Author Topic: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts  (Read 2850 times)

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Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« on: April 26, 2015, 11:13:02 PM »

Offline Ed Hollison

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Some random and disorganized thoughts after watching game 4 today. Curious to hear others' thoughts...

* I like many others couldn't believe the softness of the Celtics' rebounding in this series. For God's sake, the Celtics made Timofey Mozgov look like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Olynyk's inability to box out was disappointing, but not entirely surprising (just ask Evan Turner, who commented on it after the game). Zeller on the other hand was unfathomably bad and impotent on the defensive glass. It confirmed my impression of him that there is no way he's a starter on a contending team. Just way too soft.

* Don't know how anyone could be disappointed by Marcus Smart's rookie year. (Oh sorry, I meant Marcus Banks 2.0 of course.) Dude: he's a rookie. Tonight was representative of who he is as a player. Jump shot wasn't falling, but the guy made plays and buckled down on D down the stretch when some of his teammates were wilting. Smart is a winner and an important building block. Let him work on his offensive game over the next couple years -- his D is already among the best in the league -- and let's see what this kid turns into.

* Kevin Love's sprint off the floor after injuring his shoulder was revealing. I know that must have been painful, but to paraphrase Eddie Murphy, he didn't exactly look like the most masculine fellow in the world. Love's assessment of Olynyk's intentions after the game, I thought, said more about Love than they did his opponent. After the game I was thinking about Flip Saunders's comments on Love prior to trading him to Cleveland, and how Saunders was curiously lukewarm on what Love had offered the Wolves to that point. Talented player, but there may be something to the argument that if he were so good, the Wolves' record should have been better. Not thrilled about the idea of the Celtics going after him if he opts out.

* The Cavs -- and especially Lebron, but secondarily Kyrie Irving -- lazily fell into one-on-one offense very frequently in this series. There is no way David Blatt is coaching Lebron James to do this. This is something that you can get away with against a 7th seed, but when these guys play the likes of the Bulls, Hawks, or whoever emerges from the west, that type of hero ball won't get it done. I personally am hoping that Chicago throttles them in round 2.

* Crowder was a breath of fresh air in this series and this year in general, but let's not get carried away. He's still just a nice depth guy, an energy/3-and-D guy off the bench. If the Celtics are going to take the next step, they are going to need to acquire someone at the small forward spot with more offensive creativity and skill.

* What might the Celtics do with that cap space, not to mention that $13m trade exception from the Rondo deal, and Wallace's expiring contract? Who knows, but what I find intriguing is the possibility that they might capitalize on the disappointments of certain superstars whose teams flamed out early this year. Could they capitalize on an OKC teardown if that's the path that franchise takes? Could they pry away a disgruntled Lamarcus Aldridge? Who else fits in this category? Never say never, which is exactly what most of us did when Kevin Garnett was emphatically rejecting Boston as a trade destination, before he was sold on the idea following the Ray Allen trade.

* Caught Michael Felger on CSN tonight ripping the Celtics fans for cheering their team off the floor following a 4-game sweep. It is so emblematic of the way the C's are covered in this town by the assorted Felgers, Tanguays, and Massarottis. No sophistication, no depth, no nuance. Just terrible and completely frustrating.

* Lastly, and this will sound like some major sore-loserdom, but I've been on this for years. There's lots of debate currently about Lebron and where he ranks among the NBA's all-time greats. Specifically, folks are talking once again about who should be considered the greatest small forward of all time, Lebron or Larry. The answer is the latter, for one simple reason: Larry Bird wasn't on steroids. I'm not saying Lebron is the only one using, whether it be steroids, HGH, or whatever. I believe it's probably rampant in the NBA. But to play 82 games at heavy minutes per game, plus practices, and then come out on the other side with muscles like that is simply impossible. The guy is supremely talented, smart on the floor, everything. But even the best athletes in the world aren't supposed to look like that and move like that. There's no doubt in my mind that this is true, my only doubt is whether or not it ever makes it into the public domain.
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Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2015, 11:38:15 PM »

Offline Celtics4ever

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Quote
I like many others couldn't believe the softness of the Celtics' rebounding in this series. For God's sake, the Celtics made Timofey Mozgov look like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Olynyk's inability to box out was disappointing, but not entirely surprising (just ask Evan Turner, who commented on it after the game). Zeller on the other hand was unfathomably bad and impotent on the defensive glass. It confirmed my impression of him that there is no way he's a starter on a contending team. Just way too soft.

