The next 10 games will obliterate our lottery chances.

[PhoSita]

I don't know if it will "obliterate our chances at the lottery," but I'd desperately like to see our team go on a little winning streak and play .500 ball for the rest of the season. 

 

I think if the team went .500 for a month that would be quite an achievement.

  We already did that, December.

Hm, fair enough.  I think the team has gotten worse since then with the trades.  The book is also out on this team, now. 

The team could hover near .500 the rest of the way if Rondo plays like he did yesterday more often than not.  That Magic team is truly awful, though.

[celtsfanforlife]

I get the funny feeling that the tankers in the crowd will go apoplectic if we win 7 of 10 and don't make any trades over the next ten days yet, that is exactly what could happen.

I don't know how likely that is. Its probably more likely no trades are made than the team winning 7 of 10 games but anything is possible as a lot of teams that we play over the next t few weeks are tanking hard.

If that did happen I'd be furious. It would be the worst outcome for the future of this franchise.
Having that pick is the diamond in our asset collection.
No matter if you oppose rebuilding by drafting players or trading assets to get them-we need to nab one of those top 5 picks.
Considering Danny traded away Crawford and Lee though, it's very unlikely that this current roster stays the same over the trade deadline because they are still good enough to win 7 of 10 against the other scum of the league.
The veterans that likely don't have part in the future of this team are probably gone for breakeven returns at best.
Personally I hope Danny puts player development of Sullinger, Olynyk, Fav and Blue ahead of winning a few meaningless games.

Count me among the depressed as we watch our lottery chances get destroyed.  Say good-bye to Jabari Parker and say hello to Rodney Hood.  All in the name of seeing Bass and Humphries pad their statistics and play for their next contract.  Why isn't Olynyk playing?

Glad to see Rondo play well and Bradley healthy.  But I am sick to my stomach.  Hats off to the Lakers who know what they are doing.

[Future Celtics Owner]

to all those opposed to tanking:

i hope you all enjoy theses meaningless wins that will stop us from getting a superstar in the next draft.sure it sucks losing but i rather hit rock bottom this year than be mediocre the next 5-10 years because we can't get a real superstar on the team.(no rondo is not,and don't exepect a free-agent one either)the draft is the only way we'll get one,and after having one it will be easier to get more

Thank you. Instead of enjoying a few meaningless wins could we please focus on the next few championships.

[mr. dee]

to all those opposed to tanking:

i hope you all enjoy theses meaningless wins that will stop us from getting a superstar in the next draft.sure it sucks losing but i rather hit rock bottom this year than be mediocre the next 5-10 years because we can't get a real superstar on the team.(no rondo is not,and don't exepect a free-agent one either)the draft is the only way we'll get one,and after having one it will be easier to get more

I agree. Look at how good the Bobcats are with all of those top 5 picks. The Cavs look like title contenders and the Wizards....just look unstoppable.

There is a reason that for the last decade the lottery teams for the most part remain unchanged. Tanking alone will not win a title. I would think its likely that if the Celtics have a repeat of this season they will be looking for a new coach since Stevens will have lost the team. Danny doesn't seem like the type of guy that wants to rebuild for the next decade.

The cavs drafted anthony Bennet with the firrst pick...THey are also located in Clevland...

If you arent completely incompetant you can build an exceptional team by getting top 5 picks. Also I'd like to hear your magical idea on how to rebuild while winning games. Want to be the Hawks for the next decade? Or do you want to get a high pick and turn into the 2008 Celtics.

  Sign me up for turning into the 2008 Celts if all it takes to get there is a high draft pick.

Sure that's possible.  You keep Rondo... he's your Pierce.  You trade the Top 5 pick + expiring contracts for an all-star player like Melo (he's your Ray) and then you trade your elite big prospect (Big Al/Sully) + multiple additional prospects (bradley/delonte,  Oly/Gerald Green, multiple 1sts) for a disgruntled superstar big man in Minnesota (Kevin Garnett/Love)

Instant Big 3 - Pierce/Rondo, Ray/Melo, Kevin/Kevin

I'm cool with it.  I'd prefer we just bottom out and select a superstar so we can have more than a 3-5 year window... in other words, the Kevin Durant path that the ThunderSonics took in 2007.   I'd take 15 years of contending built around a home-grown superstar over a small window built around purchased aging all-stars.

Fwiw, Love and Melo are much younger than Ray and KG when we traded for them... that' makes this idea unrealistic.  That and the fact that Kevin Love is a lock to go home to the Lakers.

Not to say this is a horrible team. This team will be a beast offensively with Rondo controlling the offense but who would anchor the defense? Rondo and Bradley?

