Author Topic: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?  (Read 7324 times)

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Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #45 on: July 11, 2014, 03:02:47 PM »

Offline mmmmm

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I think we're looking at a 35-38 win team next season. Normally you don't want to be in this position, but with the plethora of draft picks Ainge has stashed, it's not so bad. They'll probably just miss the playoffs and end up with the 10th or 11th pick in the draft.

I see a full year of Rondo, continued improvement of Bradley, Olynyk, and Sullinger as the main reasons for the 10-13 game improvement.

personally I think ainge's whole plan has been to go hard in 2015 free agency when the c's have 33million$ off the books and a plethora of draft picks/assets. we could concievably sign Marc Gasol and then try and swing a trade for another all-star calibar player.

ainge surely isn't making 2-3 draft picks each year.

Yeah, we have to trade some picks or players at some point.  Folks need to not fall too much in love with all the assets.

If we want to entice a star FA (or pending FA) to agree to come here, it may make sense to at least try to make the playoffs -- most star FAs probably aren't going to want to come to a tank team.  It's a better sales pitch to say, "Look, the team is already a good team -- and YOU are the missing piece to put it over the hump!", than to say, "We are going to depend on YOU and YOU ALONE to carry us out of the pit of despair!".

NBA Officiating - Corrupt?  Incompetent?  Which is worse?  Does it matter?  It sucks.

Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #46 on: July 11, 2014, 03:05:31 PM »

Offline mmmmm

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Defense is still terrible

Boston gave up about 108 pts per 100 possessions last season.  Not very good but still 19th in the NBA.

The problem was more the offense than the defense but the real problem was a season-long habit of utterly collapsing after being competitive or even leading the other team.  Some of that was youth, some injuries, some mismatched roster, some lack of talent, some coaching mistakes and some, I'm pretty sure, was by design.  There's no way Sully keeps shooting 3s as poorly as he did last year unless Stevens specifically told him to.

Celts should have more talent this season (if nothing else, Smart will be a huge upgrade over Pressley, Thornton is probably going to be better than Bayless and we've added Zeller).  If Vitor can stay healthy, having him, Zeller and Anthony to man the 5 should balance out the roster.  Stevens should also be better acclimated to the league.

It all depends on Bradley's health, Rondo's interest in getting a big new contract and whether Wyc and Ainge really want to make the playoffs.

Mike

We also have to factor in that our roster might suffer as much turnover as it did last year.

Roster turnover has been a huge factor in how EACH of the last two seasons turned out.

It would be really nice to have a relatively healthy, stable roster for a change.  Is it too much to ask?

It is, of course, a major factor for all teams.  The Spurs & Heat made it to the finals each of the last two years largely by being among the very few major power teams that were not missing top rotation players.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt?  Incompetent?  Which is worse?  Does it matter?  It sucks.

Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #47 on: July 11, 2014, 03:10:32 PM »

Offline mmmmm

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Yeah, if they keep Rondo and Green, they should be competing for the playoffs in the east.  Of course it remains to be seen if those guys are still here in November.

So...whats the difference between having rondo and green last year and not making the playoffs, to this year making the playoffs??

I think there are likely to be a few more differences than just those two.

A balanced roster (featuring an at least _adequate_ true center and a true starting point guard for the whole season, not just every other game the last few months) is in itself a major upgrade.

Shocking idea:  NBA players tend to play better after they've had more than a year or so of experience.   It's not an unreasonable expectation that Sully, Olynyk, Bradley, etc., will be better players this year than they were last year.

Further shocking idea:  Players tend to execute a coach's system better if they've played in it longer together.

Finally:  Rondo & Green will both be in a contract year.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt?  Incompetent?  Which is worse?  Does it matter?  It sucks.

Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #48 on: July 11, 2014, 03:16:21 PM »

Offline mmmmm

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Does it matter for anything? I mean, next years draft looks bad. real bad.

But for prediction sake I say we get the 11th and 24th picks (Clippers).
There are some very good prospects in next years draft. Especially centers. Look for yourself.

Yeah, I agree.  Next year's draft may not have all the hype this one had, but it looks like it will be a strong draft and, yes, especially at the center position.

'Sure wish we'd gotten that 2015 Miami pick from Cleveland instead of their protected 2016 pick.   Sigh...

NBA Officiating - Corrupt?  Incompetent?  Which is worse?  Does it matter?  It sucks.

Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #49 on: July 11, 2014, 03:19:07 PM »

Offline mmmmm

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We need to get rid of people that are not pieces of our future team and will only inflate our winning percentage. Bass is number one. Hump is next. Then Bayless. Those 3 are quality vets that should be on winning teams. They are not starters, even on our team this year, but they are great backups and will keep us in games.

Neither Humphries nor Bayless is currently on the team. 

We retain Bird rights on Hump and Early Bird rights on Bayless, but they are free agents.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt?  Incompetent?  Which is worse?  Does it matter?  It sucks.

Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #50 on: July 11, 2014, 03:21:47 PM »

Offline pearljammer10

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Short answer: No.


Long answer: No freakin' way.

Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #51 on: July 11, 2014, 04:30:07 PM »

Offline CM0

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I think we're looking at a 35-38 win team next season. Normally you don't want to be in this position, but with the plethora of draft picks Ainge has stashed, it's not so bad. They'll probably just miss the playoffs and end up with the 10th or 11th pick in the draft.

