F & M state the Celts hung IT4 to dry by standing pat

[JaylenBrown7]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

And why, exactly, does he need to "carry this team past a playoff round?"

The question should be posed to Danny Ainge, no one else, despite Chad Finn's laughably homerish article today. He must be taking his cues from "For Immediate Release" Bulpett.

to get to the finals you have to go through a playoff round

LarBrd33 was right about the declining level of discourse on this blog.

i was right about the isaiah thomas [edited]

Let's not use that term, shall we.

[Tr1boy]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

So he has defensive limitations...get over it. So does Harden, Curry, Melo and a lot of other high scoring players. You work around those deficiencies because his offense is so important to the team.

And he doesn't have to carry the team past the first round. The whole team has to be healthy and play well as a whole to get past the first round. IT can't do it by himself. Only the all-time greats can get their team past a round of the playoffs when the rest of the time isn't playing well. And the last two years almost no one played well in the playoffs for the Celtics.

And yet you want to throw max money at IT4 and want him to be the face of the franchise for years to come?

You cant expect role players to come through in the playoffs (not consistently)...the max, star players have to carry them

You cant excuse a guy like IT4 both ways(he is the best player, pay him, but also dont expect alot from him in the playoffs)... Same goes for Horford
 

[CelticGuardian]

outside of Anthony Davis, tell me who in this league is gonna make this team, as constructed good enough to oust the Cavs in the ECF and hang with the Warriors. 

Nobody.  Its a two team league right now.  Ainge is building for the long term.  The next wave.  And with the record and Brad Stevens, the C's are a free agent destination now.  These are stupid conversations.  its a two team league, think long term.  Forget about now.

We're a free agent destination in large part due to the now. Making the ECF finals, and being a 2 seed that gets put out early in the playoffs are two different achievements that can be sold to potential FAs.

If we had traded for a big or two... like Vucevic(especially after Cousins was just given away like a Teriyaki chicken sample) we give ourselves a chance to gain that higher relevancy to appeal to the next crop of FAs.

[nickagneta]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

So he has defensive limitations...get over it. So does Harden, Curry, Melo and a lot of other high scoring players. You work around those deficiencies because his offense is so important to the team.

And he doesn't have to carry the team past the first round. The whole team has to be healthy and play well as a whole to get past the first round. IT can't do it by himself. Only the all-time greats can get their team past a round of the playoffs when the rest of the time isn't playing well. And the last two years almost no one played well in the playoffs for the Celtics.

And yet you want to throw max money at IT4 and want him to be the face of the franchise for years to come?

You cant expect role players to come through in the playoffs (not consistently)...the max, star players have to carry them

You cant excuse a guy like IT4 both ways(he is the best player, pay him, but also dont expect alot from him in the playoffs)... Same goes for Horford

Who said not to expect a lot from him in the playoffs. I would expect 25+ PPG, 6+APG, efficient shooting and clutch play in the fourth. If everyone else plays well that will be good enough to get to the 2nd round. Is that carrying the team...who knows? But its worth a max contract and its not even debateable in my mind.

[Tr1boy]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

So he has defensive limitations...get over it. So does Harden, Curry, Melo and a lot of other high scoring players. You work around those deficiencies because his offense is so important to the team.

And he doesn't have to carry the team past the first round. The whole team has to be healthy and play well as a whole to get past the first round. IT can't do it by himself. Only the all-time greats can get their team past a round of the playoffs when the rest of the time isn't playing well. And the last two years almost no one played well in the playoffs for the Celtics.

And yet you want to throw max money at IT4 and want him to be the face of the franchise for years to come?

You cant expect role players to come through in the playoffs (not consistently)...the max, star players have to carry them

You cant excuse a guy like IT4 both ways(he is the best player, pay him, but also dont expect alot from him in the playoffs)... Same goes for Horford

Who said not to expect a lot from him in the playoffs. I would expect 25+ PPG, 6+APG, efficient shooting and clutch play in the fourth. If everyone else plays well that will be good enough to get to the 2nd round. Is that carrying the team...who knows? But its worth a max contract and its not even debateable in my mind.

