1 is a regular part of the rotation.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

At this point, you go into the playoffs for what? A first or possibly second round exit if lucky? Staying in this position or getting worse almost assures us a guy who could be the next face of the franchise.

[PhoSita]

Who still wants to see this team make a run for the 8th seed?  Anyone?

Me.

Mostly because you think this team would be a lot better if Rondo were playing, correct?

Surely you don't believe that making the playoffs with a 28 win team would be a good thing?

[PhoSita]

I see no reason to go for the playoffs. It's not like you have young impact talent that would benefit from getting playoff experience.

Arguable. We have Sully(21), Bradley(23), Crawford(24), Olynyk(24), 3 are starters and 1 is a regular part of the rotation.

Sullinger is the only one who has a future as a starter with this team, in my opinion.  So I agree with slamdunk.

[Celtics18]

Who still wants to see this team make a run for the 8th seed?  Anyone?

Me.

Mostly because you think this team would be a lot better if Rondo were playing, correct?

Surely you don't believe that making the playoffs with a 28 win team would be a good thing?

Really, I just want to see this team play as well as they can and win as many games as they can.  If that means playoffs, great.  If not, I can live with it. 

I wouldn't want to (or expect to) make the playoffs as a 28 win team. 

[PhoSita]

Who still wants to see this team make a run for the 8th seed?  Anyone?

Me.

Mostly because you think this team would be a lot better if Rondo were playing, correct?

Surely you don't believe that making the playoffs with a 28 win team would be a good thing?

Really, I just want to see this team play as well as they can and win as many games as they can.  If that means playoffs, great.  If not, I can live with it. 

I wouldn't want to (or expect to) make the playoffs as a 28 win team.

In a normal year, neither would I.  But this team is currently on track for that many wins and yet somehow they're only a couple games out of the playoffs in this joke of a conference.


Let's say the team is 13-26 after losing to Portland and Houston.  In the remaining 43 games, the team goes 20-23, bolstered by Rondo's return.

You're still talking about a 33-49 team.  In the Western Conference, that's probably a 25 win team due to the difference in strength of schedule.

Forget about the draft pick for a moment.  Do you want to see this team get shellacked four games in a row in the first round?  I don't.  I don't think there's any value in that.

[Celtics18]

Who still wants to see this team make a run for the 8th seed?  Anyone?

Me.

Mostly because you think this team would be a lot better if Rondo were playing, correct?

Surely you don't believe that making the playoffs with a 28 win team would be a good thing?

Really, I just want to see this team play as well as they can and win as many games as they can.  If that means playoffs, great.  If not, I can live with it. 

I wouldn't want to (or expect to) make the playoffs as a 28 win team.

In a normal year, neither would I.  But this team is currently on track for that many wins and yet somehow they're only a couple games out of the playoffs in this joke of a conference.


Let's say the team is 13-26 after losing to Portland and Houston.  In the remaining 43 games, the team goes 20-23, bolstered by Rondo's return.

You're still talking about a 33-49 team.  In the Western Conference, that's probably a 25 win team due to the difference in strength of schedule.

Forget about the draft pick for a moment.  Do you want to see this team get shellacked four games in a row in the first round?  I don't.  I don't think there's any value in that.

But, I don't think it's a given that we'd get "shellacked four games in a row."  I think this team would put up a fight against either of the top two teams in the East.  Who knows? Sure, we've had an embarrassing stretch of games lately, but over the last two, it actually looks like the team is coming out of it.  Yes, we lost the last two games, but there was nothing embarrassing about the performances by the Celtics from my viewpoint.

I want to see them compete.  That's what sports are about.  You don't play to avoid embarrassment, at least not in my view. 

[PhoSita]

I want to see them compete.  That's what sports are about.  You don't play to avoid embarrassment, at least not in my view.

I want to see them compete, too, like they did last night.  I wouldn't want them to play to avoid embarrassment.  But there's a difference between what the players are trying to do and what I hope happens.

Nonetheless, I don't see any value in watching them get killed in a 4 or 5 game series.  So I'd prefer that they miss the playoffs.  Especially since there are incentives for not making the playoffs -- i.e. getting a top 10 pick instead of picking 15th or 16th.

[Celtics18]

I want to see them compete.  That's what sports are about.  You don't play to avoid embarrassment, at least not in my view.

I want to see them compete, too, like they did last night.  I wouldn't want them to play to avoid embarrassment.  But there's a difference between what the players are trying to do and what I hope happens.

Nonetheless, I don't see any value in watching them get killed in a 4 or 5 game series.  So I'd prefer that they miss the playoffs.  Especially since there are incentives for not making the playoffs -- i.e. getting a top 10 pick instead of picking 15th or 16th.

Your are essentially saying that you do want this season to be about avoiding embarrassment in the playoffs.  You are just wording it a little differently.  Again, I don't expect them to get "killed" in four or five games.  I can't say that I would expect them to beat Miami or Indiana, but I would expect them to compete. 

As to the top 10 pick vs. a 15th or 16th pick, I do think this will be a very good draft.  Not only do I think there might be a couple of players with legitimate star potential in the top two or three picks, I also think there are likely to be some future  all stars left outside the lottery.  If we do make the playoffs, I am hoping that Danny gets one or two of those players.  I strongly doubt that there are--as some have suggested--upwards of seven bona fide "franchise players" in this draft, though. 

[PhoSita]

Your are essentially saying that you do want this season to be about avoiding embarrassment in the playoffs.  You are just wording it a little differently. 

I want the players and coaches to always strive to do as well as they can.  The only caveat is that I think player development should be a higher concern than winning games this season, which is why I'm okay with Brad Stevens experimenting with lineups and giving younger guys more run than they might otherwise get, within reason.

What I want the end result to be, and what I expect management wants as well, is different.  This team needs more talent, and this draft is a great opportunity to add talent.

As long as there's any advantage to picking in the lottery versus not picking in the lottery, I'd rather pick in the lottery, because I don't believe this team is good enough to be competitive in the playoffs.

That last part is where we differ most, I guess.

[OhioGreen]

As far as making the playoffs, I believe there is only one question to ask! Does your team have the TALENT to win a championship?  If yes, then definitely go for that playoff spot (ie., the Nets--not playing that good, but have enough players with talent to win if everything came together)
If no, you go for that draft pick!

I believe it's pretty black and white.

[TwinTower14]

Before the season started this is about where I thought the C's were.  5 or 6th worst team in the league.  I think the only way they could have made the playoffs was the division but the Knicks and Brooklyn have got their acts together.  I think the C's will pick in the top 5.  There were only two things that I wanted accomplished this year for the C's.  I wanted to see if Brad Stevens could be an NBA coach and secure a lottery pick to get some pieces.  Looks like DA accomplished both...