Would you rather make the playoffs or get a Top 5 pick?

[Roy H.]

I think this team's problem is a lack of talent, rather than sufficient raw talent that needs to be seasoned.

That being the case, it's more beneficial to get a top draft pick.

[esel1000]

getting into the playoffs and getting swept in the 1st round would not be fun. it'd be a waste. we'd draft jajuan johnson part 2 with our late 1st and stay in nba purgatory

we need a top pick

^This. We weren't even good enough to beat the Nets... we were lucky they had a bad shooting night. We had 28 turnovers... This team would be absolutely embarrassed in the playoffs and we'd be on the path to becoming Atlanta 2.0. No point, I'd much rather lose now and get a potentially great reward than make the playoffs for nothing, especially since we'd only make them because the East is awful. If we were in the West, this wouldn't even be a question

[Celtics18]

getting into the playoffs and getting swept in the 1st round would not be fun. it'd be a waste. we'd draft jajuan johnson part 2 with our late 1st and stay in nba purgatory

we need a top pick

^This. We weren't even good enough to beat the Nets... we were lucky they had a bad shooting night. We had 28 turnovers... This team would be absolutely embarrassed in the playoffs and we'd be on the path to becoming Atlanta 2.0. No point, I'd much rather lose now and get a potentially great reward than make the playoffs for nothing, especially since we'd only make them because the East is awful. If we were in the West, this wouldn't even be a question

I re-iterate; to make the playoffs, we'd probably need to win at least 75% of our remaining 20 games.  If we could pull that off (not likely, but still possible), we'd look like a good team heading into the playoffs. 

If all of a sudden we played .750 ball to close the season, we'd look like a team that had a chance to pull a major upset in the first round--or at least take a couple of games and make it a good series--against one of the two heavyweights in the East.

I'd take closing out this up-until-now woeful season on a positive note.  We still have 9 first round picks over the course of the next 5 years (including two this year). 

We are in a nice position to rebuild, with or without a top five pick. 

[LilRip]

getting into the playoffs and getting swept in the 1st round would not be fun. it'd be a waste. we'd draft jajuan johnson part 2 with our late 1st and stay in nba purgatory

we need a top pick

^This. We weren't even good enough to beat the Nets... we were lucky they had a bad shooting night. We had 28 turnovers... This team would be absolutely embarrassed in the playoffs and we'd be on the path to becoming Atlanta 2.0. No point, I'd much rather lose now and get a potentially great reward than make the playoffs for nothing, especially since we'd only make them because the East is awful. If we were in the West, this wouldn't even be a question

I re-iterate; to make the playoffs, we'd probably need to win at least 75% of our remaining 20 games.  If we could pull that off (not likely, but still possible), we'd look like a good team heading into the playoffs. 

If all of a sudden we played .750 ball to close the season, we'd look like a team that had a chance to pull a major upset in the first round--or at least take a couple of games and make it a good series--against one of the two heavyweights in the East.

I'd take closing out this up-until-now woeful season on a positive note.  We still have 9 first round picks over the course of the next 5 years (including two this year). 

We are in a nice position to rebuild, with or without a top five pick.

i'm curious, what if we played close to .750 ball more likely due to circumstance (e.g. almost all the other teams between us and the 8th seed suffered major injuries to 2-3 of their current main starters) rather than the team playing well above the sum of its parts? would you still take that? how about if we just miss the playoffs, 0.5-1 game back (9th seed)?

[assume that the remaining #1-7 remain intact as they are]

[guava_wrench]

I think this team's problem is a lack of talent, rather than sufficient raw talent that needs to be seasoned.

That being the case, it's more beneficial to get a top draft pick.

Agreed.

As far as this draft being overrated, it probably is. People are acting like the top 5 picks are going to be HOF players. That is unlikely. On the other hand, there are some excellent talents at the top that are likely to see many all star games and there is a good chance of a few HOF level players, depending how their careers play out.

This is an excellent draft, but look at the lack of success of Sacramento with Cousins, a major talent. Look at Memphis and their single season of good results with former ROY and future HOF Pau Gasol. Look at the regression in Cleveland with Kyrie.

My point is that getting a top 4 or 5 pick would greatly increase our prospects, but we should not pretend that this would guarantee becoming a contender. Even players that pan out, like Carmelo Anthony, often just lead to fool's gold regular season success with a first round knockout.

[NikoZea]

I'm pretty sure Ainge answer this question already. Making the playoffs is not a goal this season.

[NikoZea]

I'm pretty sure Ainge answered this question already. Making the playoffs is not a goal this season.

[Celtics18]

getting into the playoffs and getting swept in the 1st round would not be fun. it'd be a waste. we'd draft jajuan johnson part 2 with our late 1st and stay in nba purgatory

we need a top pick

^This. We weren't even good enough to beat the Nets... we were lucky they had a bad shooting night. We had 28 turnovers... This team would be absolutely embarrassed in the playoffs and we'd be on the path to becoming Atlanta 2.0. No point, I'd much rather lose now and get a potentially great reward than make the playoffs for nothing, especially since we'd only make them because the East is awful. If we were in the West, this wouldn't even be a question

I re-iterate; to make the playoffs, we'd probably need to win at least 75% of our remaining 20 games.  If we could pull that off (not likely, but still possible), we'd look like a good team heading into the playoffs. 

