Official Celtics 2022 Off-Season Thread

[Feed Your Head]

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[zoyathedestroya]

My takes on the Celtics mid- to late-December were super fun. I'm embarrassed for whoever posted them.

[moonie_mcgee]

Not to Jinx us, but we do play most of our close EC competitors leading right up to the End of the Regular Season.
Is it conceivable that we could be in 2nd Place, by the time we face #1 Seed Miami?

That'd be ideal Parl. Home court advantage except for Miami. Hope to play only one of the Sixers Bucks or Nets. Got a re shot at Miami this year. A good matchup for us.

[zoyathedestroya]

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[zoyathedestroya]

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Someone hasn't learned from Jason Terry SMFH.

[SatchSanders]

I don't agree with purposely trying to lose....However, I would be lying if I said I'd rather win a game to clinch a spot against the nets vs lose that game and get the bulls or cavs or raptors Nobody wants the nets in the first round. You're lying to yourself or are just completely ignorant to how good KD and kyrie are if you say otherwise. If it happens it happens but I am praying to the heavens it doesn't.

I just don't see how anyone can follow the C's every year and still get intimidated by the hyped up big name stars. Smashing their dreams is what good C's teams do. If they can't beat Brooklyn then they're not that team anyway and it's onto next year.

Reading this comment you'd think the celtics have made many final trips in the last several years and won a championship or two Every year we lost except maybe outside of the last heat loss it was to one of those hyped up big name stars. Those hyped up stars are hyped up for a very good reason.

I also don't buy into the whole, "If they can't beat brooklyn they're not that team anyway." The NBA is all about matchups. What if for whatever reason they couldn't beat brookyln but they could beat everyone else? Hypothetically speaking, I'm not saying that is the case. That doesn't necessarily mean they aren't "that team" that just means they ran into the one team that had their number and had someone else knocked them out first they would be champions.

I know this can't be proven but common sense tells me there are several champions of the past that wouldn't be champions if they had to match up with another team that they were lucky enough to avoid on their way to a championship. Just my 2 cents. I think the celtics ARE that team, right now anyway... But there title chances dramatically increase if they can somehow avoid some of the tougher teams. I mean, obviously.

Sure, holding everything constant the probability of beating Brooklyn running on all cylinders is less than the probability of beating most other foes. If we were playing 2k22 then yes we would angle to avoid Brooklyn. But being human we also want these guys playing to the best of their abilities no matter who they play. If they tell themselves they're trying to avoid someone, we have to hope they maintain their healthy confidence against all opponents despite trying to avoid certain ones. Part of the ferocity they've developed seems to come from the notion that they are their own worst enemies, when they get into ISO ball and don't trust in their capabilities on each side of the ball. Trying to avoid an opponent undermines that belief system that they can beat anyone anywhere at any time in any series, that their fortunes are in their control.

In this thread another commenter noted this team would benefit from getting more reps through the end of the regular season; the cohesion developed doing so for the most part will generate more value than sitting players out to rest. It may be worthwhile to reduce Al's minutes and to sit guys if they have injuries where rest would let them get to 100% for the playoffs. They're going to get close to a week before they start the first round. Given the value for this team in those extra reps, it seems they should play through the finish line rather than letting up.

[shackles10]

I’m not afraid of Brooklyn and I’d rather play them sooner than later. I see a lot of talk about let’s get the 4 and play Miami in round 2 but who says Miami beats Brooklyn and if they don’t it means Brooklyn got it together. We also don’t know if Brooklyn will be 7 or 8 so let’s just win as many as possible without killing our guys, stay healthy, go for as much home court as possible and let the chips fall where they may.

[SuperDeluxe]

One thing about Brooklyn is that they need to not have home-court advantage at any point so that Irving can play more games. The play-in is exactly where they want to be.

For reference, they are 16-19 at home but 22-15 away.

EDIT: They also need to avoid the Raptors at all costs, both during the play-in and the playoffs. (I believe unvaccinated players are not allowed to play in Toronto still.)

[bisme37]

Shaq last night said he's not impressed with the C's because we're inconsistent, haven't proven anything, and in the tier with the Bulls. Candace, Wade, and the host guy all told him he doesn't know what he's talking about.

[BK_2020]

Shaq never knows what he's talking about but I think that's his role on the show.

[Fencer reregistered]

One thing about Brooklyn is that they need to not have home-court advantage at any point so that Irving can play more games. The play-in is exactly where they want to be.

For reference, they are 16-19 at home but 22-15 away.

EDIT: They also need to avoid the Raptors at all costs, both during the play-in and the playoffs. (I believe unvaccinated players are not allowed to play in Toronto still.)

If we do have to play Brooklyn, I'd prefer to do so before NYC lifts its vaccine mandate, and before Ben Simmons is in game shape.

[Shak_Celts]

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Someone hasn't learned from Jason Terry SMFH.