I see a full year of Rondo, continued improvement of Bradley, Olynyk, and Sullinger as the main reasons for the 10-13 game improvement.

personally I think ainge's whole plan has been to go hard in 2015 free agency when the c's have 33million$ off the books and a plethora of draft picks/assets. we could concievably sign Marc Gasol and then try and swing a trade for another all-star calibar player.

ainge surely isn't making 2-3 draft picks each year.

Yeah, we have to trade some picks or players at some point.  Folks need to not fall too much in love with all the assets.

If we want to entice a star FA (or pending FA) to agree to come here, it may make sense to at least try to make the playoffs -- most star FAs probably aren't going to want to come to a tank team.  It's a better sales pitch to say, "Look, the team is already a good team -- and YOU are the missing piece to put it over the hump!", than to say, "We are going to depend on YOU and YOU ALONE to carry us out of the pit of despair!".

Exactly. People here all seem to forget how we got KG and how the Cavs just got LeBron, how the Rockets just got Bosh, etc.

Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #52 on: July 11, 2014, 04:32:06 PM »

Offline CM0

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Yeah, if they keep Rondo and Green, they should be competing for the playoffs in the east.  Of course it remains to be seen if those guys are still here in November.

So...whats the difference between having rondo and green last year and not making the playoffs, to this year making the playoffs??

I think there are likely to be a few more differences than just those two.

A balanced roster (featuring an at least _adequate_ true center and a true starting point guard for the whole season, not just every other game the last few months) is in itself a major upgrade.

Shocking idea:  NBA players tend to play better after they've had more than a year or so of experience.   It's not an unreasonable expectation that Sully, Olynyk, Bradley, etc., will be better players this year than they were last year.

Further shocking idea:  Players tend to execute a coach's system better if they've played in it longer together.

Finally:  Rondo & Green will both be in a contract year.

TP

Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #53 on: July 11, 2014, 04:35:57 PM »

Online celticsclay

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Just looking at how the roster shakes out right now.

Rondo/pressey/smart
Bradley/Thorton/smart
Green/james young
sullinger/olynyk
zeller/faverani

honestly, that team is not that bad, certainly not worse than teams like the 76ers, magic, bucks. Which is why I believe that ainges plan ideally is to use his horde of picks/assets to swing trades to improve the team.

Also, are people failing to realize that the heat are on the verge of becoming the worst team in the East? The 76ers are really only adding an injured Embiid. The magic have added frye and meeks and lost affalo. The bucks added parker, but were historically bad last year. Another dark horse stanktastic team? The Knicks. If Carmelo does end up leaving they will have lost him and Chandler and added calderon and rookies. The celtics really would have to trade Rondo, Bradley and Green for injured players or players with negative value to get down to being "bad enough"


Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #54 on: July 11, 2014, 06:10:05 PM »

Offline vinnie

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Just looking at how the roster shakes out right now.

Rondo/pressey/smart
Bradley/Thorton/smart
Green/james young
sullinger/olynyk
zeller/faverani

honestly, that team is not that bad, certainly not worse than teams like the 76ers, magic, bucks. Which is why I believe that ainges plan ideally is to use his horde of picks/assets to swing trades to improve the team.

Also, are people failing to realize that the heat are on the verge of becoming the worst team in the East? The 76ers are really only adding an injured Embiid. The magic have added frye and meeks and lost affalo. The bucks added parker, but were historically bad last year. Another dark horse stanktastic team? The Knicks. If Carmelo does end up leaving they will have lost him and Chandler and added calderon and rookies. The celtics really would have to trade Rondo, Bradley and Green for injured players or players with negative value to get down to being "bad enough"

If the Heat retain Bosh and Wade and Riley makes a couple of solid additions, they will be in the 5-8th playoff spot.

Re: is our team too good to tank in 2014-15?
« Reply #55 on: July 11, 2014, 06:20:19 PM »

Offline Surferdad

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Just looking at how the roster shakes out right now.

Rondo/pressey/smart
Bradley/Thorton/smart
Green/james young
sullinger/olynyk
zeller/faverani

honestly, that team is not that bad, certainly not worse than teams like the 76ers, magic, bucks. Which is why I believe that ainges plan ideally is to use his horde of picks/assets to swing trades to improve the team.

Also, are people failing to realize that the heat are on the verge of becoming the worst team in the East? The 76ers are really only adding an injured Embiid. The magic have added frye and meeks and lost affalo. The bucks added parker, but were historically bad last year. Another dark horse stanktastic team? The Knicks. If Carmelo does end up leaving they will have lost him and Chandler and added calderon and rookies. The celtics really would have to trade Rondo, Bradley and Green for injured players or players with negative value to get down to being "bad enough"

If the Heat retain Bosh and Wade and Riley makes a couple of solid additions, they will be in the 5-8th playoff spot.
Yes, YES. Why are so many people writing off the Heat?  They won't win a championship w/o LeBron but will be a deep playoff team with Bosh resigning and all the moves Riley is making. Heck they even still have a shot at Melo who would be the closest thing possible to a LeBron replacement.