Be Honest: Celtics make the playoffs - Good or Bad Thing?

[Fafnir]

The recent losses make me think that it might not be a bad idea for them to go to the lottery. I think at this point they have shown flashes of what this team can be. It might be better to add the 10 pick than get crushed in the first round of the playoffs.

However, I love watching the C's when they have been at their best and if I get to watch them playing so hard and winning so be it.

They weren't going to stay playing .700 ball or whatever their overall record during the hot streak was.

I'm still on the side of a slight chance of moving into the top 3 (plus 5 slots or whatever it is) is better than an eigth seed, but I understand wanting the playoffs instead.

[D.o.s.]

For all their tanking look at the Sixers. They couldn't beat Oak Hill Academy. Ok. They could. But if they were told the game counted in the standings they couldn't.

For all their tanking they have Joel Embid and Noel. Whoop de doo.

We have Sully, Marcus Smart, and James Young.

When you look at who they will supposedly pick next year nbadraft.net has them taking Jahil Okafor and Trey Lyles in the first round and we're taking Willy C Stein and Tyus Jones.

Is that their big plan? That's how they're going to get so great?

They're going to have Okafor, Noel, Embid, and T Lyles and we're going to have Sully, WCS, Smart, Young, and Tyus Jones and that's their plan for getting so much better than the rest of the league?

The foundation of their team is losing. They've made it to the Timberwolves zone. Kindred spirits with the 90s Clippers

You wouldn't trade our assets for theirs at this very moment?
They have Saric, the Lakers pick, their own 2015 pick, Noel and Embid.
They have far superior assets to ours.
What do we have that is even as good as Noel at this point? He's more valuable than Marcus Smart that's for sure.

The fact is that without Brad Stevens as a genius coach, we really don't have much other than Smart and Sullinger and some Brooklyn picks.

It's fine to criticize the 76ers, but to act like we are automatically better because we haven't gutted our roster is naive, and we may look like the foolish ones when we have this conversation in 2-3 years time if they present as the Wizards are now with John Wall and Beal shooting them up to a real threat in the East. What exactly are we hoping for at the moment? To be a better version of Atlanta and cross our fingers we can attract a free agent as good as their #3 draft pick Mr Al Horford.
Let's not forget that it's doubtful the East stays this bad for much longer. Miami will be back next year with Bosh and Dragic as Whiteside improves, New York has cap room, a top 3 pick and a top 20 player in his prime who's had a season of rest.
Cleveland has Lebron, Kyrie and Love and the Bucks have Giannis, Jabari Parker and a top 4 record in the East. Then there's the Bulls and Wizards.

Don't get me wrong Eja you get nothing but respect from me but I just want to make it clear that a lot of us aren't so optimistic about our chances at a title sooner than the 76ers- or at least a real shot at creating a championship team.
Smart and Stevens are great starting pieces, but other then them it's not all green happiness.

I would take Smart over Noel every day of the year. Embiid doesn't scare me at all and Euros that aren't here don't scare me either.

But no matter what assets they have they are teaching theirs to lose. We are teaching ours to win. It's not the assets. It's what you do with them.

Just like Oklahoma City was teaching Durant, Westbrook, and Harden to lose.  Yeah.  It has been shown time and time again that winning players will eventually win and losing players will eventually lose no matter how they start.  Losing doesn't create bad habits, just like winning doesn't create good habits.  It is all about the player.

How many rings did OKC get?

So you base everything on rings huh?  How many rings did Orlando get when they signed Hill and McGrady?  How many rings did New York get when they traded for Anthony or L.A. for Howard?  I guess both those strategies are failures as well. 

Oklahoma City has played in the NBA Finals and has been a relevant and legitimate title contender for the last 5 years or so (and would be this year if Durant wasn't injured).  That is a successful team and they were clearly tanking to get there.  At one point on here I actually went through their moves leading up to and for the first couple of years after the Durant draft.  Virtually every move they made was based on acquiring assets and losing more games for draft position.  It was every bit as blatant as Philadelphia except that OKC's players weren't hurt and thus could give a better appearance of trying.  But look at Seattle/OKC during that time.  They traded away veteran after veteran to acquire draft picks and assets.  That is all they were doing.

of course I base everything on rings. I'm from New England. We don't put up banners that say "Was good".  You got to at least win a division around here.

