Celtics exposed?

[bisme37]

Gotta love OP taking a victory lap on his post about the C's not making the playoffs after they just made it to game 6 of the ECFs.

[dakomish23]

I didn't understand why they shipped Baynes to Phoenix in what was basically a salary dump.
The guy is an excellent big defender and rim protector. They couldn't have found a use for that, at least situationally?

I believe they were hustling up last minute capspace so they could keep Horford's Caphold and still obtain Kemba. I believe they could have signed Kemba outright, without the Rozier sign and trade, if they renounced Horford's Bird Rights. Once they cleared Baynes and did the sign-and-trade, they could get both players. But Horford screwed them and left anyway.

I didn't know that. Damn. Could have made all the difference.

[myronbolitar]

Danny ainge was exposed. Tatum was exposed. Walker was exposed.

Haha - this is a terrible take. After last year's disappointment and losing Kyrie, Horford, Morris, Baynes, and Rozier, the expectations for the Celtics this season were very low. They were projected by everyone - fans and analysts alike - to be a low tier playoff team at best. The big thing, as Celtics fans, that we wanted to see was Tatum and Brown make a leap.

Not only did both those guys make huge leaps in their age 22 (Tatum putting up 27/10/5 in the playoffs is getting exposed?) and 23 seasons, but they also came within a couple wins of the Finals.

I thought we'd beat Miami, but they were just better. They're the best conditioned team in the league (really helps in the bubble), probably the best coached, had top tier talent to match up with (and beat) ours, and superior depth. They were also just more cohesive as a unit. Totally deserved to move on.

But the disappointment of this loss aside, it's a no-brainer that this season was a success for the Celtics, when you consider pre-season expectations.

They're gonna max Tatum, which will set them up with him for the next 6 seasons and Brown for the next 4, with plenty of flexibility to fill out the roster around them.

The fact that Danny Ainge didn't split up that duo and managed to put a winning team on the court after all those other guys left last offseason is pretty great. Now, though, he's gotta build a better bench so they can come back stronger next year. Would've loved to be moving on to the Finals, but I like the position we're in.

Nah. not at all. They were picked by everyone at ESPN to finish third and they did. There were more than enough that expected them to win the east.

As for new allstars, everyone at ESPN picked Tatum and he did.

The inference that they beat expectations is just wrong.

and there iis no world in which he was trading Brown. Aiinge has proven over the years he doesn't pull the trigger on a fair trade.

1. Please find me one source from fall 2019 that predicted that the Celtics were going to win the east. I don't even need "more than enough," as you say - just one.

2. You'll notice I didn't mention anything about the all-star team...because it's kinda arbitrary. Tatum made legit leaps in his basic stats but also in BPM, WS/48, eFG%, etc. That he would do that - turn into a guy who just put up 27 PPG for us in an ECF - was not a given. Many expected it to, but we didn't know. I'm glad it did happen.

3. They absolutely beat expectations. Vegas projected them to win 48 or 49 games - many fans and analysts predicted fewer. That's wins in 58% of their games. Instead, the Celtics won 67% of their games. They had the 9th best odds at winning a championship. (https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-championship-odds-clippers-and-lakers-considered-2020-title-favorites-as-preseason-action-gets-underway/) Considering they won more playoff games than all but two teams, I'd say they did pretty well.

4. Your Ainge comment is funny and dumb. In fact, he often makes trades that people think he lost at the time - the Kyrie trade, the Pierce/KG trade, the Fultz trade, etc. Only in hindsight do they look obvious or unfair...the mark of a savvy trader. I know you hate Ainge, so no logic will break through, so I'll just stop right there. Have a good rest of your day.

[ballup]

Fun fact: Tatum and Brown have been in more ECFs than the Knicks have over the past 20 years.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[Johnny Bball]

Haha - this is a terrible take. After last year's disappointment and losing Kyrie, Horford, Morris, Baynes, and Rozier, the expectations for the Celtics this season were very low. They were projected by everyone - fans and analysts alike - to be a low tier playoff team at best. The big thing, as Celtics fans, that we wanted to see was Tatum and Brown make a leap.