Even if the Miami didn't have a defensive anchor, their starting five are all capable defenders.

[pokeKingCurtis]

to all those opposed to tanking:

i hope you all enjoy theses meaningless wins that will stop us from getting a superstar in the next draft.sure it sucks losing but i rather hit rock bottom this year than be mediocre the next 5-10 years because we can't get a real superstar on the team.(no rondo is not,and don't exepect a free-agent one either)the draft is the only way we'll get one,and after having one it will be easier to get more

Thank you. Instead of enjoying a few meaningless wins could we please focus on the next few championships.

The fact that some would get riled up over others rooting for wins is pretty absurd. What does it matter if a fan roots for wins? Let alone enjoy a win.

If you are so certain that tanking is the way, and if you are confident in Ainge's abilities as a GM, then you should be certain that Ainge will tank. Where's the worry?





As for the notion of tanking itself...

Tankers point to empirical data.

But considering that teams dominate for 5-10 years a time, and considering how rare transcendent talent is, that's not a whole lot of empirical data to go on.

Add to that expansion teams diluting the talent pool and the increased use of more precise analytics (no surprise stats are more abundant and comprehensive with technology being more available). The changes in the CBA also change the way the game is played.

The fact that a higher pick would most probably help our rebuild is undeniable as it is logically more probable that we acquire the player we need. I do not deny that. That is fact.

Tanking gets us a higher pick. A higher pick, as mentioned before, will have a higher chance of helping us. I have no problem accepting that tanking can help our cause. Trading Rondo for picks could very well help.

But if you are to tell me either we tank, or we're doomed because it's an impossibility (not improbability) that we acquire the talent we need any other way, I can't accept that.

Consider me a tanking agnostic. As I've said, a higher pick undeniably has value and it follows that tanking could very well help our cause.

Not tanking, however, is not proven to assure perennial mediocrity.

Perhaps there may never ever be another James Harden trade. Perhaps there may never be another 04 Pistons team.

Perhaps these are indeed anomalies and nothing more. And, hell, perhaps not tanking and getting that third star would leave Houston without a championship after all that effort.

But the fact that there exists evidence that not tanking could lead to championship teams and the fact that such evidence has not been proven to be anomalies means (imo) at the very least tanking should not be held with such strong conviction as some tankers do.

[wdleehi]

The Celtics are not going to lose every game.  Nor do we want them.  Do we want to see a historically bad team?

[dreamgreen]

I'm hoping they are showcasing Bass and Green for a deal at the deadline. I'd like to see KO get at least 25 mins a game so we can see what we have.

How do you "showcase" guys who already get starter's minutes?

Well I guess that my gripe. Bass IMO is not a long term player here and right now we should be developing our youth, not letting Bass make a fool of himself in the post.

[misha]

The Celtics are not going to lose every game.  Nor do we want them.  Do we want to see a historically bad team?

Maybe not historically bad but bad enough to put us with an excellent shot for a top 3 pick.

[wdleehi]

The Celtics are not going to lose every game.  Nor do we want them.  Do we want to see a historically bad team?

Maybe not historically bad but bad enough to put us with an excellent shot for a top 3 pick.

Which they have at the moment.

[misha]

The Celtics are not going to lose every game.  Nor do we want them.  Do we want to see a historically bad team?

Maybe not historically bad but bad enough to put us with an excellent shot for a top 3 pick.

Which they have at the moment.

Yeah, and hopefully we won't ruin it with some pointless winning streak down the line.

[BballTim]

to all those opposed to tanking:

i hope you all enjoy theses meaningless wins that will stop us from getting a superstar in the next draft.sure it sucks losing but i rather hit rock bottom this year than be mediocre the next 5-10 years because we can't get a real superstar on the team.(no rondo is not,and don't exepect a free-agent one either)the draft is the only way we'll get one,and after having one it will be easier to get more

I agree. Look at how good the Bobcats are with all of those top 5 picks. The Cavs look like title contenders and the Wizards....just look unstoppable.

There is a reason that for the last decade the lottery teams for the most part remain unchanged. Tanking alone will not win a title. I would think its likely that if the Celtics have a repeat of this season they will be looking for a new coach since Stevens will have lost the team. Danny doesn't seem like the type of guy that wants to rebuild for the next decade.

The cavs drafted anthony Bennet with the firrst pick...THey are also located in Clevland...

If you arent completely incompetant you can build an exceptional team by getting top 5 picks. Also I'd like to hear your magical idea on how to rebuild while winning games. Want to be the Hawks for the next decade? Or do you want to get a high pick and turn into the 2008 Celtics.