That is fine..

But IT4 stats in the playoffs vs regular season so far have been at different wavelengths

This year he has Horford and some more help then he has had the last 2 seasons....team is in 2nd place

Its not alot to ask for the team to get past the 1st round imo

[Phantom255x]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

So he has defensive limitations...get over it. So does Harden, Curry, Melo and a lot of other high scoring players. You work around those deficiencies because his offense is so important to the team.

And he doesn't have to carry the team past the first round. The whole team has to be healthy and play well as a whole to get past the first round. IT can't do it by himself. Only the all-time greats can get their team past a round of the playoffs when the rest of the time isn't playing well. And the last two years almost no one played well in the playoffs for the Celtics.

And yet you want to throw max money at IT4 and want him to be the face of the franchise for years to come?

You cant expect role players to come through in the playoffs (not consistently)...the max, star players have to carry them

You cant excuse a guy like IT4 both ways(he is the best player, pay him, but also dont expect alot from him in the playoffs)... Same goes for Horford

Who said not to expect a lot from him in the playoffs. I would expect 25+ PPG, 6+APG, efficient shooting and clutch play in the fourth. If everyone else plays well that will be good enough to get to the 2nd round. Is that carrying the team...who knows? But its worth a max contract and its not even debateable in my mind.

That is fine..

But IT4 stats in the playoffs vs regular season so far have been at different wavelengths

This year he has Horford and some more help then he has had the last 2 seasons....team is in 2nd place

Its not alot to ask for the team to get past the 1st round imo

Really? I mean I'm not saying IT is a "Lebron" in the playoffs, but last season he averaged 22 PPG, and in the playoffs actually averaged 24 PPG. Granted he had two bad games, he was pretty much at his season averages.

Obviously this season you hope he continues his regular season spurt into the post season, but I'm expecting more like 25 PPG since teams will triple team him.

[PhoSita]

One is generally advised not to read too much into the squawking of crows on the power lines.

[Tr1boy]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

So he has defensive limitations...get over it. So does Harden, Curry, Melo and a lot of other high scoring players. You work around those deficiencies because his offense is so important to the team.

And he doesn't have to carry the team past the first round. The whole team has to be healthy and play well as a whole to get past the first round. IT can't do it by himself. Only the all-time greats can get their team past a round of the playoffs when the rest of the time isn't playing well. And the last two years almost no one played well in the playoffs for the Celtics.

And yet you want to throw max money at IT4 and want him to be the face of the franchise for years to come?

You cant expect role players to come through in the playoffs (not consistently)...the max, star players have to carry them

You cant excuse a guy like IT4 both ways(he is the best player, pay him, but also dont expect alot from him in the playoffs)... Same goes for Horford

Who said not to expect a lot from him in the playoffs. I would expect 25+ PPG, 6+APG, efficient shooting and clutch play in the fourth. If everyone else plays well that will be good enough to get to the 2nd round. Is that carrying the team...who knows? But its worth a max contract and its not even debateable in my mind.

That is fine..

But IT4 stats in the playoffs vs regular season so far have been at different wavelengths

This year he has Horford and some more help then he has had the last 2 seasons....team is in 2nd place

Its not alot to ask for the team to get past the 1st round imo

Really? I mean I'm not saying IT is a "Lebron" in the playoffs, but last season he averaged 22 PPG, and in the playoffs actually averaged 24 PPG. Granted he had two bad games, he was pretty much at his season averages.

Obviously this season you hope he continues his regular season spurt into the post season, but I'm expecting more like 25 PPG since teams will triple team him.

He was magical the one home game we won..

The problem has been the play away from home

[nickagneta]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

So he has defensive limitations...get over it. So does Harden, Curry, Melo and a lot of other high scoring players. You work around those deficiencies because his offense is so important to the team.

And he doesn't have to carry the team past the first round. The whole team has to be healthy and play well as a whole to get past the first round. IT can't do it by himself. Only the all-time greats can get their team past a round of the playoffs when the rest of the time isn't playing well. And the last two years almost no one played well in the playoffs for the Celtics.

