The Celtics are officially championship contenders

[timpiker]

no way in hell are the C's contenders.

[Vermont Green]

A first round win would be nice progress.

[Neurotic Guy]

Not contenders, but just one Lebron away.

[Rosco917]

Getting out of the first round looks like a possibility, over taking Cleveland...not a prayer.

The C's are perhaps one of the better mediocre teams. But still growing.

[Kuberski33]

Getting out of the first round looks like a possibility, over taking Cleveland...not a prayer.

The C's are perhaps one of the better mediocre teams. But still growing.

They are better than that.  However not yet championship contenders.  They skew things a bit because they play hard every night and that wins you games in the regular season.  We'll have a better gauge at playoff time.

I do think they're close.  But they still need another piece - though not necessarily the 'superstar' that the mainstream sports media and the public seem to think.  Just a real good player who shores up their rebounding and defensive weaknesses.  I think the backcourt is pretty much set for the foreseeable future assuming they re-sign everyone.

[Eja117]

I'm not convinced they can make it through a round of the playoffs

[CelticPride2016]

Overreaction.  Nice win, but we're not contenders by a long-shot.  Doesn't make being the third best team in the East + two more BKN picks any less enjoyable.

This isn't an overreaction. I've been hyping this team since before the season began.

The Celtics are on an amazing roll.

A few people are saying put me into a rubber room and get me a psychiatrist.

There is a Freudian term called projection.

It's not my fault some people are extremely miserable and add nothing but negativity, the sort which upset Jae Crowder.

[CelticPride2016]

cmon now, you cant make this post after complaining about knee-jerk negativity after the last loss.

youve gotta recognize the irony there

Says some person quoting George W. Bush in his signature! Who does that?

[saltlover]

I'm not convinced they can make it through a round of the playoffs

That feels unreasonably pessimistic considering we're 6-1 against the teams currently sitting 4-8 in the Eastern Conference (i.e. most likely our first round opponent.)

[CelticPride2016]

Quote
It is time to up the ante and call it what it is. We could easily steal a title this year.

Stop what your doing and go see a psychiatrist.  We are a good team but not a contender.   JK

We are the kid standing first in line to get a toy and looking in the window and seeing the last one bought.  Meaning, we are in a good place but we are not there yet.

I do not think we could beat CLE in a series unless two of their stars got injured.  It could happen but the chances are small.

Upsets happen. Maybe we are like the Patriots who got clobbered by the Bears. We were great until the last game.

I did say if Cleveland and Golden State (then perhaps San Antonio and Houston) are the only true contenders, then sure, we are merely posing as a top team.

We have definitely made a leap since last year and the schedule is getting easier.

And I do say we will need a best case scenario of health and stamina with the super teams banged up or not in 100% domination mode. We will need one Danny move to add a big.

We are in the hunt.

I don't forget so quickly that we won 25, then 40, then 48 and now we are even better well into the fourth rebuilding year.

[Who]

Only 2 contenders this season -- Cleveland and Golden State.

Those two teams are so far ahead of everyone else ... it's not even funny.

[saltlover]

Only 2 contenders this season -- Cleveland and Golden State.

Those two teams are so far ahead of everyone else ... it's not even funny.

Never ever count out the Spurs.

[CelticPride2016]

Perhaps a look at power rankings would be informative.  This one from CBS Sports and the summaries of each team seems about right to me, though it is a few days old.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-power-rankings-spurs-and-celtics-rise-memphis-meltdown-costs-warriors/
I looked at a bunch of different power rankings and the C's are anywhere from 4 to 7.

This is exactly what I meant and thanks for adding a link which supports my excessive positivity.

We are currently in the tier with the Clippers and Raptors. Those teams get to have the contender label, but we don't?

We've won 12 out of 15? How are the negative posters able to pass this off as meaningless? So we will stink and this sucks even if we end up with the fifth best record?

The negative fans are negative no matter what happens. They complained all season and even when we are piling on wins, they still drain the board of energy with their silly trade ideas and boxing us in as mediocre.

[The One]

Kudos for the enthusiasm.

I think the Celtics are a player away...but in a really good spot!

[Ilikesports17]

Perhaps a look at power rankings would be informative.  This one from CBS Sports and the summaries of each team seems about right to me, though it is a few days old.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-power-rankings-spurs-and-celtics-rise-memphis-meltdown-costs-warriors/
I looked at a bunch of different power rankings and the C's are anywhere from 4 to 7.

This is exactly what I meant and thanks for adding a link which supports my excessive positivity.

We are currently in the tier with the Clippers and Raptors. Those teams get to have the contender label, but we don't?

We've won 12 out of 15? How are the negative posters able to pass this off as meaningless? So we will stink and this sucks even if we end up with the fifth best record?

The negative fans are negative no matter what happens. They complained all season and even when we are piling on wins, they still drain the board of energy with their silly trade ideas and boxing us in as mediocre.

Those teams dont get labeled contenders.

The Clippers are seen by some as a dark horse of sorts because of the amount of top end talent on the team, but they generally underachieve and are not thought of as contenders.

Toronto is not a contender. Some Raptors fans might have convinced themselves they are contenders, but just like every other ECF team they are stuck hoping for an injury to Lebron or more realistically Irving.

Get off your high horse.