ESPN geeks liking the Celtics upside

[KeepRondo]

Here's some inside information.

1. Which East team should be most excited about its upside?

Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider:  Boston. Right now the Celtics are in the gravy portion of their life cycle: not good enough to warrant expectations but good enough to beat anyone in the East. The home stretch and playoff run awaiting Boston will give valuable experience to its young roster, experience that will carry over to future permutations of the Celtics and/or increase trade market value this summer.

Tom Haberstroh, ESPN Insider: Boston Celtics. They have a great coach, a winning franchise, a top-notch culture, young talent and assets galore. Even though the Cleveland Cavaliers have the highest ceiling, that also comes with enormous expectations. The Celtics can play out the season feeling giddy about their future whereas the Cavs might feel burdened by it.

Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider:Boston in a runaway. For the remainder of this season, if the Celtics play to their point differential, they'll win a playoff series and pose a major challenge for whoever they play in the second round. They'll enter the offseason perceived to be "one step away". By then, they might own the top pick of the draft if the lottery goes well. Then free agency hits, where Danny Ainge has the cap flexibility and pieces to acquire an upper-tier star.

Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: The Boston Celtics. On May 17, the NBA will hold its draft lottery before Game 1 of the conference finals. It's conceivable the Celtics could win the lottery (via the Brooklyn Nets) and then take the court in the Eastern Conference finals. And if that dream scenario unfolds, Boston would become a very interesting player in free agency this summer.

David Thorpe, ESPN Insider: Gotta be the Pistons. Think about it. Andre Drummond is still just 22, Stanley Johnson is a teenager, and both have significant upsides to uncover. But that's just the beginning. Tobias Harris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are 23 and each has a solid future ahead, while Reggie Jackson has made the big jump to playing like an All-Star. Combine these "kids" with a coach who knows how to build cohesion around a team identity of defense and playing the right way and you have an attractive team to veteran free agents.

[Boris Badenov]

Poor Sam Hinkie.

[manl_lui]

ESPN giving Boston credit? Is this real life?

[arctic 3.0]

David Thorpe can go climb a tree

[Lucky17]

David Thorpe can go climb a tree

I don't think he's wrong. Pistons have a bright future.

[SparzWizard]

ESPN giving Boston credit? Is this real life?

I thought ESPN media hated Boston sports teams, especially the football team. Looooool

[csfansince60s]

David Thorpe can go climb a tree

I don't think he's wrong. Pistons have a bright future.

I agree with this. Van Gundy has done a real good job putting together this roster. And they have depth. 1-9 (and I don't like saying this), they are stronger than us:

C: Drummond/Baynes vs Sully/Zeller
PF: Tolliver/Morris/Harris vs Amir/KO/Crowder/Jerebko
SF: Harris/S Johnson/Bullock vs Crowder/ET
SG: Pope/Meeks (inj) vs AB/ET
PG: RJackson vs IT/Smart

We have a big edge in draft picks and I think a better chance at luring free agents. But the talent/upside of their 1-9 is better than ours. Close call.

[knuckleballer]

David Thorpe can go climb a tree

I don't think he's wrong. Pistons have a bright future.

Their future is ok, but we have a better record with a slew of draft picks coming our way.

[The One]

David Thorpe can go climb a tree

I don't think he's wrong. Pistons have a bright future.

Their future is ok, but we have a better record with a slew of draft picks coming our way.

Could be a nice long term rivalry brewing there.

Just like the old days...Detroit vs Boston...let's get it on!

[clover]

David Thorpe can go climb a tree

I don't think he's wrong. Pistons have a bright future.

I agree. They're richer in young stars and stars-to-be than we are, IMO.

[slamtheking]

David Thorpe can go climb a tree

I don't think he's wrong. Pistons have a bright future.

Their future is ok, but we have a better record with a slew of draft picks coming our way.

Could be a nice long term rivalry brewing there.

Just like the old days...Detroit vs Boston...let's get it on!

I rivalry would be good - don't think I'll hate any current Detroit players as much as I hated the "Bad Boys"  --> thugs in uniforms.

[knuckleballer]

David Thorpe can go climb a tree

I don't think he's wrong. Pistons have a bright future.

Their future is ok, but we have a better record with a slew of draft picks coming our way.

Could be a nice long term rivalry brewing there.

Just like the old days...Detroit vs Boston...let's get it on!

That would be nice.  Detroit might have the shinier stars, but we win more games with a young team.  I'm excited about this team and love our bulldog players.  With a little luck this summer we could be a force very soon.

[PhoSita]

So much depends on where that picks falls and what Danny Ainge can make happen this summer.

The Celts are in a very good position, but it is one with a great deal of variance.

#1 overall pick and a trip to the conference finals sounds amazing.  Losing in the first round and getting pick #6 or even #7, also conceivable, much less exciting.


As for other East teams . . .

The Cavs are contending now and will contend for the foreseeable future, so while they might not have "upside" like the Celts, their present is where the Celts can only hope to be.

The Raptors are currently a step ahead of the Celts, and they've got a really good GM who has positioned them well to continue making improvements.


Laugh at the Sixers if you want, but what if they get the #1 or #2 pick in the draft and then the Lakers pick falls to #4?  They could have two top 5 selections in this draft, and they might add another bundle of assets by trading Noel or Okafor before the off-season is done.  They might see the fruits of their rebuild come to bear in the next six months or so.


The Pistons have a nice group, but I'm not sure what the upside is, unless Stanley Johnson or Tobias Harris makes a leap.

[chilidawg]

David Thorpe can go climb a tree

I don't think he's wrong. Pistons have a bright future.

I agree with this. Van Gundy has done a real good job putting together this roster. And they have depth. 1-9 (and I don't like saying this), they are stronger than us:

C: Drummond/Baynes vs Sully/Zeller
PF: Tolliver/Morris/Harris vs Amir/KO/Crowder/Jerebko
SF: Harris/S Johnson/Bullock vs Crowder/ET
SG: Pope/Meeks (inj) vs AB/ET
PG: RJackson vs IT/Smart

We have a big edge in draft picks and I think a better chance at luring free agents. But the talent/upside of their 1-9 is better than ours. Close call.

Looking at that list I just don't agree.  Big edge for them at C, but I'd take our team at any other position.

[TheFlex]

Toronto, Boston and Detroit are going to own the East for years to come.

The praise heaped on Boston and Detroit is quite obviously warranted, but I'm surprised no one took the time to talk about the Raptors. Lowry, DDR and Valanciunas are all under 30. DDR and Valanciunas are well under 30 while Lowry has one of the best value deals in the NBA. They've got some nice prospects (Delon Wright, Caboclo, Nogueira, Biyombo) and they should own a lottery pick, albeit in the back half of the lottery, thanks to the Andrea Bargnani trade (lol Knicks). This team could reach the Finals this year if they get D. Carroll healthy.

Surprisingly, despite the consistent foolishness of James Dolan throughout his entire tenure as owner, the Knicks could challenge this group. He isn't talked about as much anymore, but Phil Jackson has done a terrific job with these Knicks. He's added Porzingis, Galloway, Jerian Grant and Lance Thomas while balancing the ongoing process of appeasing Carmelo Anthony with the signings of Afflalo and Robin Lopez. While those signings could easily be characterized as overpays, they allowed the Knicks to sustain a level of competitive integrity that has prevented Melo from demanding a trade and thus crushing his trade value.

Finally, don't sleep on Philadelphia. As a fan, I don't condone the extremism with which they allow their strategy to be founded on, but they have the assets and franchise appeal to come out of nowhere. Once they lose their tanking stink (probably next year), they'll look a lot more formidable.