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POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season?

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Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season?

YES
106
60%
NO
71
40%
 
Total votes: 177

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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#121 » by Celts17Pride » Mon Feb 24, 2020 3:55 pm

Parasite wrote:
themoneyteam2 wrote:
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Anyone with a working brain knows this, so don’t try and bother convincing some of the people around here. It’s not worth it. I’ve been saying for months we need one more bench piece. Don’t try and mess with binkies around here. People get mad butthurt.


As things currently stand, the Boston Celtics bench ranks 28th in the league in points-per-game averages (28.1), 27th in 3-point percentage (31.5) and 21st in the league in offensive rating (52.5).

All is fine!
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#122 » by CelticsPride18 » Mon Feb 24, 2020 4:09 pm

Celts17Pride wrote:
Parasite wrote:
themoneyteam2 wrote:
Read on Twitter
?s=20


Anyone with a working brain knows this, so don’t try and bother convincing some of the people around here. It’s not worth it. I’ve been saying for months we need one more bench piece. Don’t try and mess with binkies around here. People get mad butthurt.


As things currently stand, the Boston Celtics bench ranks 28th in the league in points-per-game averages (28.1), 27th in 3-point percentage (31.5) and 21st in the league in offensive rating (52.5).

All is fine!


They are 6 in net rating
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#123 » by watsonthedragon » Mon Feb 24, 2020 4:11 pm

I think one other thing that was apparent from yesterday is that we need to have one of Kemba or Hayward on the floor at all times to handle the ball. Wannamaker as the primary handler is not going to cut it in the playoffs.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#124 » by zoyathedestroya » Mon Feb 24, 2020 4:34 pm

Vegas leaning on 3 legit contenders. Cs on the fringe.

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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#125 » by Gomes3PC » Mon Feb 24, 2020 5:04 pm

I think we're just too far off what Milwaukee is today to be that. They're putting together an insane season and with Giannis, with how Middleton immolates us, and with their size in the frontcourt, I just don't see how we string 4 wins in 7 against them.

I would pit us against basically anyone else in the next tier - and I include both LA teams in that bucket. Those two, Toronto, ourselves, Miami, Philly and Denver. Depending on the matchup with those teams, I'd give us anywhere between a 40% - 60% chance against any of them.

It sounds silly but geting Timelord back I think could make or break how far we go. Kanter again was exposed as unable to play against an elite team. Williams has his shortcomings in experience/savvy but he can at least hang there physically, and I just worry/know Theis will wear down over a long playoff stretch if we can't get him help up front.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#126 » by K For Three » Tue Feb 25, 2020 12:58 am

zoyathedestroya wrote:Vegas leaning on 3 legit contenders. Cs on the fringe.

Read on Twitter


I am not a betting individual, but the Celtics are favored a bit more then the Raptors are?

Tatum factor?

Hell if you want to get into NBA conspiracy and how they favor stories with certain teams and stars you could ask yourself a few things.

1) Would the league prefer Boston or Toronto to go on a run to the ECFs this year? Do they want a team from Canada AGAIN making a run?

2) Does it help the landscape of the NBA more if Tatum or Siakam get more coverage on a road to potential supestardom?

3) Then you have Philly and their stars but does anyone really want to be tortured watching old Al Horford and seeing Brett Brown or is that just me?

Also with the Bucks you got the conspiracy too about if they will try to push Giannis into a different market for the future.

Team with the best storyline is the Lakers no doubt about it. Kobe tragically died and it would be great for the league if they won it all.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#127 » by Slax » Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:29 am

Kemba For Three wrote:
zoyathedestroya wrote:Vegas leaning on 3 legit contenders. Cs on the fringe.

Read on Twitter


I am not a betting individual, but the Celtics are favored a bit more then the Raptors are?

Tatum factor?

Hell if you want to get into NBA conspiracy and how they favor stories with certain teams and stars you could ask yourself a few things.

1) Would the league prefer Boston or Toronto to go on a run to the ECFs this year? Do they want a team from Canada AGAIN making a run?

2) Does it help the landscape of the NBA more if Tatum or Siakam get more coverage on a road to potential supestardom?

3) Then you have Philly and their stars but does anyone really want to be tortured watching old Al Horford and seeing Brett Brown or is that just me?