If all of a sudden we played .750 ball to close the season, we'd look like a team that had a chance to pull a major upset in the first round--or at least take a couple of games and make it a good series--against one of the two heavyweights in the East.

I'd take closing out this up-until-now woeful season on a positive note.  We still have 9 first round picks over the course of the next 5 years (including two this year). 

We are in a nice position to rebuild, with or without a top five pick.

i'm curious, what if we played close to .750 ball more likely due to circumstance (e.g. almost all the other teams between us and the 8th seed suffered major injuries to 2-3 of their current main starters) rather than the team playing well above the sum of its parts? would you still take that? how about if we just miss the playoffs, 0.5-1 game back (9th seed)?

[assume that the remaining #1-7 remain intact as they are]

I'd be thrilled with a 15 and 5 close to the season, regardless of whether or not it ended up being good enough to make the playoffs and regardless of what other teams in the league end up doing or going through over that same stretch.

It would be exciting for the present, and it would probably give me more hope for the future than a top five draft pick in this year's draft would. 

[LarBrd33]

getting into the playoffs and getting swept in the 1st round would not be fun. it'd be a waste. we'd draft jajuan johnson part 2 with our late 1st and stay in nba purgatory

we need a top pick

^This. We weren't even good enough to beat the Nets... we were lucky they had a bad shooting night. We had 28 turnovers... This team would be absolutely embarrassed in the playoffs and we'd be on the path to becoming Atlanta 2.0. No point, I'd much rather lose now and get a potentially great reward than make the playoffs for nothing, especially since we'd only make them because the East is awful. If we were in the West, this wouldn't even be a question

I re-iterate; to make the playoffs, we'd probably need to win at least 75% of our remaining 20 games.  If we could pull that off (not likely, but still possible), we'd look like a good team heading into the playoffs. 

If all of a sudden we played .750 ball to close the season, we'd look like a team that had a chance to pull a major upset in the first round--or at least take a couple of games and make it a good series--against one of the two heavyweights in the East.

I'd take closing out this up-until-now woeful season on a positive note.  We still have 9 first round picks over the course of the next 5 years (including two this year). 

We are in a nice position to rebuild, with or without a top five pick.

i'm curious, what if we played close to .750 ball more likely due to circumstance (e.g. almost all the other teams between us and the 8th seed suffered major injuries to 2-3 of their current main starters) rather than the team playing well above the sum of its parts? would you still take that? how about if we just miss the playoffs, 0.5-1 game back (9th seed)?

[assume that the remaining #1-7 remain intact as they are]

Forget about the "75%" thing for a second.

We are only 6 games out of the 8th spot... the 8th spot is held by a below .500 crap team.  It's conceivable that everyone in front of us will continue to play like crap.

If we win enough games to make the playoffs it will not be because we are suddenly world-beaters... it will be because we have Philly on our schedule twice, half the teams we play stink, and most of the competent teams will be resting their starters down the stretch to prepare for the playoffs.


Honestly I think making the playoffs this year is probably not happening... but I do think we're going to play well enough to end up picking 8-12.

And while it's cute that Celtics18 brings up our mass assortment of picks... You'd probably have to trade all "10" of those late 1sts for 1 top 3 pick in 2014.

[celtic -_- pride]

i just took a look at our remaining schedule and it's not that intimidating. the east is such a joke that we could possibly play ourselves back into the playoff race. that would be the most tragic thing to happen to us. i wonder how many people would change their opinions about DA's lack of moves at the deadline.

[Celtics18]

getting into the playoffs and getting swept in the 1st round would not be fun. it'd be a waste. we'd draft jajuan johnson part 2 with our late 1st and stay in nba purgatory

we need a top pick

^This. We weren't even good enough to beat the Nets... we were lucky they had a bad shooting night. We had 28 turnovers... This team would be absolutely embarrassed in the playoffs and we'd be on the path to becoming Atlanta 2.0. No point, I'd much rather lose now and get a potentially great reward than make the playoffs for nothing, especially since we'd only make them because the East is awful. If we were in the West, this wouldn't even be a question

I re-iterate; to make the playoffs, we'd probably need to win at least 75% of our remaining 20 games.  If we could pull that off (not likely, but still possible), we'd look like a good team heading into the playoffs. 

If all of a sudden we played .750 ball to close the season, we'd look like a team that had a chance to pull a major upset in the first round--or at least take a couple of games and make it a good series--against one of the two heavyweights in the East.

I'd take closing out this up-until-now woeful season on a positive note.  We still have 9 first round picks over the course of the next 5 years (including two this year). 

We are in a nice position to rebuild, with or without a top five pick.

i'm curious, what if we played close to .750 ball more likely due to circumstance (e.g. almost all the other teams between us and the 8th seed suffered major injuries to 2-3 of their current main starters) rather than the team playing well above the sum of its parts? would you still take that? how about if we just miss the playoffs, 0.5-1 game back (9th seed)?

