We're Just Maddeningly Inconsistent...

[mctyson]

I'm not sure we're maddeningly inconsistent.  We've been mediocre at best all season.  Our win streak came against creampuffs.  The last two "decent" teams we beat were over a month apart and only  happened because Kyrie carried us with 40+ points. 

This team just isn't that good right now.  They have 1 star and everyone else is lesser than.  Until someone else steps up, we might be a 5th seed all season.

Frankly, if we hadn't beaten the Bucks in game 7 of the 1st round, I'm not sure there'd be any real reason to believe this team can contend.  Really the only reason we see ourselves as superior to the Pacers right now is because we went on a playoff run last year.

Not really the boldest take in the world.  So the fact we were really good at the end of last year (without our top 2 players), led people to think we'd be really good going into this year?  Yes, I think that does makes sense.

This team has admittedly played worse than expected and have been disappointing.  Yet they are still a stone's throw from the leaders in the East.

Can we PLEASE stop calling Hayward a top-2 player?  I would not rank him over Horford, and certainly not over Tatum, and Smart does way more on the court at this point.

I think we all dramatically overrated losing Hayward last year, and in fact that might have made the team better.  Certainly the evidence is there this year.

[mctyson]

I'm not sure we're maddeningly inconsistent.  We've been mediocre at best all season.  Our win streak came against creampuffs.  The last two "decent" teams we beat were over a month apart and only  happened because Kyrie carried us with 40+ points. 

This team just isn't that good right now. They have 1 star and everyone else is lesser than.  Until someone else steps up, we might be a 5th seed all season.

Frankly, if we hadn't beaten the Bucks in game 7 of the 1st round, I'm not sure there'd be any real reason to believe this team can contend.  Really the only reason we see ourselves as superior to the Pacers right now is because we went on a playoff run last year.

Basically this, but you can at least look at their stats and say that they should have a better record (their point differential is not that far off from the top teams in the league).

Had they beat Orlando at home and Phoenix at home, they would be 23-13, certainly nothing to cheer about, but that is where Golden State is right now.

[RodyTur10]

I'm not sure we're maddeningly inconsistent.  We've been mediocre at best all season.  Our win streak came against creampuffs.  The last two "decent" teams we beat were over a month apart and only  happened because Kyrie carried us with 40+ points. 

This team just isn't that good right now.  They have 1 star and everyone else is lesser than.  Until someone else steps up, we might be a 5th seed all season.

Frankly, if we hadn't beaten the Bucks in game 7 of the 1st round, I'm not sure there'd be any real reason to believe this team can contend.  Really the only reason we see ourselves as superior to the Pacers right now is because we went on a playoff run last year.

Not really the boldest take in the world.  So the fact we were really good at the end of last year (without our top 2 players), led people to think we'd be really good going into this year?  Yes, I think that does makes sense.

This team has admittedly played worse than expected and have been disappointing.  Yet they are still a stone's throw from the leaders in the East.

Can we PLEASE stop calling Hayward a top-2 player?  I would not rank him over Horford, and certainly not over Tatum, and Smart does way more on the court at this point.

I think we all dramatically overrated losing Hayward last year, and in fact that might have made the team better.  Certainly the evidence is there this year.

Yes, something that has been forgotten that Hayward didn't look good during pre-season last year either. It was a very small sample size, but it was still worrying and clear that he needed time to find his role on the team. There's no guarantee that it would have worked anyway. Hayward came from a different system in Utah and had to adjust to not being the main guy. 

[RodyTur10]

I'm not sure we're maddeningly inconsistent.  We've been mediocre at best all season.  Our win streak came against creampuffs.  The last two "decent" teams we beat were over a month apart and only  happened because Kyrie carried us with 40+ points. 

This team just isn't that good right now.  They have 1 star and everyone else is lesser than.  Until someone else steps up, we might be a 5th seed all season.

Frankly, if we hadn't beaten the Bucks in game 7 of the 1st round, I'm not sure there'd be any real reason to believe this team can contend.  Really the only reason we see ourselves as superior to the Pacers right now is because we went on a playoff run last year.

Not really the boldest take in the world.  So the fact we were really good at the end of last year (without our top 2 players), led people to think we'd be really good going into this year?  Yes, I think that does makes sense.

This team has admittedly played worse than expected and have been disappointing.  Yet they are still a stone's throw from the leaders in the East.

Nah I'm saying the Bucks took us to 7 games... and thanks to Rozier going off for 26 and 9 combined with the fact the Bucks were horrifically coached, we beat them.  Imagine this season has played out exactly as it's played out, but the only difference is - the Bucks won game 7 and we didn't have that playoff run.

Nobody would see us as a contender right now.   Really the only reason anyone sees this team as better than the Pacers is because we happened to win that Game 7, then face a completely unprepared Philly team, and then gave the Cavs some trouble.  Had the Bucks won that game 7, smoked the Sixers, and went toe-to-toe with leBron, you'd have no real reason to think this team is a contender.  We're building our entire premise of this team being elite on some flukey unprecedented playoff run.  If you ignore that noise and live in the present, you'd see a deeply flawed team that's in the 5th seed right now for good reason.  Outside of Kyrie Irving, it's lacking in talent.  We have no second star.  Our chemistry isn't great.  Guys we expect to rely on have been awful.  There's too many guys trying to get in a grove individually and players are struggling to find a role with limited touches and minutes.   Team isn't good right now.  Long-term, maybe we are... but right now - we're on the outside lookin in and probably shouldn't be seen as a favorite to make the conference finals.