Pffft.

[Moranis]

For all their tanking look at the Sixers. They couldn't beat Oak Hill Academy. Ok. They could. But if they were told the game counted in the standings they couldn't.

For all their tanking they have Joel Embid and Noel. Whoop de doo.

We have Sully, Marcus Smart, and James Young.

When you look at who they will supposedly pick next year nbadraft.net has them taking Jahil Okafor and Trey Lyles in the first round and we're taking Willy C Stein and Tyus Jones.

Is that their big plan? That's how they're going to get so great?

They're going to have Okafor, Noel, Embid, and T Lyles and we're going to have Sully, WCS, Smart, Young, and Tyus Jones and that's their plan for getting so much better than the rest of the league?

The foundation of their team is losing. They've made it to the Timberwolves zone. Kindred spirits with the 90s Clippers

You wouldn't trade our assets for theirs at this very moment?
They have Saric, the Lakers pick, their own 2015 pick, Noel and Embid.
They have far superior assets to ours.
What do we have that is even as good as Noel at this point? He's more valuable than Marcus Smart that's for sure.

The fact is that without Brad Stevens as a genius coach, we really don't have much other than Smart and Sullinger and some Brooklyn picks.

It's fine to criticize the 76ers, but to act like we are automatically better because we haven't gutted our roster is naive, and we may look like the foolish ones when we have this conversation in 2-3 years time if they present as the Wizards are now with John Wall and Beal shooting them up to a real threat in the East. What exactly are we hoping for at the moment? To be a better version of Atlanta and cross our fingers we can attract a free agent as good as their #3 draft pick Mr Al Horford.
Let's not forget that it's doubtful the East stays this bad for much longer. Miami will be back next year with Bosh and Dragic as Whiteside improves, New York has cap room, a top 3 pick and a top 20 player in his prime who's had a season of rest.
Cleveland has Lebron, Kyrie and Love and the Bucks have Giannis, Jabari Parker and a top 4 record in the East. Then there's the Bulls and Wizards.

Don't get me wrong Eja you get nothing but respect from me but I just want to make it clear that a lot of us aren't so optimistic about our chances at a title sooner than the 76ers- or at least a real shot at creating a championship team.
Smart and Stevens are great starting pieces, but other then them it's not all green happiness.

I would take Smart over Noel every day of the year. Embiid doesn't scare me at all and Euros that aren't here don't scare me either.

But no matter what assets they have they are teaching theirs to lose. We are teaching ours to win. It's not the assets. It's what you do with them.

Just like Oklahoma City was teaching Durant, Westbrook, and Harden to lose.  Yeah.  It has been shown time and time again that winning players will eventually win and losing players will eventually lose no matter how they start.  Losing doesn't create bad habits, just like winning doesn't create good habits.  It is all about the player.

How many rings did OKC get?

So you base everything on rings huh?  How many rings did Orlando get when they signed Hill and McGrady?  How many rings did New York get when they traded for Anthony or L.A. for Howard?  I guess both those strategies are failures as well. 

Oklahoma City has played in the NBA Finals and has been a relevant and legitimate title contender for the last 5 years or so (and would be this year if Durant wasn't injured).  That is a successful team and they were clearly tanking to get there.  At one point on here I actually went through their moves leading up to and for the first couple of years after the Durant draft.  Virtually every move they made was based on acquiring assets and losing more games for draft position.  It was every bit as blatant as Philadelphia except that OKC's players weren't hurt and thus could give a better appearance of trying.  But look at Seattle/OKC during that time.  They traded away veteran after veteran to acquire draft picks and assets.  That is all they were doing.

of course I base everything on rings. I'm from New England. We don't put up banners that say "Was good".  You got to at least win a division around here.

But you use that to show that tanking doesn't work, yet don't apply to that logic to the countless free agent moves and trades that also don't yield championship.  That is the point I was most pointing out.  You can't be hypocritical, which you seemingly are being in this thread.