Also with the Bucks you got the conspiracy too about if they will try to push Giannis into a different market for the future.

Team with the best storyline is the Lakers no doubt about it. Kobe tragically died and it would be great for the league if they won it all.

Theory 1: Lines are generally set based on some algorithm that ensures that they are guaranteed to shell out roughly the same amount of money no matter who wins, so because there are more Celtics fans than Raptors fans, there are more people betting on the Celtics, therefore the algorithm gives a lower payout if the Celtics win than the Raptors.

Theory 2: Vegas knows Toronto has more international travel to Asia than Boston, so Raptors players are more likely to catch COVID-19 and get quarantined for the duration of the playoffs.

(Theory 1 is the boring truth)
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#128 » by K For Three » Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:37 am

Slax wrote:
Kemba For Three wrote:
zoyathedestroya wrote:Vegas leaning on 3 legit contenders. Cs on the fringe.

Read on Twitter


I am not a betting individual, but the Celtics are favored a bit more then the Raptors are?

Tatum factor?

Hell if you want to get into NBA conspiracy and how they favor stories with certain teams and stars you could ask yourself a few things.

1) Would the league prefer Boston or Toronto to go on a run to the ECFs this year? Do they want a team from Canada AGAIN making a run?

2) Does it help the landscape of the NBA more if Tatum or Siakam get more coverage on a road to potential supestardom?

3) Then you have Philly and their stars but does anyone really want to be tortured watching old Al Horford and seeing Brett Brown or is that just me?

Also with the Bucks you got the conspiracy too about if they will try to push Giannis into a different market for the future.

Team with the best storyline is the Lakers no doubt about it. Kobe tragically died and it would be great for the league if they won it all.

Theory 1: Lines are generally set based on some algorithm that ensures that they are guaranteed to shell out roughly the same amount of money no matter who wins, so because there are more Celtics fans than Raptors fans, there are more people betting on the Celtics, therefore the algorithm gives a lower payout if the Celtics win than the Raptors.

Theory 2: Vegas knows Toronto has more international travel to Asia than Boston, so Raptors players are more likely to catch COVID-19 and get quarantined for the duration of the playoffs.

(Theory 1 is the boring truth)


Like I said I don't bet but it seems funny to me the Raptors are ahead of us (they literally rarely lose) but less are betting on them. Amount of Raptors fans or Celtics fans etc, I wonder if people have that much faith in the Raptors this postseason. Last year Kawhi was an absolute monster.......and more times then not the Raptors have not been a postseason powerhouse.

BTW my conspiracy stuff is for fun, but there is an obvious agenda at times by refs. I seen it too many times this season in road games with the Celtics for me to just brush it off as "whatever".
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#129 » by jmr07019 » Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:39 am

Gomes3PC wrote:I think we're just too far off what Milwaukee is today to be that. They're putting together an insane season and with Giannis, with how Middleton immolates us, and with their size in the frontcourt, I just don't see how we string 4 wins in 7 against them.

I would pit us against basically anyone else in the next tier - and I include both LA teams in that bucket. Those two, Toronto, ourselves, Miami, Philly and Denver. Depending on the matchup with those teams, I'd give us anywhere between a 40% - 60% chance against any of them.

It sounds silly but geting Timelord back I think could make or break how far we go. Kanter again was exposed as unable to play against an elite team. Williams has his shortcomings in experience/savvy but he can at least hang there physically, and I just worry/know Theis will wear down over a long playoff stretch if we can't get him help up front.


As good as Milwaukee is Middleton leaves something to be desired as your second best player and let’s not forget that Eric Bledsoe got out played by Terry freaking Rozier in a playoff serious 2 years. They’re not as good as the LeBron Heat or the Durant Warriors and the LeBron Heat didn’t win the title 50% of the time. The Bucks can be beat. An uphill battle for sure but victory is possible.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#130 » by Slax » Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:43 am

Kemba For Three wrote:
Slax wrote:
Kemba For Three wrote:
I am not a betting individual, but the Celtics are favored a bit more then the Raptors are?

Tatum factor?

Hell if you want to get into NBA conspiracy and how they favor stories with certain teams and stars you could ask yourself a few things.

1) Would the league prefer Boston or Toronto to go on a run to the ECFs this year? Do they want a team from Canada AGAIN making a run?