They have a lot of height and talent, more than us.   As for the boxing out, this is not grade school, how many pros do you see boxing out, almost none.  Guys do not do it much in college either to be honest.  There have always been a few guys who did it, but it has been in decline for years.

Quote
Kevin Love's sprint off the floor after injuring his shoulder was revealing. I know that must have been painful, but to paraphrase Eddie Murphy, he didn't exactly look like the most masculine fellow in the world. Love's assessment of Olynyk's intentions after the game, I thought, said more about Love than they did his opponent. After the game I was thinking about Flip Saunders's comments on Love prior to trading him to Cleveland, and how Saunders was curiously lukewarm on what Love had offered the Wolves to that point. Talented player, but there may be something to the argument that if he were so good, the Wolves' record should have been better. Not thrilled about the idea of the Celtics going after him if he opts out.

I agree, wholeheartedly.  Did you see the press conference.  IT made a comment slamming Love that the Celtics could have said the same thing too, but they didn't because they are men.   Sully was incredulous when this was brought up.   I thought it was pretty hypocritical for anyone from CLE to whine about chippy play given Smith's elbow and Perk's cheapshot.   Crowder ran his mouth though and the whole team was gunning for him it seemed.

Quote
Crowder was a breath of fresh air in this series and this year in general, but let's not get carried away. He's still just a nice depth guy, an energy/3-and-D guy off the bench. If the Celtics are going to take the next step, they are going to need to acquire someone at the small forward spot with more offensive creativity and skill.
  Again, I agree, I think he was playing for a contract.   He still should never be the first option on offense if he does stay here.

Quote
Caught Michael Felger on CSN tonight ripping the Celtics fans for cheering their team off the floor following a 4-game sweep. It is so emblematic of the way the C's are covered in this town by the assorted Felgers, Tanguays, and Massarottis. No sophistication, no depth, no nuance. Just terrible and completely frustrating.
  Who listens to him on the Celtics?   I know I do not.

Quote
Lastly, and this will sound like some major sore-loserdom, but I've been on this for years. There's lots of debate currently about Lebron and where he ranks among the NBA's all-time greats. Specifically, folks are talking once again about who should be considered the greatest small forward of all time, Lebron or Larry. The answer is the latter, for one simple reason: Larry Bird wasn't on steroids. I'm not saying Lebron is the only one using, whether it be steroids, HGH, or whatever. I believe it's probably rampant in the NBA. But to play 82 games at heavy minutes per game, plus practices, and then come out on the other side with muscles like that is simply impossible. The guy is supremely talented, smart on the floor, everything. But even the best athletes in the world aren't supposed to look like that and move like that. There's no doubt in my mind that this is true, my only doubt is whether or not it ever makes it into the public domain.
  I feel about the same, now prepare to be ripped by his disciples here.   He is less muscular this year, he lost weight and this all happens as the NBA is testing for HGH.  Hmmmm.  It makes me wonder.

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #2 on: April 26, 2015, 11:51:28 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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Felger is a professional troll.  He doesn't really try to hide the fact.  He says what he knows will get people to react.  He also makes no effort to hide his disdain for the Celtics and the NBA in general.


Appreciate your thoughts on the series and the season.


I agree about Crowder.  Every good team needs a guy like that coming off the bench.  At the starting SF spot, the Celts really need a wing with the creativity and scoring touch of Evan Turner but the hustle, strength, and defensive grit of Crowder.  Ideally such a player would be able to at least break even on threes, too, but that might be asking too much.


The Celts definitely made Mozgov look like a monster.  Moz has the perfect skillset to play with LeBron and take advantage of undersized teams.  Playing small works in the regular season, but you need a lot of talent on your roster to make it work in the playoffs.  Too easy to get dominated inside by role players like Moz.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2015, 12:21:09 AM »

Offline Al91

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TP for your thoughts and for illuminating the fact that we have that Rondo TE, I had forgotten about that. Mentioning LaMarcus gives me hope and for that I blame you. Celtics really could capitalize off this run, albeit short. Selling someone on the fact that they'd immediately be the number one player in one of the best sports towns in the nation on one of the most revered teams in basketball doesn't sound too bad to me.
Long-form is far from dead, but please refrain from paragraph-laden posts! Who wants to read that?!

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2015, 12:33:52 AM »

Offline GratefulCs

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Some random and disorganized thoughts after watching game 4 today. Curious to hear others' thoughts...