And yet you want to throw max money at IT4 and want him to be the face of the franchise for years to come?

You cant expect role players to come through in the playoffs (not consistently)...the max, star players have to carry them

You cant excuse a guy like IT4 both ways(he is the best player, pay him, but also dont expect alot from him in the playoffs)... Same goes for Horford

Who said not to expect a lot from him in the playoffs. I would expect 25+ PPG, 6+APG, efficient shooting and clutch play in the fourth. If everyone else plays well that will be good enough to get to the 2nd round. Is that carrying the team...who knows? But its worth a max contract and its not even debateable in my mind.

That is fine..

But IT4 stats in the playoffs vs regular season so far have been at different wavelengths

This year he has Horford and some more help then he has had the last 2 seasons....team is in 2nd place

Its not alot to ask for the team to get past the 1st round imo

Really? I mean I'm not saying IT is a "Lebron" in the playoffs, but last season he averaged 22 PPG, and in the playoffs actually averaged 24 PPG. Granted he had two bad games, he was pretty much at his season averages.

Obviously this season you hope he continues his regular season spurt into the post season, but I'm expecting more like 25 PPG since teams will triple team him.

He was magical the one home game we won..

The problem has been the play away from home

You seem to harp on IT for last year's playoffs but what about the rest of the team? They were pretty awful with the exception of Smart for a couple games. Kinda hard for IT to have carried that team any farther given the performance from the rest of the squad.

[OldSchoolDude]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

So he has defensive limitations...get over it. So does Harden, Curry, Melo and a lot of other high scoring players. You work around those deficiencies because his offense is so important to the team.

And he doesn't have to carry the team past the first round. The whole team has to be healthy and play well as a whole to get past the first round. IT can't do it by himself. Only the all-time greats can get their team past a round of the playoffs when the rest of the time isn't playing well. And the last two years almost no one played well in the playoffs for the Celtics.

And yet you want to throw max money at IT4 and want him to be the face of the franchise for years to come?

You cant expect role players to come through in the playoffs (not consistently)...the max, star players have to carry them

You cant excuse a guy like IT4 both ways(he is the best player, pay him, but also dont expect alot from him in the playoffs)... Same goes for Horford

Who said not to expect a lot from him in the playoffs. I would expect 25+ PPG, 6+APG, efficient shooting and clutch play in the fourth. If everyone else plays well that will be good enough to get to the 2nd round. Is that carrying the team...who knows? But its worth a max contract and its not even debateable in my mind.

That is fine..

But IT4 stats in the playoffs vs regular season so far have been at different wavelengths

This year he has Horford and some more help then he has had the last 2 seasons....team is in 2nd place

Its not alot to ask for the team to get past the 1st round imo

Really? I mean I'm not saying IT is a "Lebron" in the playoffs, but last season he averaged 22 PPG, and in the playoffs actually averaged 24 PPG. Granted he had two bad games, he was pretty much at his season averages.

Obviously this season you hope he continues his regular season spurt into the post season, but I'm expecting more like 25 PPG since teams will triple team him.

His 40+ point playoff game padded those numbers.   Also, when he's scoring 40+ or even 30+ his shot is falling but when he's scoring 20 something or less he is off but he doesn't shoot any less and often he shoots more.  After his 40 point playoff game he was jacking up everything and missing a lot.  He would put his head down and drive into triple coverage and throw up some crazy shhhhh!# and hop for a foul.  When he gets those calls he kills it at the line but when he doesn't he need to take a crazy amount of shots to get his 20/30+ points.  The only reason he got the 40+ was because Stevens started Turner at the point and made IT a 5'8 shooting guard.  He would come of a screen get the ball then shoot or drive. 

He got traded twice but he was putting up really good point totals on both those teams.   I remember when Ainge mad IT the first free agent call?  There were blog posts comparing his states to Rondo's who was still considered the future of the team at that time, even though we drafted Smart and half the board said we would trade Rondo rather than Max him.   We didn't get IT help because our championship hopes don't rest on IT, they rest on the Brooklyn Picks. That's why those picks haven't been traded for "help" and will not be traded.  We are not trying to build a one year wonder like that Dallas team, we want to build something lasting like San Antonio.