2) Does it help the landscape of the NBA more if Tatum or Siakam get more coverage on a road to potential supestardom?

3) Then you have Philly and their stars but does anyone really want to be tortured watching old Al Horford and seeing Brett Brown or is that just me?

Also with the Bucks you got the conspiracy too about if they will try to push Giannis into a different market for the future.

Team with the best storyline is the Lakers no doubt about it. Kobe tragically died and it would be great for the league if they won it all.

Theory 1: Lines are generally set based on some algorithm that ensures that they are guaranteed to shell out roughly the same amount of money no matter who wins, so because there are more Celtics fans than Raptors fans, there are more people betting on the Celtics, therefore the algorithm gives a lower payout if the Celtics win than the Raptors.

Theory 2: Vegas knows Toronto has more international travel to Asia than Boston, so Raptors players are more likely to catch COVID-19 and get quarantined for the duration of the playoffs.

(Theory 1 is the boring truth)


Like I said I don't bet but it seems funny to me the Raptors are ahead of us (they literally rarely lose) but less are betting on them. Amount of Raptors fans or Celtics fans etc, I wonder if people have that much faith in the Raptors this postseason. Last year Kawhi was an absolute monster.......and more times then not the Raptors have not been a postseason powerhouse.

BTW my conspiracy stuff is for fun, but there is an obvious agenda at times by refs. I seen it too many times this season in road games with the Celtics for me to just brush it off as "whatever".

There have definitely been some real stinkers by the officials this season. I tend to assume that things balance themselves out and I just don't notice the home cooking we sometimes get in our favor, but it's not like NBA officials have never been caught being shady before, so who knows.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#131 » by Fencer reregistered » Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:48 am

watsonthedragon wrote:I think one other thing that was apparent from yesterday is that we need to have one of Kemba or Hayward on the floor at all times to handle the ball. Wannamaker as the primary handler is not going to cut it in the playoffs.


At least that's true on nights when Smart can't hit open shots. Smart is probably a more capable half-court distributor than Walker. Of course he's way behind Walker or Hayward in being a creative scoring threat, but that's acceptable unless his scoring is so bad that the defense can play him purely to pass.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#132 » by K For Three » Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:58 am

Slax wrote:
Spoiler:
Kemba For Three wrote:
Slax wrote:Theory 1: Lines are generally set based on some algorithm that ensures that they are guaranteed to shell out roughly the same amount of money no matter who wins, so because there are more Celtics fans than Raptors fans, there are more people betting on the Celtics, therefore the algorithm gives a lower payout if the Celtics win than the Raptors.

Theory 2: Vegas knows Toronto has more international travel to Asia than Boston, so Raptors players are more likely to catch COVID-19 and get quarantined for the duration of the playoffs.

(Theory 1 is the boring truth)


Like I said I don't bet but it seems funny to me the Raptors are ahead of us (they literally rarely lose) but less are betting on them. Amount of Raptors fans or Celtics fans etc, I wonder if people have that much faith in the Raptors this postseason. Last year Kawhi was an absolute monster.......and more times then not the Raptors have not been a postseason powerhouse.

BTW my conspiracy stuff is for fun, but there is an obvious agenda at times by refs. I seen it too many times this season in road games with the Celtics for me to just brush it off as "whatever".

There have definitely been some real stinkers by the officials this season. I tend to assume that things balance themselves out and I just don't notice the home cooking we sometimes get in our favor, but it's not like NBA officials have never been caught being shady before, so who knows.

I seen fans of other teams claim we get plenty of breaks too so it might just be me being paranoid.

Also Brad Stevens teams have made some noise before as underdogs going back to his Butler days so some people might take that into account when they place bets.

Despite me being biased towards Boston, when I break this down logically in the east why not bet on the Celtics to play the Bucks in the ECFs if our guys are all healthy? Basketball fans online against the Celtics might go off on how the Celtics have no chance but a logical person knowing the history of Stevens and the Celtics and our solid core of players will think differently.

Even if we don't have homecourt against Toronto are you going to really bet the house on a Kyle Lowry led postseason team? And as scary in size as a Joel Embiid is do you have that much faith in him and a Brett Brown coached team to make serious noise? Miami Heat.....okay I know Jimmy Butler is that hyped up but I never been high on him either.

