Was this playoff appearance worth it?

[Donoghus]

First round exits blow.  Especially ones that come via sweep but it's still ten times better than watching this team stumble to 15 wins then pray to the lottery gods that some ping pong balls will come up their way.  Been there, done that before.  Not fun.

And its certainly a lot better than having a 1.8% chance of a top three pick and being disappointed in the first 5 minutes of the draft lottery show.

[Moranis]

First round exits blow.  Especially ones that come via sweep but it's still ten times better than watching this team stumble to 15 wins then pray to the lottery gods that some ping pong balls will come up their way.  Been there, done that before.  Not fun.

And its certainly a lot better than having a 1.8% chance of a top three pick and being disappointed in the first 5 minutes of the draft lottery show.

Hard to say, will depend on what happens on draft night and who gets picked where as there are always surprises.

Boston earned the playoff spot so I was fine with it.  They put together a nice record down the stretch and got near .500, which is quite the accomplishment given where they were at about the mid-point.

[MBunge]

If we didn't have essentially three, unprotected, first-round picks coming our way from the Nets, I might have a different attitude about a lot of this stuff.

Mike

[Roy H.]

If we didn't have essentially three, unprotected, first-round lottery picks coming our way from the Nets, I might have a different attitude about a lot of this stuff.

Mike

Yeah, and a potential lottery pick from Dallas, and who knows about the future Memphis pick?

Hopefully some other franchise can do the losing for us.

[Donoghus]

If we didn't have essentially three, unprotected, first-round picks coming our way from the Nets, I might have a different attitude about a lot of this stuff.

Mike

It certainly helps.

[33-00-32]

My only disappointment is that we had to face LeBron & Co. I hate him like no other player ever. My Celtics following goes back to the mid 70's and I have always tried to maintain a respect for the opponents. There were moments where someone would irk me but not like James where it is every minute of every interview, game against the Celts or game against anyone else. I just don't like him. I find it a real struggle to watch these games, I do it, but I struggle.

[Evantime34]

The  enjoyment I got out of watching the C's play the way they did in the second half of the season made it well worth it even if we get swept.

[hpantazo]

We've redeemed Sullingers value and CBS has made quite a name for himself , not to mention Cowder , IT, and Jerebko, so yeah, it has certainly been worth it.

We have shown we are a team that, as is, can hang tough in the playoffs against the best, so it will certainly help to convince good free agents that if they sign with us they can put us over the top. Before that we were just another meandering lottery team.

[Who]

I have enjoyed the playoffs and the late season win streak ...

But I would have enjoyed getting a young prospect via the lottery and watching him play here over the next 5+ years even more.

[TheFlex]

Set us back a few years. Absolutely not. These games haven't even been close when LeBron has actually been trying.

You sound like Skip Bayless. "Trying." Please, this is the playoffs, LBJ is trying. We were within 3 with a couple minutes to go last night. LBJ is an All-Time Great; those types don't leave it to the last act to pull out a win when the consequence could be another game or two to close the series.

[KeepRondo]

Set us back a few years. Absolutely not. These games haven't even been close when LeBron has actually been trying.

You sound like Skip Bayless. "Trying." Please, this is the playoffs, LBJ is trying. We were within 3 with a couple minutes to go last night. LBJ is an All-Time Great; those types don't leave it to the last act to pull out a win when the consequence could be another game or two to close the series.

He definitely is trying. Maybe that poster didn't see the block Lebron had on Evan Turner.

And did anyone catch what Lebron said afterwards to Turner. It looked like he was saying, I blocked that right? That was pretty funny.

[PhoSita]

Set us back a few years. Absolutely not. These games haven't even been close when LeBron has actually been trying.

You sound like Skip Bayless. "Trying." Please, this is the playoffs, LBJ is trying. We were within 3 with a couple minutes to go last night. LBJ is an All-Time Great; those types don't leave it to the last act to pull out a win when the consequence could be another game or two to close the series.

While I agree that LeBron has been "trying" in this series, I do believe in the concept of "gears."  Ex-NBA players and coaches talk about this idea all the time.  Great players figure out how to play in different gears to sustain themselves over long regular seasons and step up when their team needs them.

To my eye, LeBron hasn't needed to go into top gear in this series, except for stretches here and there, where he scores seemingly at will.

[Humble G]

Set us back a few years. Absolutely not. These games haven't even been close when LeBron has actually been trying.

You sound like Skip Bayless. "Trying." Please, this is the playoffs, LBJ is trying. We were within 3 with a couple minutes to go last night. LBJ is an All-Time Great; those types don't leave it to the last act to pull out a win when the consequence could be another game or two to close the series.

While I agree that LeBron has been "trying" in this series, I do believe in the concept of "gears."  Ex-NBA players and coaches talk about this idea all the time.  Great players figure out how to play in different gears to sustain themselves over long regular seasons and step up when their team needs them.

To my eye, LeBron hasn't needed to go into top gear in this series, except for stretches here and there, where he scores seemingly at will.

I have to agree. Lebron is "trying" and is playing in a high gear but not top gear.....But here is where i disagree with everyone who says Lebron isnt trying......he has played 42 mins every game this series.....if he wasn't trying he wouldnt be playing those types of minutes

[colincb]

Absolutely worth it and especially to meet up against the Cavs.  Gives Danny a good measuring stick and gives some of the keepers and BCS good playoff experience.  They could have used it last night.

Down side is all the whining we're going to hear from the pro-tankers.

[Celts Fan 508]

Absolutely worth it and especially to meet up against the Cavs.  Gives Danny a good measuring stick and gives some of the keepers and BCS good playoff experience.  They could have used it last night.

Down side is all the whining we're going to hear from the pro-tankers.

Ditto