So obviously this is still stupid early and tons can change, but it seems like the early season returns are not very favorable in trying to have the Celtics as one of the 5 worst teams in the NBA. I have kind of been wondering when LA will actually win their first game. After Philly lost last night to Orlando, it became an interesting question for them too.
Orlando seems like they will be even worse than expected and certainly haven't been helped by the injury to Oladipo. The injuries to Indiana (West, Hill, Stuckey others currently out) have also dimmed their win prospects.
I think Milwaukee, Sacramento and Utah look better than expected, but this may be offset by Denver, Detroit and Knicks looking worse.
Have people been surprised by any of this? Do you still see the Celtics as a bottom 5 team?
Yes. The Knicks and Pistons are still better than we are and will improve over the course of the season as the Knicks adapt to the Triangle and the Pistons adapt to Stan Van Gundy (as he adapts to them, as well). The Nuggets are certainly much, much better than we are and will also improve over the course of the season as Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari, barring injury, regain form.
Utah and Milwaukee's rise really hurt us. It's hard to tell if Milwaukee is better or worse than us, but that's largely irrelevant. They're not an easy out anymore (at least with regards to our team), and neither is Utah (who I believe is better than we are).
30) Philly
29) LAL (could get better but they look awful. Hopefully the lottery screws them over.)
28) Orlando
27) Boston
26) Milwaukee
25) Indiana
24) Detroit
23) Utah
22) NYK
Indiana isn't getting Paul George back but they are getting West, Hill and Stuckey back and with the re-emergence of Hibbert they should overcome a dismal offense with an excellent defense and finish with 35-38 wins.
The reality of the situation is that the beginning of our season couldn't have gone that much better. Sully struggled a bit the first couple of games but seems to have found himself. Olynyk's lack of confidence is concerning but it isn't showing up in the stat sheet in a drastic way. Rondo and Green look great, Bradley is confirming that last year's 3PTFG% was not a fluke and Marcus Smart continues to get better and better. Our bench is not slumping, it's just an average bench (one that I overrated myself during the preseason).
Still, we only have one win because we were able to take advantage of a lackadaisical Brooklyn team without Brook Lopez on opening night. We got smoked by Houston and lost to Dallas despite them sleepwalking through the second half because we dug ourselves a 31-point hole. Finally, we lost control of a decent lead at home to a Toronto team that was missing two starters, which conveniently negated one of the major advantages they had over us (size).
There's a lot of bright spots on this team. I think we have a great future. But right now the Celts are in a paradox/Catch 22 situation of sorts. If guys like Rondo, Green and Bass play too well, offers will likely come in that are too good for Danny to pass up (offers that include picks and young players and salary relief rather than immediate equal value). If they're not traded, it probably means they're not playing well enough to get dealt. Either way, I don't see us cracking 35 wins.
I'm sticking with the 32 win range. I had us at 30-32 heading into the year, got a little excited after the Brooklyn game and bumped it up to 32-35, and now I'm settling on 32.
Topic: Historically bad teams and impact on Pro-tankers (Read 774 times)