Outside the Bucks I don't see a ton to get hot over so putting faith in a Brad Stevens team if the Celtics are healthy might be a smart move.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#133 » by Red2 » Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:52 pm

if their bench improves yes. Honestly I have no idea what Danny was thinking at the deadline. what are we going to do with 3 more draft picks especially in a draft that is regarded as weak? you're in a position to possibly win a title this year and you do nothing to improve your bench. I know we don't have a lot of flexibilty but you could at least have moved Vincent.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#134 » by Kaykoose » Tue Feb 25, 2020 8:30 pm

I think the Celtics have a real shot at getting out of the East with Tatum's ascension. So yes, they are legit. I have major reservations about bench play, but I suppose Brad can simply lean on the top 5 more.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#135 » by Feed Your Head » Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:15 pm

I'm more worried about the Bucks than I am any teams out west.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#136 » by TheMartian » Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:50 pm

You should hear about how Nick Wright feels about the Celtics. He says we just got lucky that one time when we got KG, but for the last 30 years, we were just a mediocre team, and right now we are still just that - mediocre. Also says that if somehow we get to the Finals (either by Giannis getting injured or for whatever other reason), we would have zero % chance against the Lakers.

God I'd love to punch that face and wring his neck.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#138 » by Dannyboy36 » Thu Feb 27, 2020 12:46 pm

jmr07019 wrote:
Gomes3PC wrote:I think we're just too far off what Milwaukee is today to be that. They're putting together an insane season and with Giannis, with how Middleton immolates us, and with their size in the frontcourt, I just don't see how we string 4 wins in 7 against them.

I would pit us against basically anyone else in the next tier - and I include both LA teams in that bucket. Those two, Toronto, ourselves, Miami, Philly and Denver. Depending on the matchup with those teams, I'd give us anywhere between a 40% - 60% chance against any of them.

It sounds silly but geting Timelord back I think could make or break how far we go. Kanter again was exposed as unable to play against an elite team. Williams has his shortcomings in experience/savvy but he can at least hang there physically, and I just worry/know Theis will wear down over a long playoff stretch if we can't get him help up front.


As good as Milwaukee is Middleton leaves something to be desired as your second best player and let’s not forget that Eric Bledsoe got out played by Terry freaking Rozier in a playoff serious 2 years. They’re not as good as the LeBron Heat or the Durant Warriors and the LeBron Heat didn’t win the title 50% of the time. The Bucks can be beat. An uphill battle for sure but victory is possible.


Man, I’ve said the same thing before about Middleton when I’m trying to convince myself we will knock off the Bucks. But with Giannis being SO dominant it seems different. Plus Middleton is just a killer. He’s an absolutely boring killer.Lol.
Bledsoe is not the same player. What you were talking about 2 yrs ago I totally agree. I’m with ya. I really thought he was a chump. I can’t stand guys with ability that waste it being lazy. But he’s turned it around. He’s a bulldog now.
Then there’s Lopez who has shot like crap but he’s great for clearing out guys for boards that his teammates grabs. All the shooting and defense. Damn.
I keep telling myself we can beat them in 7 and of course we can. Anything is possible. But I think this Bucks team is just an extremely uniquely awesome team and as much as I like this Celtics team I can’t see it. But not impossible!
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#139 » by Gomes3PC » Thu Feb 27, 2020 2:56 pm

Middleton is approaching Ray Allen levels of shooting. I am not sure people understand that. Here's Ray's best year - 2007 in Seattle:

40 MPG, 26.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 44/37/90 shooting (8 3PTA/G / 5.6 FT/G), 21.6 PER, 6.3 WS, 3.7 BPM

This is Middleton this year:

30 MPG, 21.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, 51/44/91 shooting (6 3PTA/G / 3.6 FT/G), 22.3 PER, 7.3 WS, 4.9 BPM

Obviously the difference is Ray was THE GUY in Seattle and Middleton can play off of Giannis, but he's turned himself into legitimately one of the best 4-5 off-ball scorers in the last 20 years. He's up there with Rip Hamilton, Allen, Klay, etc. Those guys are always underappreciated in their value to a title team.
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Re: POLL: Are the Boston Celtics Legit Contenders THIS Season? 

Post#140 » by Parliament10 » Thu Feb 27, 2020 3:11 pm


Yeah. Yawn.

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