* I like many others couldn't believe the softness of the Celtics' rebounding in this series. For God's sake, the Celtics made Timofey Mozgov look like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Olynyk's inability to box out was disappointing, but not entirely surprising (just ask Evan Turner, who commented on it after the game). Zeller on the other hand was unfathomably bad and impotent on the defensive glass. It confirmed my impression of him that there is no way he's a starter on a contending team. Just way too soft.

* Don't know how anyone could be disappointed by Marcus Smart's rookie year. (Oh sorry, I meant Marcus Banks 2.0 of course.) Dude: he's a rookie. Tonight was representative of who he is as a player. Jump shot wasn't falling, but the guy made plays and buckled down on D down the stretch when some of his teammates were wilting. Smart is a winner and an important building block. Let him work on his offensive game over the next couple years -- his D is already among the best in the league -- and let's see what this kid turns into.

* Kevin Love's sprint off the floor after injuring his shoulder was revealing. I know that must have been painful, but to paraphrase Eddie Murphy, he didn't exactly look like the most masculine fellow in the world. Love's assessment of Olynyk's intentions after the game, I thought, said more about Love than they did his opponent. After the game I was thinking about Flip Saunders's comments on Love prior to trading him to Cleveland, and how Saunders was curiously lukewarm on what Love had offered the Wolves to that point. Talented player, but there may be something to the argument that if he were so good, the Wolves' record should have been better. Not thrilled about the idea of the Celtics going after him if he opts out.

* The Cavs -- and especially Lebron, but secondarily Kyrie Irving -- lazily fell into one-on-one offense very frequently in this series. There is no way David Blatt is coaching Lebron James to do this. This is something that you can get away with against a 7th seed, but when these guys play the likes of the Bulls, Hawks, or whoever emerges from the west, that type of hero ball won't get it done. I personally am hoping that Chicago throttles them in round 2.

* Crowder was a breath of fresh air in this series and this year in general, but let's not get carried away. He's still just a nice depth guy, an energy/3-and-D guy off the bench. If the Celtics are going to take the next step, they are going to need to acquire someone at the small forward spot with more offensive creativity and skill.

* What might the Celtics do with that cap space, not to mention that $13m trade exception from the Rondo deal, and Wallace's expiring contract? Who knows, but what I find intriguing is the possibility that they might capitalize on the disappointments of certain superstars whose teams flamed out early this year. Could they capitalize on an OKC teardown if that's the path that franchise takes? Could they pry away a disgruntled Lamarcus Aldridge? Who else fits in this category? Never say never, which is exactly what most of us did when Kevin Garnett was emphatically rejecting Boston as a trade destination, before he was sold on the idea following the Ray Allen trade.

* Caught Michael Felger on CSN tonight ripping the Celtics fans for cheering their team off the floor following a 4-game sweep. It is so emblematic of the way the C's are covered in this town by the assorted Felgers, Tanguays, and Massarottis. No sophistication, no depth, no nuance. Just terrible and completely frustrating.

* Lastly, and this will sound like some major sore-loserdom, but I've been on this for years. There's lots of debate currently about Lebron and where he ranks among the NBA's all-time greats. Specifically, folks are talking once again about who should be considered the greatest small forward of all time, Lebron or Larry. The answer is the latter, for one simple reason: Larry Bird wasn't on steroids. I'm not saying Lebron is the only one using, whether it be steroids, HGH, or whatever. I believe it's probably rampant in the NBA. But to play 82 games at heavy minutes per game, plus practices, and then come out on the other side with muscles like that is simply impossible. The guy is supremely talented, smart on the floor, everything. But even the best athletes in the world aren't supposed to look like that and move like that. There's no doubt in my mind that this is true, my only doubt is whether or not it ever makes it into the public domain.
TP





And about felger, he's a complete and utter toolbag who admits to not even liking the nba

He has no idea what it means to be a celtic fan. There's a reason people like pierce, KG, bird, etc. get all hyped up and emotional when the talk about the fans in boston.


Everyone here, although we may have different opinions on how to get back to the top, are the most kick butt fans in the world, and i'm proud to be able to talk celtics with yall


Lets go celtics (clap-clap-clapclapclap)
I trust Danny Ainge

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2015, 12:34:58 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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Worth pointing out for people, the Rondo TPE only gets used if the Celtics don't renounce their cap holds to create cap space to use on free agents.  Can't use a TPE and also have cap space.

