Breaking: Zeller and Thornton Put Celts Over the Top

[D.o.s.]

We never really had Rondo and Crawford and Courtney Lee together though, since Crawford and Lee were shipped out around the same time Rondo came back.

Right -- that's why health is such a tricky thing. As of right now, though, I think we win roughly 30 games -- more or  less right around where we were last year.

This is probably the point where I point out that I was overoptimistic about their chances last year: I thought they'd win 26.

[chambers]

This team has about a 5% chance of making the playoffs.
The only way this happens is if Sullinger breaks through as 17 point 10 rebound monster and Rondo, Bradley and Smart have great seasons.

We have no rim protection. We lost Humphries inside. We just tried to trade Bass for nothing which means we'll try again and he won't be here long.

There are at least 10 teams in the East that are better than us.
If Green or Rondo go down with an injury, we are absolutely screwed. If Rondo is traded, we are going to be a bottom 3 team.

Doesn't matter though because this is another developmental season. It's the 2nd year of a rebuild. Just gotta keep collecting and growing the worth of assets until the right opportunity arises, and then we pounce.

Can anyone think of a worse defensive big man line up in the NBA than:
Sully (okay on defense- slightly above average)
Olynyk (below average)
Faverani ( below average)
Zeller (below average- average)
Bass (good to very good on defense- but who we are looking to trade).

How are we anywhere NEAR Washington or Atlanta with Horford and Gortat/Nene/Wall/Pierce/Beal?
haha.

I remember trying to talk sense into overly optimistic posts like this last season and being completely drilled for saying we'd be lucky to get 25 wins given our pathetic defense and lack of shooting.

A team that has no inside scoring, but sucks at jumpshooting, and can't defend post players in the paint- is destined to be a bottom 8 team. It's a shame we fluked out and beat the Heat last year in 2 games because we'd have drafted Dante Exum instead. I'm still happy with Smart but yeah- if we don't make any more moves, or only minor moves, we are going to STINK like last year.

[Surferdad]

Who knows, we might surprise the NBA this year. WE already have a Center, we have two budding PFs, Jeff Green/Wallace (i know both meh players) and James Young, Bradley/Smart, and Rondo.

This was, to a tee, the exact line from last year, when we won a grand total of 25 games. Our starting roster might even be worse, save that we have a healthy Rondo on this go around. He's not a player that's going to swing us the ~15 game uptick that'll secure us a playoff spot though.

How could our healthy roster be worse than last year's? I think Rondo will give us 5 to 9 more wins ( his career high win shares is 9.9 and last year's was 1.1). Improvements in Sullinger and Olynyk should be good f for 2-5 more wins. Add that the minutes Babb, Johnson, Bayless and other d leaguers will see significantly less minutes in favor of Smart, Young and Thornton that should be good for an additional 2-5 wins. That should bring you close to the 15 wins you mentioned.

Right, except how many games you win does not solely depend on your roster.

In th NBA more than any other organized league, your roster largely does determine how much you win, ESPECIALLY, the most talented players on your squad. But regardless of that debate, my main point is that this team is simply not talented enough to win. Let's run down those players mentioned:

RONDO - Perhaps the most talented player on the team. Where is he in league ranking? I would put him around #12-15 range. This is not good enough for your best player

SULLY/OLYNYK - Nice young players. Sully showed something last year, but Stevens didn't have many choices and this was a bad team. Olynyk is a work in progress and has a long way to go. So far his claim to fame is perennial Summer League star and some good games down the stretch when it didn't matter (unless you are a tanker).

SMART/YOUNG - Rookies. No idea what their real talent level is yet.

THORNTON - Good scorer at times, that's about it.

GREEN - Shows decent all around game with occasional scoring bursts. Pretty good defender. Sometimes disappears.

WALLACE - Washed up.  He can still hustle and defend at bit.

ZELLER - He's our starting center by default.  Can score a bit and is mobile, but is not a rim protector or lock-down defender.

BRADLEY - Has rounded into a nice two-way player. Elite defender, but is a little undersized and can be posted up. Can't create his own shot, must come off screens and run in set plays for open looks. Talented? Somewhat, but definitely not a top-25 player.

I don't think I left out anyone who matters.

Bottom-line: This team is simply not talented enough regardless of coaching or any number of other factors.