Do the Celtics have a good chance of making the 2018 Finals?

[Green_teamer]

Even as a Celtics fan i wouldn't give us more than a 15-20 percent chance this year. But that's no knock on the team. Obviousily more needs to happen for us to be better than the Cavs..namely we need to trade for a star or hope Tatum/Brown develop and push us over the top. I'd say well be one of the best teams in the league 2 seasons from now

[Spanish_Laker]

Nope. They have a chance of extending the ECF vs Cavs to 6 games, that's it.

[Spanish_Laker]

A great chance at getting to ECF again. But Finals? Like someone else said, no chance unless Lebron is injured. It would be nice if someone else represented the East for once.

The same applies to the WC. It would be really nice if someone not named Warriors comes out of the west, just for 1 year...

[Dtown84]

2018? No, not unless the Cavs are banged up or something. I think 2019 is their year.

[fouronesix22]

I think this is the year cleveland gets dethroned. By who? Its either going to be the Raps, Celtics, Wiz take your pick. Cleveland has not upgraded its rosters and they are going to struggle in the RS aswell as playoffs because the same issues are going to plague this team and Lebron will have to carry the load again. With all the mileage lebron has over his career I can guarantee you that he breaks down playing heavy minutes. Father time IS NEVER defeated.

[RightToCensor]

If Lebron doesn't want to waste his time with Golden State then he might let Boston, Washington, or Milwaukee overtake his team in the playoffs.

[The_Hater]

15-20% chance imo. It's pretty rare for a team to make the Finals 4 years in a row; the Heat were the first to do it in a while and they fell apart in the Finals pretty quickly. The second LeBron can't be Superman every night in the playoffs they're vulnerable

I think 15-20% is too high.

They probably have the 2nd best team in the east but the gap with the Cavs remains massive. And if the Cavs do fold, as in Lebron getting injured, I still see 4 teams including Boston capable of winning the conference. Boston is still closer to being in that next group then in the Cavs level.

It's probably 90% Cavs, 10% field. Boston might be 5%.

[Crossy2008]

We're all going to have to wait to see how the Celtics look with the new team. They have only 6 of the 15 players returning from last season. If everyone stays healthy, the Celtics will be adding Isaiah Thomas, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes and Jayson Tatum to the team that faced the Cavs a couple months ago. The Celtics will have lost Bradley, Olynyk, Amir, Zeller, and Jerebko. The Cavs won't be adding much at all at this point. The Celtics got worse at being able to guard Irving, but improved on being able to guard James and Love.

The biggest challenge for the Celtics this offseason, and through the next regular season is internal growth. They have Thomas, Hayward, Morris, Crowder and Horford who have been consistent players, and you can be fairly confident in what you are going to get from them. It's Rozier, Brown and Smart that have the potential of taking a leap forward, and they could make the Celtics a tough team to beat. Throw in Tatum and possibly Ojeleye and Nader as uncertainties that we don't know a lot about.

[britblazerdude]

Maybe if they had Avery Bradley.

[NickAnderson]

Not a chance


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[chrisab123]

They have a shot. Slightly better than a punchers chance. Depends on 3 factors

1) IT plays like he did last season or better
2) Cavs core declines slightly. Doesn't have to be LeBron but if two of Love/TT/Irving have off years then the Celtics would be favored.
3) How much of an impact do the new guys make. This includes Hayward Morris Tatum Yabu and Zizic.

Also I can see a scenario where the CARMELO projections for Smart actually come close to occurring. If all of the above happens which admittedly is the best case scenario then the Celtics make the finals but probably still lose to GSW in short order.

[VinBaker6]

I think they're gonna regress, they played over their heads last season and they have a lot of young guys on the roster. Hayward is nice but he doesn't move the needle into contention. I say 51 wins.

[Kobblehead]

The Warriors aren't coming out of the West. Did everyone forget that they just signed Nick Young?

[hookshot199]

Yes.

Multiple teams in the east got weaker.

So did the Celtics. But if the Cavs have injuries to one or more of their key players, the C's can beat them.

With Bradley gone and Crowder likely to go, their defense will worsen. With the roster as currently constructed (I believe a trade is in the works) or unless Rozier surprises, I don't see how they could beat Washington. How do they defend both Beal and Wall?

[nbafan38]

Not unless Lebron suffers a season ending injury.

Maybe if Kyrie suffered a season ending injury they'd have a chance but probably even Lebron+Love would be enough considering how dominant Love is against the Celtics.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

What ever happened to IT's hip?

Did they decide if he is going for surgery now, or putting it off till after FA. It should impact his season regardless, he wont get the same burn nursing that all year. That's the type of injury that could derail a year.

[vexen]

Celts are not even better than the Raptors

Last year I don't think people understand, Patterson and Carroll lost them big games with their poor shooting. Raps young players (like Powell who is gonna bust out) are getting better and I really like the OG pick the time off could really help his shooting. Plus a full year and training camp with Ibaka will be huge. I also feel the Celts JUST lost their best defenders.. Who's stopping Demar now? Do people forget what he did to the Cetics? Demar dropped 40 on the celts twice... and they beat them without Lowry and please lets not forget what Lowry does to the Celtics as well..

Watch on YouTube

#school #PHD LMAO

[hookshot199]

Better chance Celtics lose first round than make the finals.

What do u wanna bet that if our starting 5 is healthy we win the first round. I'm open. Holla at me.

Agree 100%. The problem is whether it's reasonable to expect both Horford and IT to play injury-free and, in the case of IT, to have another career year. Secondly, Horford is 31 and, it's not clear to many of us, if he's durable enough to play center anymore. But if they're both healthy: first round absolutely.

[The Laker Kid]

I think they will beat the Warriors!

[nbafan38]

I think they will beat the Warriors!

It's debatable if their top player is as good as the Warriors fourth best player.