Could the Celtics have won the gold medal at the olympics?

[TonyMontana]

yea boston has great team D and chemistry but I also think USA will def win gold, BUT HOW BOUT This? ->what if you took the current usa roster and replaced M. Redd, Boozer, and prince/mello with Ray Allen, Garnett, Pierce? how do you think they would fare?

imagine a lineup of Chris Paul, Kobe, Pierce, LeBron and Garnett with Wade and Ray Allen coming off the bench as your offensive bursts

IMO if Kevin Garnett were playing I would bet $2000 on the US. Without hesitation.

Just 2gs.......... Dam thats sounds like you dont have faith in a sure thing, unless thats your limit.
Is it?
Cause the way you posted it " If K.G was playing I would.............hmmmmmmmmm let me think... I would bet 2k on the US" ........... Sure bet would be I would drop everything if its a sure thing.

[astrallite]

Perkins and Rondo would prevent them from winning the gold, spain is just plain better that the celtics imo

Rondo would give the Spanish guards nightmares. hes built for international.

The last time Calderon and Rondo met, Rondo couldnt guard Calderon at all

Yeah Rondo is a good defender...against NBA point guards. Foreign point guards are much more like PGs in the 80s in the NBA...very good at running the pick and roll, very good decision making. Rondo also has no jump shot.

Like someone stated earlier, Perkins and Rondo would be the weakest link, but Rondo by far. He can defend NBA "point" guards because they are just undersized twos, he has no idea how to handle someone who can run the offense and then punish you by hitting the open shot when you back off.

[Sedale Threatt]

Only thing that would give me pause is the difference between NBA and FIBA rules/style. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it's a world of difference -- almost a completely different game. Not saying the Celtics wouldn't win; they clearly have all the tools, particularly on defense. I'm just a tiny bit skeptical that they could just hop in, with most of them never having played internationally, and dominate without any sort of grace period. Perhaps their teamwork and cohesion would make up for it, I don't know.

[Harry Heinous]

I would bet a lot of money on the Celtics

[some_rand]

i think the better question is would a team like the celtics or spurs or detroit be able to beat Team USA and i think that yes, they would

[Don Ford]

i think the better question is would a team like the celtics or spurs or detroit be able to beat Team USA and i think that yes, they would

The Celtics, Spurs, or Pistons could beat Team USA??

So this:

KG
Perkins
Pierce
Allen
Rondo
Posey
House
Cassell
PJ Brown

Would beat this:
Howard
Lebron
Melo
Kobe
Kidd
Wade
Paul
Bosh
Deron Williams

Not really sure what to say to that.

[joe.linnen]

i think the better question is would a team like the celtics or spurs or detroit be able to beat Team USA and i think that yes, they would

The Celtics, Spurs, or Pistons could beat Team USA??

So this:

KG
Perkins
Pierce
Allen
Rondo
Posey
House
Cassell
PJ Brown

Would beat this:
Howard
Lebron
Melo
Kobe
Kidd
Wade
Paul
Bosh
Deron Williams

Not really sure what to say to that.

If you really think the Celtics, Pistons, or Spurs could beat TEAM USA the you haven't a clue what your talking about. I think you should mos def get on Ebay and by a clue ASAP.

SEE THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET OFF THE SHORT BUS AND USE THE COMPUTER. Your a real peice of work guy, a real peice of work.

[Muzzleshot]

Of course they could. The question would be how motivated would they be after winning the NBA championship a few months earlier.
Based on talent I would say that almost all the NBA teams could win the gold. I would almost think that an NBA team would be more motivated to win the gold since the players identity is tied to the team that they play on.
It would be pretty embarrassing for the Celts to win the NBA championship and then not win a gold medal.

[celticfan42487]

Well actually I believe the rule changes would favor the Celtics.

Ray Allen is a great three point shot but he's much better with a step inside.

But most importantly KG takes I would say about half of his shots from a step inside the 3 point line. Wich in international rules would be a 3 pointer.

So the Celtics playing would have 4 knockout 3 point shooters in Posey,House,Ray Allen,and KG. And Pierce is very good from 3, just not an elite as those players would be at shooting the three. Put that together and you need a big man like Perkins to space out for rebounding, and a fast fast player who can breakdown his man in Rondo to start the kickout. And Pierce would be the all around player.. when KG goes down low Pierce fades towards the three.. when KG spots up Pierce would start the penetration.

And you have to look at the Celtics that they run a very controlled offense. You certainly wouldn't be seeing all these turnovers that Team USA does from stupid things like jumping in the air then making a pass to the opposing team and all this fun stuff. The Celtics have one of the most effective offense in the NBA (but they don't get as many shot attempts as a lot of teams because of the methodical pace of the offense).

Honestly I'd doubt any team internationally would really have a shot. Wich is basically the same as Team USA right now with all their stupid play and whiny bitches on that team that just make dumb dumb plays that their athletisim and extreme skills make up for.

[greenbeans]

Like someone stated earlier, Perkins and Rondo would be the weakest link, but Rondo by far. He can defend NBA "point" guards because they are just undersized twos, he has no idea how to handle someone who can run the offense and then punish you by hitting the open shot when you back off.

watch Rondo play Chris Paul or Deron, you'll be surprised.