What are our deep flaws and how can they be corrected?

Which players are overrated or lack talent for their role, do you think?

And which players haven't been performing well, but could or should improve this season?

[Vermont Green]

What are our deep flaws and how can they be corrected?

Which players are overrated or lack talent for their role, do you think?

And which players haven't been performing well, but could or should improve this season?

Our flaw is that we lack size and are worse off lately due to injury.  I am not sure why this weakness was not exposed more last season.  Maybe it was Greg Monroe  .

I am not sure our players are overrated per se but expectations for Brown and Tatum (and even Rozier) got inflated some.  I think these are all good players but just not as good yet as everyone got to believe.

Even with that, size is our issue,  Horford is not playing as well, neither was Baynes even before his injury.  We played Tatum out of position for about half the season.

I am concerned but still optimistic.

[PhoSita]

The Celts have the 8th best offense, the 4th best defense, a +5.6 point differential, and are tied for the 8th best record in the league.

They're top third of the league but a step below the elite.

They kill bad teams regularly but drop games against good opponents. That shouldn't be too surprising. Most good teams do that. 

But they've also had some bad injury luck and their supporting cast is uncommonly shaky for a team expected to win 55+ games.  Not due to lack of talent, but due to a lack of players with well defined roles and stand out skills

[SHAQATTACK]

needing a young strong really good center to play meaningful minutes to help Horford . 

Williams might be that guy in time if he can stay healthy on the court.

too many wings   Need a trade to bring in a quality skilled center with better skills and hands than Baynes.

there are alot of good centers on teams and those are killing us and making wins very difficult

[KGBirdBias]

Look out, with Kyrie out I'm sure we will see ball movement and a different team. Just sayin.

[nickagneta]

Look out, with Kyrie out I'm sure we will see ball movement and a different team. Just sayin.

Not sure where this is coming from. Boston is 8th in the league in assists per game, assist % and assist ratio. The ball movement is usually very very good. Kyrie also has by far the most assists per game and assist% on the team. Kyrie is not bad for ball movement.

[footey]

What are our deep flaws and how can they be corrected?

Which players are overrated or lack talent for their role, do you think?

And which players haven't been performing well, but could or should improve this season?

Our flaw is that we lack size and are worse off lately due to injury.  I am not sure why this weakness was not exposed more last season.  Maybe it was Greg Monroe  .

I am not sure our players are overrated per se but expectations for Brown and Tatum (and even Rozier) got inflated some.  I think these are all good players but just not as good yet as everyone got to believe.

Even with that, size is our issue,  Horford is not playing as well, neither was Baynes even before his injury.  We played Tatum out of position for about half the season.

I am concerned but still optimistic.

Wholly heartedly, completely, 100% agree.

TP from your neighbor (grew up in NH).

[nickagneta]

Everyone realizes the only good teams with All Star quality big men are Philly(Embiid), Milwaukee(Giannis) and Denver(Nurkic). None of the rest of the good to contending teams have All-Star quality big men. If we are healthy, we don't have a big man problem. Horford and Baynes are more than good enough big men for the Celtics to win a title.

[RodyTur10]

Everyone realizes the only good teams with All Star quality big men are Philly(Embiid), Milwaukee(Giannis) and Denver(Nurkic). None of the rest of the good to contending teams have All-Star quality big men. If we are healthy, we don't have a big man problem. Horford and Baynes are more than good enough big men for the Celtics to win a title.

Players like Adams and Capela also give us problems. And it's not just about stopping the big guys, but the ability to protect the rim. Against the Rockets and the Spurs the paint was like a red carpet.

[nickagneta]

Everyone realizes the only good teams with All Star quality big men are Philly(Embiid), Milwaukee(Giannis) and Denver(Nurkic). None of the rest of the good to contending teams have All-Star quality big men. If we are healthy, we don't have a big man problem. Horford and Baynes are more than good enough big men for the Celtics to win a title.

Players like Adams and Capela also give us problems. And it's not just about stopping the big guys, but the ability to protect the rim. Against the Rockets and the Spurs the paint was like a red carpet.

Two games with Horford on a minutes restriction and Baynes out. When healthy our two centers are more than enough.

[KGBirdBias]

Look out, with Kyrie out I'm sure we will see ball movement and a different team. Just sayin.

Not sure where this is coming from. Boston is 8th in the league in assists per game, assist % and assist ratio. The ball movement is usually very very good. Kyrie also has by far the most assists per game and assist% on the team. Kyrie is not bad for ball movement.

The Celtics are unpredictable when Kyrie isn't playing. They dont know who to game plan for. Everyone is moving and energized on defense too. I can't explain it. It sort of like what Philly goes through with Wentz and Foles. It's more chemistry vs talent.🤷🏾‍♂️

[nickagneta]

Look out, with Kyrie out I'm sure we will see ball movement and a different team. Just sayin.

Not sure where this is coming from. Boston is 8th in the league in assists per game, assist % and assist ratio. The ball movement is usually very very good. Kyrie also has by far the most assists per game and assist% on the team. Kyrie is not bad for ball movement.

The Celtics are unpredictable when Kyrie isn't playing. They dont know who to game plan for. Everyone is moving and energized on defense too. I can't explain it. It sort of like what Philly goes through with Wentz and Foles. It's more chemistry vs talent.🤷🏾‍♂️

The stat during the game that Boston was averaging over 300 passes per game in December while scoring 117 PPG, a league high, happened with Kyrie playing. Kyrie is not a ball stopper.