my goals for celts have been accomplished

[rollie mass]

Does Avery have twin?He recovered as quickly as Marcief!!!
I think that Isaiah's threat has everybody watching and makes Washington susceptible to backdoor cuts or hard cuts with Horford distributing.

Everybody knows how Marcus passes to Olynck and Horford and its sometimes lazy and predictable.Marcus and Rozier must watch the Wizards jumping  the passing lanes.
Just keep it simple and everybody make your foul shots,Kelly is prone to missing his first .He rushes it.This may be close.

I think the refs may give Isaiah some calls, that he didn't get in the last game.Hopefully he could get someone frustrated and in foul trouble .He sure pulled a vet move on Oubre

Good luck fans,the first quarter /half will be telling

[Surferdad]

You can bet the national talking heads will continue to dis the Celtics as "lucky", "weakest #1", "sneaked into the ECF", etc.  Fact is they have made steady improvement for 3 years and they cannot control what other teams are doing in the Conference.

You're right, this is such an annoying narrative. It's not like the Cavs did a ton of resting. They played p--- poor in March, and weren't that much better in April.

If the Celtics win tonight, they'll have won 8 out of their last 10 playoff games. That's a pretty dang good in the playoffs, especially for this 'historically' week 1 seed. Let's get it done tonight, and I agree Rollie. Hard to look at this season as anything but successful!

It may be an annoying narrative about being a weak #1 seed, but this thread topic pretty much validates the theory. What fan base for a #1 seed in the playoffs doesn't adjust their expectations to title contenders? On the other hand, I fully expect the Celtics players and coaching staff to believe that they can win it all.

Yes, true.  If I think hard back to the beginning of the season, my minimum goals for the Celtics were to:
- get to the 2nd round
- compile more wins than last year
Since those have been accomplished, the goals have changed, indeed must change based on their playoff performance so far.  It's only natural for fans/players/coaches.

[Roy H.]

I think the team has accomplished most of the "counting" milestones. My goals would have been top-2 in the East, top-5 pick, ECF. So far so good.

There are still goals that we haven't reached though:

* Add a second star to IT;

* Solidify the big man rotation;

* Close the gap with CLE and GS.

We've got a long way to go there, and I think we may have missed some opportunities that won't come around again.

[tarheelsxxiii]

I'm content.  Fully expecting to sweep the Cavs and put the GSW to bed in 5. 

Single goal for next year: Roll out something resembling a frontcourt.

[the TRUTH]

Agree with the OP. Don't get me wrong, I'll still be p---ed if we lose this series and/or get blown out in four straight against the Cavs, but I'm content with what we've done this year.

IMO, the biggest development this entire season has been that the Nets finished with the worst record. I think we all assumed they'd be bad, but it's difficult to predict whether that will translate to fifth worst, third worst, etc. If we win the draft lottery, it'll be very interesting to see if teams get more serious about potential trades with the C's.

[SHAQATTACK]

Agree with the OP. Don't get me wrong, I'll still be p---ed if we lose this series and/or get blown out in four straight against the Cavs, but I'm content with what we've done this year.

IMO, the biggest development this entire season has been that the Nets finished with the worst record. I think we all assumed they'd be bad, but it's difficult to predict whether that will translate to fifth worst, third worst, etc. If we win the draft lottery, it'll be very interesting to see if teams get more serious about potential trades with the C's.

this ^   I want to hang a banner this year .  But , as these guys have said,  the team is way futher along than I ever thought.  i got to think m the team has actually went futher than DA will admit he figured for this year , other wise he would have brought Cousins and Noel on board

[mctyson]

Agreed.  While I badly want them to close it out tonight and face Cleveland, if Washington wins the series it will be because they are a good team and deserved it against a good Celtics team.

Undeniable that this franchise is in great shape.  Good drafting and player development will determine if they go from perennial top-10 team to perennial top-3 for the next decade.

[rollie mass]

there is no way to quantify the team chemistry
to have lost certain players to trades or an addition off a player off waivers 
it would have been so easy to go flat and not have come back and to have lost those two in boston
isaiah spitting out his tooth bending over to pick it up
 then continuing to play
if green hadn't stepped up in chicago and played out of his mind after a whole season of staying engaged
avery and his steady support,horford making everybody better,even marcus that has dealt with tragedy had to relive some of his own
there has been something special building here and it will go down in celtics history

 how this team pulled together,  as one of their teammates had his heart shredded and stayed the course for his sister,family and teammates and made the boston celtics, the celtics tradition and its fans his sanctuary
ainge stood pat,not a single move- think that was lost on this team
listen to bradley humbly credit marcus
,listen to horford humbly talk about avery
even a fight at halftime that horford cooled
we witnessed something very special a 5-9 mvp candidate surrounded by guys that don't quit
how does marcus go up and over the back of washingtons bad boy and rip the ball away
are we getting used to the magic isaiah shows us night in and night out-
it was a banner year
-red is smokin a cigar going the little guy that could

 written for members       incoherent and posititize--------Mark Twain would have agreed