Not only did both those guys make huge leaps in their age 22 (Tatum putting up 27/10/5 in the playoffs is getting exposed?) and 23 seasons, but they also came within a couple wins of the Finals.

I thought we'd beat Miami, but they were just better. They're the best conditioned team in the league (really helps in the bubble), probably the best coached, had top tier talent to match up with (and beat) ours, and superior depth. They were also just more cohesive as a unit. Totally deserved to move on.

But the disappointment of this loss aside, it's a no-brainer that this season was a success for the Celtics, when you consider pre-season expectations.

They're gonna max Tatum, which will set them up with him for the next 6 seasons and Brown for the next 4, with plenty of flexibility to fill out the roster around them.

The fact that Danny Ainge didn't split up that duo and managed to put a winning team on the court after all those other guys left last offseason is pretty great. Now, though, he's gotta build a better bench so they can come back stronger next year. Would've loved to be moving on to the Finals, but I like the position we're in.

Nah. not at all. They were picked by everyone at ESPN to finish third and they did. There were more than enough that expected them to win the east.

As for new allstars, everyone at ESPN picked Tatum and he did.

The inference that they beat expectations is just wrong.

and there iis no world in which he was trading Brown. Aiinge has proven over the years he doesn't pull the trigger on a fair trade.

1. Please find me one source from fall 2019 that predicted that the Celtics were going to win the east. I don't even need "more than enough," as you say - just one.

2. You'll notice I didn't mention anything about the all-star team...because it's kinda arbitrary. Tatum made legit leaps in his basic stats but also in BPM, WS/48, eFG%, etc. That he would do that - turn into a guy who just put up 27 PPG for us in an ECF - was not a given. Many expected it to, but we didn't know. I'm glad it did happen.

3. They absolutely beat expectations. Vegas projected them to win 48 or 49 games - many fans and analysts predicted fewer. That's wins in 58% of their games. Instead, the Celtics won 67% of their games. They had the 9th best odds at winning a championship. (https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-championship-odds-clippers-and-lakers-considered-2020-title-favorites-as-preseason-action-gets-underway/) Considering they won more playoff games than all but two teams, I'd say they did pretty well.

4. Your Ainge comment is funny and dumb. In fact, he often makes trades that people think he lost at the time - the Kyrie trade, the Pierce/KG trade, the Fultz trade, etc. Only in hindsight do they look obvious or unfair...the mark of a savvy trader. I know you hate Ainge, so no logic will break through, so I'll just stop right there. Have a good rest of your day.

LMFAO. You say EVERYONE called them a low tier playoff team. I'm not going back to search the Celtic and General board for the overly optimistic posts I read, or re-reading Bill Simmons etc., but I can tell you your take of everyone and low tier playoff team is a complete lie. You can try to hide from that or change the subject all you like.

They met expectations. But continue building your shrine to Ainge, I don't **** care.

[myronbolitar]

Nah. not at all. They were picked by everyone at ESPN to finish third and they did. There were more than enough that expected them to win the east.

As for new allstars, everyone at ESPN picked Tatum and he did.

The inference that they beat expectations is just wrong.

and there iis no world in which he was trading Brown. Aiinge has proven over the years he doesn't pull the trigger on a fair trade.

1. Please find me one source from fall 2019 that predicted that the Celtics were going to win the east. I don't even need "more than enough," as you say - just one.

2. You'll notice I didn't mention anything about the all-star team...because it's kinda arbitrary. Tatum made legit leaps in his basic stats but also in BPM, WS/48, eFG%, etc. That he would do that - turn into a guy who just put up 27 PPG for us in an ECF - was not a given. Many expected it to, but we didn't know. I'm glad it did happen.

3. They absolutely beat expectations. Vegas projected them to win 48 or 49 games - many fans and analysts predicted fewer. That's wins in 58% of their games. Instead, the Celtics won 67% of their games. They had the 9th best odds at winning a championship. (https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-championship-odds-clippers-and-lakers-considered-2020-title-favorites-as-preseason-action-gets-underway/) Considering they won more playoff games than all but two teams, I'd say they did pretty well.