See, now I wanna fight him. I don't believe in jinxing, but don't jinx us!!

[Triple M]

Shaq last night said he's not impressed with the C's because we're inconsistent, haven't proven anything, and in the tier with the Bulls. Candace, Wade, and the host guy all told him he doesn't know what he's talking about.

In the last 26 games, how many bad quarters have we had?

It might be as little as 5 and no more than 9. If that isn't consistent, I don't know what more the Celtics could do to be more consistent.

The general public might be missing out on how dominant the Celtics have been because this is not the team from December. Boston is not only playing like a contender but an all-time great team.

That is where I feel like the Celtics will need to keep answering the question asked of them because I understand giving Milwaukee the benefit of the doubt or Miami, who has Spo and been there all season, but I like our chances.

Once again, we aren't just playing like a contender. We are playing like one of the best teams of all-time at this moment.

[bisme37]

Shaq last night said he's not impressed with the C's because we're inconsistent, haven't proven anything, and in the tier with the Bulls. Candace, Wade, and the host guy all told him he doesn't know what he's talking about.

In the last 26 games, how many bad quarters have we had?

It might be as little as 5 and no more than 9. If that isn't consistent, I don't know what more the Celtics could do to be more consistent.

The general public might be missing out on how dominant the Celtics have been because this is not the team from December. Boston is not only playing like a contender but an all-time great team.

That is where I feel like the Celtics will need to keep answering the question asked of them because I understand giving Milwaukee the benefit of the doubt or Miami, who has Spo and been there all season, but I like our chances.

Once again, we aren't just playing like a contender. We are playing like one of the best teams of all-time at this moment.

He was trying to say we're inconsistent in that we were bad at the start of the year and good now. So he's dismissing the current great play as just a fluke or something. Thing is we've been the most consistently good team for 3 straight months. I don't think he really knows that or cares though. The others tried saying it and he just talked over them.

[Triple M]

He was trying to say we're inconsistent in that we were bad at the start of the year and good now. So he's dismissing the current great play as just a fluke or something. Thing is we've been the most consistently good team for 3 straight months. I don't think he really knows that or cares though. The others tried saying it and he just talked over them.

I can't remember the last time I was pissed about a Celtics loss. Felt we played well or well enough in losses vs Det and Dal. I understood the loss on the 2nd half of a B2B @ Indy, and I thought we had a chance @ Atl, but we ran out of gas in the 4th. I also haven't seen many bad wins where we win despite struggling, e.g. the first game vs the Bucks without Giannis is the perfect example of an ugly win that we have not witnessed in months.

Instead, we are consistently kicking ass at a historic rate vs NBA teams night in and out. I want to see this run compared to other great teams best 25-30 game stretches because this is the most consistency I've seen out of the Celtics since 08-09 and 07-08.

[Fencer reregistered]

Responding here to a post that fell into the wrong thread.

JJ Redick said on First Take that the open 3s Grant and PP are getting in the regular season will be different from the open 3s they will be getting in the playoffs.

Looks like Redick thinks the playoff pressure will be too much for the supporting cast of the Celts.

Guess we'll have to wait and see.

The main template for reasonable Celtics-skeptic arguments is "The Celtics are already playing at playoff intensity, and other teams aren't yet." Redick's claim is a not-stupid example of that. But I don't agree. Earlier in the season, Grant was getting corner threes that were so open he could have gotten a manicure before letting fly. But right now Grant's and PP's shots come against serious defenses. If they're wide open, it's usually because the defenders had specific reasons to be somewhere else on the court guarding against some other Celtic threat. (One exception: When PP shoots from Steph range.)

[Smart2Nesmith43]

During their current 23-4 run, the Celtics have the best defensive rating (by an absurd 5.2 points per 100 possession over the Heat). They also have the 3rd best offensive rating (119.3) just behind the Wolves (119.6) and the Bucks (119.5). The only other East team above 115 is Atlanta.

I appreciate the concern but maybe people should start worrying about the offense of the other East contenders ? Because I know one thing, playing that Celtics defense isn't going to help get them on track on that side of the court.

[zoyathedestroya]

During their current 23-4 run, the Celtics have the best defensive rating (by an absurd 5.2 points per 100 possession over the Heat). They also have the 3rd best offensive rating (119.3) just behind the Wolves (119.6) and the Bucks (119.5). The only other East team above 115 is Atlanta.

I appreciate the concern but maybe people should start worrying about the offense of the other East contenders ? Because I know one thing, playing that Celtics defense isn't going to help get them on track on that side of the court.

Yep, we've had the #2 defense against top 10 offense teams during that span, with MIA only team ahead of us (except they've had a putrid offense while we had a #5 offense). 11-1 record vs. top 10 offense teams since Jan 23 including limiting UTA's #1 offense last night.

[bisme37]

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[zoyathedestroya]

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