  Sign me up for turning into the 2008 Celts if all it takes to get there is a high draft pick.

Sure that's possible.  You keep Rondo... he's your Pierce.  You trade the Top 5 pick + expiring contracts for an all-star player like Melo (he's your Ray) and then you trade your elite big prospect (Big Al/Sully) + multiple additional prospects (bradley/delonte,  Oly/Gerald Green, multiple 1sts) for a disgruntled superstar big man in Minnesota (Kevin Garnett/Love)

Instant Big 3 - Pierce/Rondo, Ray/Melo, Kevin/Kevin

I'm cool with it.  I'd prefer we just bottom out and select a superstar so we can have more than a 3-5 year window... in other words, the Kevin Durant path that the ThunderSonics took in 2007.   I'd take 15 years of contending built around a home-grown superstar over a small window built around purchased aging all-stars.

Fwiw, Love and Melo are much younger than Ray and KG when we traded for them... that' makes this idea unrealistic.  That and the fact that Kevin Love is a lock to go home to the Lakers.

Not to say this is a horrible team. This team will be a beast offensively with Rondo controlling the offense but who would anchor the defense? Rondo and Bradley?

Even if the Miami didn't have a defensive anchor, their starting five are all capable defenders.

  We're no worse than average on defense and that's with the team playing without any size in the middle. It wouldn't take much besides a decent defensive center to have the team playing like a top 7-8 or so defense.

[Spilling Green Dye]

I get the funny feeling that the tankers in the crowd will go apoplectic if we win 7 of 10 and don't make any trades over the next ten days yet, that is exactly what could happen.

I don't know how likely that is. Its probably more likely no trades are made than the team winning 7 of 10 games but anything is possible as a lot of teams that we play over the next t few weeks are tanking hard.

If that did happen I'd be furious. It would be the worst outcome for the future of this franchise.
Having that pick is the diamond in our asset collection.
No matter if you oppose rebuilding by drafting players or trading assets to get them-we need to nab one of those top 5 picks.
Considering Danny traded away Crawford and Lee though, it's very unlikely that this current roster stays the same over the trade deadline because they are still good enough to win 7 of 10 against the other scum of the league.
The veterans that likely don't have part in the future of this team are probably gone for breakeven returns at best.
Personally I hope Danny puts player development of Sullinger, Olynyk, Fav and Blue ahead of winning a few meaningless games.

Count me among the depressed as we watch our lottery chances get destroyed.  Say good-bye to Jabari Parker and say hello to Rodney Hood.  All in the name of seeing Bass and Humphries pad their statistics and play for their next contract.  Why isn't Olynyk playing?

Glad to see Rondo play well and Bradley healthy.  But I am sick to my stomach.  Hats off to the Lakers who know what they are doing.

TP for summing up my thoughts exactly.  Compounding the sadness of watching our chances float out the window with each pathetic win, the Lakers and other teams "get it" and will be in a better position to win the next 10-years. 

I missed out on watching most of the 80's, so I grew up watching most every Celtic game of the 90's.  It was fun to route for Radja, Douglas, 'x-man', etc, but it would have been a lot better to route for a much better team who could not only make the playoffs but compete, on some level, for a championship.

Losing against bad teams now isn't the only way to build a championship contender, but it is the most reliable.  The Celtics really need to capitalize on this opportunity and play to develop players while losing.  I can't take watching a decade of pathetic mediocrity again, especially b/c we were so stubborn to want Bass and others hit meaningless shots we'll forget about by next year.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Counting the Orlando game which we just won the schedule is...

Magic
@76ers
Kings
Mavericks
@Bucks
Spurs
@Suns
@Lakers
@Kings
@Jazz

Literally everyone of those bolded games is an easily winnable game. Unless Danny blows it up completely soon we will be flirting with the 8th seed.

Considering the Cs got a vintage performance from Rondo, a double-double from Sully, and a near-double-double from Bass and barely got the win, I'm not worried about the Celtics going on a tear over the next 10 games.

[PhoSita]

The Celtics are not going to lose every game.  Nor do we want them.  Do we want to see a historically bad team?

Honestly, whatever the final record is, by Celtics standards this is a historically bad team.

[Fafnir]

The Celtics are not going to lose every game.  Nor do we want them.  Do we want to see a historically bad team?

Honestly, whatever the final record is, by Celtics standards this is a historically bad team.

Fourth worst by SRS (which is schedule adjusted point differential)

And we're trending downward. Right now its only the 96-97, 78-79, and 46-47 C's (pre-Red!) are worse. We're a ways of the 96-97 team though, they were a special breed of tank/awful.