4. Your Ainge comment is funny and dumb. In fact, he often makes trades that people think he lost at the time - the Kyrie trade, the Pierce/KG trade, the Fultz trade, etc. Only in hindsight do they look obvious or unfair...the mark of a savvy trader. I know you hate Ainge, so no logic will break through, so I'll just stop right there. Have a good rest of your day.

LMFAO. You say EVERYONE called them a low tier playoff team. I'm not going back to search the Celtic and General board for the overly optimistic posts I read, or re-reading Bill Simmons etc., but I can tell you your take of everyone and low tier playoff team is a complete lie. You can try to hide from that or change the subject all you like.

They met expectations. But continue building your shrine to Ainge, I don't **** care.

You're right - I spoke too broadly when I said "everyone." But I literally don't remember a single person claiming that the Celtics would win the east, and you won't (because you can't) find anything to prove otherwise, even though I found the Vegas win projections and championship odds, showing that they were only projected to be a top 10ish team.

You seem legitimately angry - not sure if it's because of the playoff series or what, but I genuinely wish you well.

[chrisab123]

They need to get a good assistant to play bad cop. Until that happens and they bring in a vet like an Iggy or a Rondo this is the ceiling. The talent is there and it's undeniable they just don't know how to close. Congrats to the Heat and all but there's no excuse for them blowing the number of big leads that they had in this series. Rondo if willing should be the Celtics top target this year.

[Curmudgeon]

LOL, I want no part of Rondo's corpse. He's difficult in the locker room, too. Want to win next year? Get Kyle Lowry.

[tr0far1]

They made less 3’s then we did this series......

And? Their threes were better quality shots and they had your defense on the back foot because they mixed it up so well.

Because you’re wrong.

Miami averaged 13.4 threes made per game this season.

They averaged 13/game against the Pacers
They averaged 16/game against the Bucks
They averaged 12/game against the Celtics

So they were under their season average and under their playoff average yet the Celtics got exposed by their 3 point barrage?

Your Celtics hate is deep but at least back it up with facts

Miami made under 30 percent of their open and wide open threes in the series against Boston, which helps to explain why they made less than one-third of their three-pointers over the six games. Over 73 percent of their three-point attempts in the Eastern Conference Finals were open or wide open. That number compares favorably to their prior two series (74.8% and 76.6%, respectively). Miami shot threes at a higher rate against Boston than they did against Indiana. The Heat also shot nearly 72 percent at the rim in the halfcourt against Boston, which is well above league average in this year's playoffs. They achieved this on roughly league average frequency for this year's playoffs, so it's not as if the Celtics were keeping the Heat away from the rim in a Bucks-like fashion.

I realize that tracking and play-by-play data don't always capture how difficult the opposing defense makes it for a shooter, but these numbers seem to indicate that there's something to what Metallikid says regarding Miami's shot quality throughout the series.

[drosereturn]

Fun fact: Tatum and Brown have been in more ECFs than the Knicks have over the past 20 years.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

Ouch depressing exposed teenager Tatum has experienced more than the entire Knicks squad has ever had.

[AussieCeltic]

And? Their threes were better quality shots and they had your defense on the back foot because they mixed it up so well.

Because you’re wrong.

Miami averaged 13.4 threes made per game this season.

They averaged 13/game against the Pacers
They averaged 16/game against the Bucks
They averaged 12/game against the Celtics

So they were under their season average and under their playoff average yet the Celtics got exposed by their 3 point barrage?

Your Celtics hate is deep but at least back it up with facts

Miami made under 30 percent of their open and wide open threes in the series against Boston, which helps to explain why they made less than one-third of their three-pointers over the six games. Over 73 percent of their three-point attempts in the Eastern Conference Finals were open or wide open. That number compares favorably to their prior two series (74.8% and 76.6%, respectively). Miami shot threes at a higher rate against Boston than they did against Indiana. The Heat also shot nearly 72 percent at the rim in the halfcourt against Boston, which is well above league average in this year's playoffs. They achieved this on roughly league average frequency for this year's playoffs, so it's not as if the Celtics were keeping the Heat away from the rim in a Bucks-like fashion.

I realize that tracking and play-by-play data don't always capture how difficult the opposing defense makes it for a shooter, but these numbers seem to indicate that there's something to what Metallikid says regarding Miami's shot quality throughout the series.