[assume that the remaining #1-7 remain intact as they are]

Forget about the "75%" thing for a second.

We are only 6 games out of the 8th spot... the 8th spot is held by a below .500 crap team.  It's conceivable that everyone in front of us will continue to play like crap.

If we win enough games to make the playoffs it will not be because we are suddenly world-beaters... it will be because we have Philly on our schedule twice, half the teams we play stink, and most of the competent teams will be resting their starters down the stretch to prepare for the playoffs.


Honestly I think making the playoffs this year is probably not happening... but I do think we're going to play well enough to end up picking 8-12.

And while it's cute that Celtics18 brings up our mass assortment of picks... You'd probably have to trade all "10" of those late 1sts for 1 top 3 pick in 2014.

With eleven teams currently ahead of us in the East (many of them, admittedly, "crappy"), I do think we'd have to be close to "world beaters" over the course of the remainder of the season to have any shot at the playoffs.

Again, winning 15 of the remaining 20 games would be impressive, regardless of any extenuating circumstances. 

[winsomme]

There is unfortunately a third option which is actually the most likely option and that is we continue to fight for wins but only win enough to move past other lottery teams but not enough to make the playoffs. Thus we end up with a pick in the 7-9 range...

For me, this is a huge opportunity missed. A top 5 pick would be a tremendous asset in our rebuild.

I'm very frustrated that a team like the Lakers is going to slip in and take a pick that should be ours...  Why clean house in this past off season and then not go after the pick. As Spock would say "highly illogical"
 

[cman88]

to be fair, we could still get a top 5 pick not being one of the worst 4 teams(although a loss today puts us back in top 4 worst records I believe)

I really see no reason to make the playoffs at all. The only way I would be for making the playoffs as a #8 seed to get swept would be if we had a team of young prospects who developed enough to fight for an 8th seed...there you can see there would be benefit to that experience.

Like the pacers in I believe paul georges rookie year. Or the bulls in 2008, 2010.

NOT when you have a team full of veteran role players and a HORRID eastern conference.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

I think this team's problem is a lack of talent, rather than sufficient raw talent that needs to be seasoned.

That being the case, it's more beneficial to get a top draft pick.

agreed

[LarBrd33]

getting into the playoffs and getting swept in the 1st round would not be fun. it'd be a waste. we'd draft jajuan johnson part 2 with our late 1st and stay in nba purgatory

we need a top pick

^This. We weren't even good enough to beat the Nets... we were lucky they had a bad shooting night. We had 28 turnovers... This team would be absolutely embarrassed in the playoffs and we'd be on the path to becoming Atlanta 2.0. No point, I'd much rather lose now and get a potentially great reward than make the playoffs for nothing, especially since we'd only make them because the East is awful. If we were in the West, this wouldn't even be a question

I re-iterate; to make the playoffs, we'd probably need to win at least 75% of our remaining 20 games.  If we could pull that off (not likely, but still possible), we'd look like a good team heading into the playoffs. 

If all of a sudden we played .750 ball to close the season, we'd look like a team that had a chance to pull a major upset in the first round--or at least take a couple of games and make it a good series--against one of the two heavyweights in the East.

I'd take closing out this up-until-now woeful season on a positive note.  We still have 9 first round picks over the course of the next 5 years (including two this year). 

We are in a nice position to rebuild, with or without a top five pick.

i'm curious, what if we played close to .750 ball more likely due to circumstance (e.g. almost all the other teams between us and the 8th seed suffered major injuries to 2-3 of their current main starters) rather than the team playing well above the sum of its parts? would you still take that? how about if we just miss the playoffs, 0.5-1 game back (9th seed)?

[assume that the remaining #1-7 remain intact as they are]

Forget about the "75%" thing for a second.

We are only 6 games out of the 8th spot... the 8th spot is held by a below .500 crap team.  It's conceivable that everyone in front of us will continue to play like crap.

If we win enough games to make the playoffs it will not be because we are suddenly world-beaters... it will be because we have Philly on our schedule twice, half the teams we play stink, and most of the competent teams will be resting their starters down the stretch to prepare for the playoffs.


Honestly I think making the playoffs this year is probably not happening... but I do think we're going to play well enough to end up picking 8-12.

And while it's cute that Celtics18 brings up our mass assortment of picks... You'd probably have to trade all "10" of those late 1sts for 1 top 3 pick in 2014.

With eleven teams currently ahead of us in the East (many of them, admittedly, "crappy"), I do think we'd have to be close to "world beaters" over the course of the remainder of the season to have any shot at the playoffs.

Again, winning 15 of the remaining 20 games would be impressive, regardless of any extenuating circumstances.

Why are you acting like it would be some feat of dominance to make the playoffs?  We're 5 games out of the playoffs right now.  Our 2 game win streak took us from #4 pick to #7.   We are only 2 games behind Detroit (#10 pick)...

all your dreams are coming true, Celtics18... perpetual mediocrity is within reach