We May Not Make The PlayOffs

[Rtpas11]

I just looking at the standings & also the teams that made significant changes to improve their team. Boston is in at a 7th place & New York is at 8th. Milwaukee stands at 9th place but got much better after trading for Monta. They will be a tough team to beat for now on, because they addressed their #1 issue scoring. I'm sure the Bucks will end up being the 5th or 7th seed by playoffs. The Knicks looks much better now since their coaching change & Carmello's new tean approach to win games. Woodson looks tougher & and is auditioning for a career job so losing isn't option for his team.

Unless Atl, Ind, or Phi suffer a major collapse in losses I don't see us making the playoffs this year. Getting Chris Johnson is not going to help this team. I'm not sure why guys are so big on him. He got cut from us for a reason, he'll probably rot on the benched anyhow if he signed here. Terrence Williams seems to be a good fit in my book, Brian Cook will also be a good fit & last if we cant' get Kamamn through buyout we should be looking at throwing in the season for a higher pick.

[Rtpas11]

last... how does a team like Denver end up with 3 legit centers & we can't even get 1???

[Rickretro]

Lottery.  You can't win it if you don't play.  In the end, if we are rebuilding this would be a great year to have a top 10 pick and one in the low teens.  The rebuild would at least start with some studs.  I am just going to sit tight, enjoy this team as is competing. If they make the playoffs fine, but to get this ship right for the future, getting a lotto pick would be a step in the right direction. 

[guava_wrench]

Our early schedule was one of the sparsest and home heavy in the league. The end of our schedule is tough, like our current road trip.

[LooseCannon]

last... how does a team like Denver end up with 3 legit centers & we can't even get 1???

Both Kosta Koufos and Timofey Mozgov came to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade.

In a 2003 draft day trade, the Knicks traded Mark Jackson, Marcus Camby, and the #7 pick Nene Denver in exchange for Antonio Mcdyess and a second round pick.  Denver overpaid in re-signing Nene, but traded him for Javale McGee.

So, basically, the answer is "because the Knicks are stupid".  That suggests that Ainge holding out for someone to massively overpay is generally a good strategy because some teams are stupid.

[ACF]

We're three games ahead of Milwaukee, 2.5 ahead of New York and only 2 games behind Atlanta for the 6th seed. Fifth seed is Indiana, only 2.5 games ahead of us. Our chances of getting one of those seeds are as good (at least on paper) as Milwaukee and New York passing us in the standings. Please, don't bury this team just yet.

[rondohondo]

saw this p-o-s-ted on realgm about the c's playoff hopes

They have 22 games left- 8 at home 14 on the road.

Of those 22, SIX are a pair of B2B, and that doesn't include the one B2B2B.

That's potentially 8 games of potentially being dead tired. Two of those back ends are against Philly, another against Orlando, one against Atlanta, and another against Chicago.

They play Miami 3 more times, Atlanta 3 more times, San Antonio once.

More key games: one @ MSG (the fourth game of a 5 in 6 day run), and two against Milwaukee.

That's an absolutely brutal schedule. They may sneak into the 8th spot by a game or 2 , but really they would be better off falling into the lottery. They aren't even a threat in the playoffs with a big man rotation of kg,bass,steamer and whatever scrub they pick up off the waiver wire.

[Celtics4ever]

If we do then we do.  If we don't we don't.  I have throughly enjoyed this team and they brought pride back to the Celtics.

[Mencius]

saw this p-o-s-ted on realgm about the c's playoff hopes

They have 22 games left- 8 at home 14 on the road.

Of those 22, SIX are a pair of B2B, and that doesn't include the one B2B2B.

That's potentially 8 games of potentially being dead tired. Two of those back ends are against Philly, another against Orlando, one against Atlanta, and another against Chicago.

They play Miami 3 more times, Atlanta 3 more times, San Antonio once.

More key games: one @ MSG (the fourth game of a 5 in 6 day run), and two against Milwaukee.

That's an absolutely brutal schedule. They may sneak into the 8th spot by a game or 2 , but really they would be better off falling into the lottery. They aren't even a threat in the playoffs with a big man rotation of kg,bass,steamer and whatever scrub they pick up off the waiver wire.

That's just a brutal schedule (especially last couple of games in March and practically all of April).

I agree with the OP and the above.  It'll be tight, but I think the Knicks and Bucks, considering schedule and other factors, will likely pass us up.

I don't much care about the record this year to tell you the truth.  We have no shot at a title anyway, and in my book, barely making the playoffs to be a real contender's fodder is no great shakes, so I'll just enjoy watching the games play out, and if it turns out we miss the playoffs, then fine.  Picking 14th instead of 18th is not a bad thing for this franchise at this point.

[Celtics18]

 I don't think it's worth falling out of the playoffs to move up less than a half dozen spots in the draft. 

We know that the Knicks are capable of falling apart and I'm not convinced that Monta Ellis makes the Bucks an Eastern conference powerhouse.  I still feel fairly confident that this team will make the playoffs. 

[Moranis]

And if i happens what will the people say that were opposed to selling off the expiring contracts for whatever the Celtics could get.  Isn't a second round pick better than nothing when you don't even make the playoffs.

[Celtics18]

And if i happens what will the people say that were op****ed to selling off the expiring contracts for whatever the Celtics could get.  Isn't a second round pick better than nothing when you don't even make the playoffs.

Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett may be "expiring contracts," but they are also way more than that.  They are Celtic legends. 

If the team were to tragically miss the playoffs, I won't be bemoaning the fact that we didn't get some future picks and "assets" for our aging warriors.  Selling off those guys for "whatever (they) could get"  wouldn't sit well with me.

We'll have plenty of avenues to rebuild when it's time to rebuild.  I'm glad Danny decided to let our guys play it out.

[azzenfrost]

We may not...but I still enjoy watching KG, Allen, Pierce and Rondo out on the court.

[redbov]

We'll have plenty of avenues to rebuild when it's time to rebuild.  I'm glad Danny decided to let our guys play it out.

It has already come. It's obvious for everyone. Ainge has done exactly what he said he wouldn't be doing, what he said was Red biggest mistake - to allow a championship team to decline to this point.

And if he wanted them to play it out, then he needed to bring him some help even at the cost of a late first pick or a bit of cap room in order to give this team supporting cast some respectability again. These guys don't deserve finishing their careers, or at least their Celtics careers, drag some D-Leaguers and minimum salary journeymen in a desperate fight for a 8th seed. Oh, we get a handful more wins. How selfish is that? Why does that matter so much?

If he wasn't willing to give them some help, the respectful thing to do would be to trade them for a contender or a good team. What Ainge did was indefensible, I can't believe there are Celtics fans supporting this kind of attitude.

[greenpride32]

As tough as that schedule looks, the teams we'll be playing will likely also be facing similiar circumstances; so not a valid excuse.  We've had 2 or 3 days off between games this year and still came out flat.  Bottom line is the better teams are going to make the playoffs. We're definitely a fringe team, but if our main competition is going to be the likes of the Bucks and Cavs I like our chances.