If 73% of the shots were wide open in the ECF but 74.8% and 76.6% in earlier rounds, wouldn’t that indicate that Boston defended the 3 better?

[OAKLEY_2]

It's the east. They'll make the playoffs.

It's the bubble. Nobody is going to remember a lockout type season at Seaworld. Not for basketball. But this is a lesson for not only Boston but the Raps as well. Build for the playoffs or else. The value of some bigs is going back up thanks to Bam. This all feels like an out of season World Championship tourney. Jalen Rose picking Boston ad nauseum is in major shambles. But we know L.A> media wants L.A. prime time. I give you the bubble TV land.

[Lalouie]

they're exposed for being young.

not every team has the boot camp that riley runs and miami's personality is good with it apparently

[Lalouie]

they're exposed for being young.

not every team has the boot camp that riley runs and miami's personality is good with it apparently

[tr0far1]

Because you’re wrong.

Miami averaged 13.4 threes made per game this season.

They averaged 13/game against the Pacers
They averaged 16/game against the Bucks
They averaged 12/game against the Celtics

So they were under their season average and under their playoff average yet the Celtics got exposed by their 3 point barrage?

Your Celtics hate is deep but at least back it up with facts

Miami made under 30 percent of their open and wide open threes in the series against Boston, which helps to explain why they made less than one-third of their three-pointers over the six games. Over 73 percent of their three-point attempts in the Eastern Conference Finals were open or wide open. That number compares favorably to their prior two series (74.8% and 76.6%, respectively). Miami shot threes at a higher rate against Boston than they did against Indiana. The Heat also shot nearly 72 percent at the rim in the halfcourt against Boston, which is well above league average in this year's playoffs. They achieved this on roughly league average frequency for this year's playoffs, so it's not as if the Celtics were keeping the Heat away from the rim in a Bucks-like fashion.

I realize that tracking and play-by-play data don't always capture how difficult the opposing defense makes it for a shooter, but these numbers seem to indicate that there's something to what Metallikid says regarding Miami's shot quality throughout the series.

If 73% of the shots were wide open in the ECF but 74.8% and 76.6% in earlier rounds, wouldn’t that indicate that Boston defended the 3 better?

Sorry, I misstated the numbers in my earlier post. In the ECF, 74 percent of Miami's threes were open or wide open, while 73.7 percent of their threes had been open or wide open in the first two rounds. The Heat made 31.5 percent of their open and wide open threes against the Celtics in the ECF, compared with 38.9 on such shots during the regular season and 39 percent in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

For what it's worth, more than 80 percent of Boston's threes in the ECF were open or wide open, but this was also the case for Toronto against Boston. In each case, these numbers could indicate that the defenses were strategically leaving certain opposing players open or it might be due to Miami's liberal use of zone defense.

There's a lot that goes into this, so perhaps the Celtics did a decent job of taking away the three from the Heat at times, but the series might well have ended sooner had the Heat shot better from three-point range throughout the series, and from the evidence I've seen, Miami's subpar shooting in the ECF was more a matter of luck than great defense from the Celtics. Despite how poorly they shot, I suspect that Miami was satisfied with many of the looks they got against the Celtics. I realize this last point doesn't necessarily mean that Miami “exposed” Boston's defense, but I don't think the Celtics did enough to get the Heat out of their comfort zone offensively.

[RHODEY]

Really Boston? Will this squad even make the playoffs?

[FlatearthZorro]

Really Boston? Will this squad even make the playoffs?

This thread is from 2019, bruv. Go sit in the corner.

[RHODEY]

Really Boston? Will this squad even make the playoffs?

This thread is from 2019, bruv. Go sit in the corner.

I can't Brad Stevens is already there.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

I’m rooting for a tank job at this point. I don’t care about this lost season anymore.

[SoulJah]

I didn't understand why they shipped Baynes to Phoenix in a salary dump.
The guy is an excellent big defender and rim protector. They couldn't have found a use for that, at least situationally?

As a Raptors fan, I will absolutely disagree with that comment about Baynes. He is a hot pile of trash.