[Denis998]

F & M are a bunch of underground trolls that only come up for air every time the Celtics lose a game or two

[Tr1boy]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

So he has defensive limitations...get over it. So does Harden, Curry, Melo and a lot of other high scoring players. You work around those deficiencies because his offense is so important to the team.

And he doesn't have to carry the team past the first round. The whole team has to be healthy and play well as a whole to get past the first round. IT can't do it by himself. Only the all-time greats can get their team past a round of the playoffs when the rest of the time isn't playing well. And the last two years almost no one played well in the playoffs for the Celtics.

And yet you want to throw max money at IT4 and want him to be the face of the franchise for years to come?

You cant expect role players to come through in the playoffs (not consistently)...the max, star players have to carry them

You cant excuse a guy like IT4 both ways(he is the best player, pay him, but also dont expect alot from him in the playoffs)... Same goes for Horford

Who said not to expect a lot from him in the playoffs. I would expect 25+ PPG, 6+APG, efficient shooting and clutch play in the fourth. If everyone else plays well that will be good enough to get to the 2nd round. Is that carrying the team...who knows? But its worth a max contract and its not even debateable in my mind.

That is fine..

But IT4 stats in the playoffs vs regular season so far have been at different wavelengths

This year he has Horford and some more help then he has had the last 2 seasons....team is in 2nd place

Its not alot to ask for the team to get past the 1st round imo

Really? I mean I'm not saying IT is a "Lebron" in the playoffs, but last season he averaged 22 PPG, and in the playoffs actually averaged 24 PPG. Granted he had two bad games, he was pretty much at his season averages.

Obviously this season you hope he continues his regular season spurt into the post season, but I'm expecting more like 25 PPG since teams will triple team him.

His 40+ point playoff game padded those numbers.   Also, when he's scoring 40+ or even 30+ his shot is falling but when he's scoring 20 something or less he is off but he doesn't shoot any less and often he shoots more.  After his 40 point playoff game he was jacking up everything and missing a lot.  He would put his head down and drive into triple coverage and throw up some crazy shhhhh!# and hop for a foul.  When he gets those calls he kills it at the line but when he doesn't he need to take a crazy amount of shots to get his 20/30+ points.  The only reason he got the 40+ was because Stevens started Turner at the point and made IT a 5'8 shooting guard.  He would come of a screen get the ball then shoot or drive. 

He got traded twice but he was putting up really good point totals on both those teams.   I remember when Ainge mad IT the first free agent call?  There were blog posts comparing his states to Rondo's who was still considered the future of the team at that time, even though we drafted Smart and half the board said we would trade Rondo rather than Max him.   We didn't get IT help because our championship hopes don't rest on IT, they rest on the Brooklyn Picks. That's why those picks haven't been traded for "help" and will not be traded.  We are not trying to build a one year wonder like that Dallas team, we want to build something lasting like San Antonio.

And this could be the truth , Danny will never admit to

Good refresher on what happened in the playoffs...  Hope for a different result this year

[mctyson]

- And this is why he is not playing as well since the All Star break.  Like tonight vs the Hawks
- Teams are also guarding him with more force/double teams and also going at him at the other end

- The Celts currently maybe only a "bridge" team.. until Smart, Brown, Fultz, 2018 draft pick get control in a few seasons

- Unless the Celtics with potential addition of Butler and Hayward in the off season  (using the 2017 1st to grab Butler and sign Hayward as a FA) may try to contend/win a championship like the Pistons did in 2004.... difficult to accomplish...

-  If you can't create the team above,  what happens with IT4?  say you draft Fultz or Ball ,  how can you have that many guards in the team and divide mins?  A top 3 pick should get min to develop properly

- They are p---ed off a lilttle at CBS for playing Jerebko too many min over a talent like Brown.   Like on Friday night vs Raps



Thoughts??

i don't really listen to these clowns often, but they make some interesting points from time to time... and also give team managers like Neely, Wyc a hard time... and they complain they don't come talk to them more frequently 

Believe it or not they are correct about the primary issue facing the Celtics with regards to the playoffs:  their best and most consistent scorer clearly has issues when teams ramp up their physicality and focus on him, and the Celtics have made no moves since last season to alleviate that.

