Looks like Danny is a bit to blame

[hwangjini_1]

As the GM of the team, Danny is surely a bit to blame and praise for every single happening regarding the team.

[hwangjini_1]

Danny can’t be blamed for Hayward going down.

The only real room for criticism is that he didn’t sign anybody for the vet minimum to help with depth, relying too much on rookies.

agreed. but with both hayward and morris being out for so long, the role for rookies has been more than could have been expected before the season.

but, this also has a plus side of the youngsters gaining experience and learning more quickly. i guess.

[KGBirdBias]

I don't think Ainge can be blamed for this roster. He expected Hayward to be there, Tatum as the 6th man along with Rozier, Smart, Morris and Theis. The problem of course is Hayward is down and everyone's role has increased on a much faster pace. Theis has been a nice surprise. I'm about ready to dump Morris. It makes no sense to play on XMas against his brother only to be out again...what's up with that?

Nader is getting the appropriate minutes. Remember Bird was rated the better player at Cal before Brown showed up. Yabu has been disappointing and may eventually be moved in a deal. Larkin has been a great fit. I may think about waiving Allen off his 2-way and sign Andrew White again. I think White may be able to help the Celtics now. He's a shooter with good size.

Having Hayward would push everyone's minutes back down. The roster is still built for next year but it's still frustrating losing in the way they lose games. I just don't want Kyrie to think he has to take 30 shots for the team to win.

[PhoSita]

The team is on the young side and lacks playmakers / scorers as a result of one of the best 3 players on the roster being out for the season.

Sounds like a design feature, not a bug.  Not sure how Ainge can be faulted for it.

This team is supposed to be young; the point of this roster was not to go all-in on this year, but to be in contention for the foreseeable future.

Obviously your team is going to be rather thin on the bench when you spend $30 million to sign a star who suffers a season ending injury in game 1.

The fact that the injury didn't completely derail the season after that is remarkable.

[Mike Pemulis]

The DPE going unused... The Brooklyn pick went unused until we got Kyrie Irving.
We played better early because our schedule was easy and team's had no film on our team. I love the construction of our team and hate injuries. And you can't say he's negligent regarding injuries - he realized IT's injury and had the balls to get rid of him.

[jambr380]

I love how Danny has constructed this team to be a juggernaut for years to come. The main rotation is really something to behold. I agree, however, that the back end of the roster is pretty rough. We already have two rookies on two-way contracts, we don't also need Nader and an empty roster spot (in addition to rookies Tatum, Theis, Yab, and Ojeleye).

I am convinced that Danny didn't want to add veteran re-treads to this young roster in fear that they might cause friction in the locker room. He likely will do so in the coming weeks, but that will be for a playoff run when everybody is engaged and the season is almost over. I honestly wonder what Morris is like behind closed doors - his stint in Boston hasn't been overly spectacular thus far and I feel he was less than enthused about coming off the bench.

tl;dr - DA wants to hold on to that top 55 protected pick that would go to MEM if we finish in the top 5 

[SHAQATTACK]

with all the starters that are missing ime seems every game , Celtics are oing struggle to win.

NBA plays too many games .   Period.

[IDreamCeltics]

Tp.

100% agree with the OP.  Danny's decision to build a bench through his "drafting ability" has really come back to bite this team.  Legit contenders have legit NBA veterans coming off their bench (example: San Antonio Spurs), but the Celtics inability to trade and consolidate draft picks over the years has forced them to compose a bench of crappy late first round and second round picks that no one else wanted. 

Danny also gets what I call "James Young Syndrome" where he falls in love with a young player with a low ceiling and refuses to cut bait and use their roster spot for someone who could help the team in the present.  Abdel Nader, Geurshon Yabusele, Kadeem Allen?  What the heck are these guys doing on a team that's literally contending for the finals?  That's three spots that could have guys who have actual NBA experience and could spell starters.   

[Quetzalcoatl]

Since Brad has taken over, we always do gangbusters in the second half and ok the first half.  We're going to do slightly better in the first half and slightly better in the second half than previous years.  So expect a strong second half.

For instance, last year Brad coached the All-Star game because the same coach can't do it two years in a row.  We were 32-18 then, which is a 56% winning percentage.  Right now we have a 73% winning percentage with under 20 games before the break.   We finished the season at 53-29, good for first in the East last year, with a 65% winning percentage.  We're probably finishing around 70% at the end of this year, maybe 71%.

Then, we have a chance at a lottery pick from the 11-21 Lakers and we get 22 ppg / 5.4 rpg / 3.5 apg Gordon Hayward back, maybe even by the end of this season.  We have a roster with a max cap space spot dedicated to a player who has 2 points on the season, we're in a slump and yet we've won 73% of our games.  We're allowed to have a few bad games in December, it's not a big deal.

The complaining is just relentless!

[chiken Green]

Danny's plan is working.. We are building a championship team..   

NOBODY can honestly say that we were winning a chip this year at the start of the year (when we had KI and Gh)

We knew would be too young this year and we were all mostly okay with it..

Tatum and Brown next year will be Key contributors and it will be because of what is happening this year.  This is all apart of it.. These ups and downs.. These young men will grow from all of it..

Let the schedule beat Brown and Tatum up.. It will Give them they incentive they need to work this offseason and come back with GH. The Talent is there, they just need the experience.. They are getting it.  We just need to stay patient as fans.

Our years are coming.

[Bobshot]

Ainge didn't respond to Hayward's injury because the Celtics continued to win in a surprising way. But the heavy scheduling and lots of missed games by regulars are taking their toll. The bench is largely a bunch of D-leaguers. The time is overdue when Ainge uses that injury exception to get another vet, especially a big who can defend bigs up front. Somebody longer than what they have. Guys like Drummond and Howard are having big games against them. They did beat Charlotte tonite, and Capela will be out against Houston. But they are undermanned right now, and not rebounding well. Horford had 20/11 or so tonite, but he doesn't do that every game.

[Moranis]

The only thing Danny is to be blamed for is creating a team good enough to give Celtics fans the unrealistic opinion that this team ever had a title chance

[DarthCeltic]

He is to blame for being an awesome GM.  Two top 3 picks, and we are looking at another top 5 this year if Lakers keep it up, while having the top record in the east, while missing All star wing in prime after 5 mins of play.

yes, blame him a lot for that.

[tenn_smoothie]

He's arguing that the team isn't deep enough to contend.  Pretty straightforward.

Of course the Celtics bench is weak - especially after Hayward is lost and now Morris struggling with knee issues. We knew the end of the bench was made of rookies and D-league guys. This was a year to grow and improve the young guys. I'm fine with that.

Don't play this team into the ground AND add some interior talent next season.
This obsession Danny has with finesse, small ball basketball drives me crazy. Did he learn nothing from 1984 ? I know the style of play has changed (for the worse in my book) but post talent still wins and we need a couple of athletic bigs who can rebound and defend to hang #18.

[DarthCeltic]

He's arguing that the team isn't deep enough to contend.  Pretty straightforward.

Of course the Celtics bench is weak - especially after Hayward is lost and now Morris struggling with knee issues. We knew the end of the bench was made of rookies and D-league guys. This was a year to grow and improve the young guys. I'm fine with that.

Don't play this team into the ground AND add some interior talent next season.
This obsession Danny has with finesse, small ball basketball drives me crazy. Did he learn nothing from 1984 ? I know the style of play has changed (for the worse in my book) but post talent still wins and we need a couple of athletic bigs who can rebound and defend to hang #18.

Then why do the Warriors dominate with Zaza in the post and a SF at PF.