The the way to stop IT is to body him and double him, even triple him sometimes.  He can be swallowed up in the paint.  He can't elevate over guys to pass.  If he gets a pass off it won't be a great one and their won't be a rhythm jumper or open drive coming off of the swing.  Plus the physical play disrupts his outside game.

I think the way to solve this is to primarily play through other players, especially in the post, and leave IT off the ball.  Use Horford, Smart, and Jaylen.  The Celtics have to commit over the last 20 games of the season to being unpredictable on offense and work in different looks.

[Moranis]

Some things:

IT4 is our starting PG until he stops averaging 25+ PPG at a ridiculously high efficiencyand while he is doing that and averaging 6+ APG. When he signs his max contract he will be our starting PG for years. Get used to it.

The idea of having all our starters come off the bench and start all the youth is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen written here at Celticsblog. Stevens would lose the veterans in the clubhouse, the team chemistry would implode and the Cs would start losing games at a Nets like pace. Ainge would also probably fire Stevens for doing so.

IT is this team's primary scorer and hence takes the most shots on the team. He is not a ball hog, he is simply doing his job, the job Stevens has told him to do. Once the Celtics can get another 20+ scorer on this team, IT will defer more.

IT is in a slump for the last week it happens. He will come out of it as he is too good a shooter, gets too many open looks and shots at the free throw line not to come out of it.

What about his defensive limitations?

He still has to prove he can carry this team past a playoff round..

So he has defensive limitations...get over it. So does Harden, Curry, Melo and a lot of other high scoring players. You work around those deficiencies because his offense is so important to the team.

And he doesn't have to carry the team past the first round. The whole team has to be healthy and play well as a whole to get past the first round. IT can't do it by himself. Only the all-time greats can get their team past a round of the playoffs when the rest of the time isn't playing well. And the last two years almost no one played well in the playoffs for the Celtics.

And yet you want to throw max money at IT4 and want him to be the face of the franchise for years to come?

You cant expect role players to come through in the playoffs (not consistently)...the max, star players have to carry them

You cant excuse a guy like IT4 both ways(he is the best player, pay him, but also dont expect alot from him in the playoffs)... Same goes for Horford

Who said not to expect a lot from him in the playoffs. I would expect 25+ PPG, 6+APG, efficient shooting and clutch play in the fourth. If everyone else plays well that will be good enough to get to the 2nd round. Is that carrying the team...who knows? But its worth a max contract and its not even debateable in my mind.

That is fine..

But IT4 stats in the playoffs vs regular season so far have been at different wavelengths

This year he has Horford and some more help then he has had the last 2 seasons....team is in 2nd place

Its not alot to ask for the team to get past the 1st round imo

Really? I mean I'm not saying IT is a "Lebron" in the playoffs, but last season he averaged 22 PPG, and in the playoffs actually averaged 24 PPG. Granted he had two bad games, he was pretty much at his season averages.

Obviously this season you hope he continues his regular season spurt into the post season, but I'm expecting more like 25 PPG since teams will triple team him.

He was magical the one home game we won..

The problem has been the play away from home

You seem to harp on IT for last year's playoffs but what about the rest of the team? They were pretty awful with the exception of Smart for a couple games. Kinda hard for IT to have carried that team any farther given the performance from the rest of the squad.

the rest of the team aren't all stars or max contract players though.  And the thing is Boston lost game 6 at home by 8 points in a game Thomas was 9 of 24 from the field and 1 of 7 from three.  Sure Turner and Crowder were also terrible, but Thomas is your star. 

[Casperian]

Can we please not use terms like "placeholder" and "bridge team" when talking about this team? Sounds incredibly spoiled and entitled.

I know we don't hang banners for ECFs, but the team is competitive and fun to root for, right now.

Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.