I'm not sure if the Celts can use the TPE before the off-season begins (i.e. make a trade in the week leading up to the draft) and then later renounce cap holds to create cap space once free agency begins.  I have a feeling that's not possible, however.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2015, 01:03:18 AM »

Offline jeezem

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Some random and disorganized thoughts after watching game 4 today. Curious to hear others' thoughts...

* I like many others couldn't believe the softness of the Celtics' rebounding in this series. For God's sake, the Celtics made Timofey Mozgov look like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Olynyk's inability to box out was disappointing, but not entirely surprising (just ask Evan Turner, who commented on it after the game). Zeller on the other hand was unfathomably bad and impotent on the defensive glass. It confirmed my impression of him that there is no way he's a starter on a contending team. Just way too soft.

* Don't know how anyone could be disappointed by Marcus Smart's rookie year. (Oh sorry, I meant Marcus Banks 2.0 of course.) Dude: he's a rookie. Tonight was representative of who he is as a player. Jump shot wasn't falling, but the guy made plays and buckled down on D down the stretch when some of his teammates were wilting. Smart is a winner and an important building block. Let him work on his offensive game over the next couple years -- his D is already among the best in the league -- and let's see what this kid turns into.

* Kevin Love's sprint off the floor after injuring his shoulder was revealing. I know that must have been painful, but to paraphrase Eddie Murphy, he didn't exactly look like the most masculine fellow in the world. Love's assessment of Olynyk's intentions after the game, I thought, said more about Love than they did his opponent. After the game I was thinking about Flip Saunders's comments on Love prior to trading him to Cleveland, and how Saunders was curiously lukewarm on what Love had offered the Wolves to that point. Talented player, but there may be something to the argument that if he were so good, the Wolves' record should have been better. Not thrilled about the idea of the Celtics going after him if he opts out.

* The Cavs -- and especially Lebron, but secondarily Kyrie Irving -- lazily fell into one-on-one offense very frequently in this series. There is no way David Blatt is coaching Lebron James to do this. This is something that you can get away with against a 7th seed, but when these guys play the likes of the Bulls, Hawks, or whoever emerges from the west, that type of hero ball won't get it done. I personally am hoping that Chicago throttles them in round 2.

* Crowder was a breath of fresh air in this series and this year in general, but let's not get carried away. He's still just a nice depth guy, an energy/3-and-D guy off the bench. If the Celtics are going to take the next step, they are going to need to acquire someone at the small forward spot with more offensive creativity and skill.

* What might the Celtics do with that cap space, not to mention that $13m trade exception from the Rondo deal, and Wallace's expiring contract? Who knows, but what I find intriguing is the possibility that they might capitalize on the disappointments of certain superstars whose teams flamed out early this year. Could they capitalize on an OKC teardown if that's the path that franchise takes? Could they pry away a disgruntled Lamarcus Aldridge? Who else fits in this category? Never say never, which is exactly what most of us did when Kevin Garnett was emphatically rejecting Boston as a trade destination, before he was sold on the idea following the Ray Allen trade.

* Caught Michael Felger on CSN tonight ripping the Celtics fans for cheering their team off the floor following a 4-game sweep. It is so emblematic of the way the C's are covered in this town by the assorted Felgers, Tanguays, and Massarottis. No sophistication, no depth, no nuance. Just terrible and completely frustrating.

* Lastly, and this will sound like some major sore-loserdom, but I've been on this for years. There's lots of debate currently about Lebron and where he ranks among the NBA's all-time greats. Specifically, folks are talking once again about who should be considered the greatest small forward of all time, Lebron or Larry. The answer is the latter, for one simple reason: Larry Bird wasn't on steroids. I'm not saying Lebron is the only one using, whether it be steroids, HGH, or whatever. I believe it's probably rampant in the NBA. But to play 82 games at heavy minutes per game, plus practices, and then come out on the other side with muscles like that is simply impossible. The guy is supremely talented, smart on the floor, everything. But even the best athletes in the world aren't supposed to look like that and move like that. There's no doubt in my mind that this is true, my only doubt is whether or not it ever makes it into the public domain.
That is partly how many guys your opponent feels comfortable sending to the offensive glass.  If you're scoring in transition, they can't send so many, but we were not.  All around we rebounded poorly though - on both ends.  Sometimes that is just a matter of size, strength, and mobility of players.  Clearly Clevelands players win in those areas and you could see it.

for a rookie, not bad.  Although, I'm pretty sure Sam Cassell won a title his rookie year, no?  so, it is all relative, but he had a good year, except for punching Bonner in the nuts and showing up late to a home playoff game. 

Well, KO yanked his arm pretty good on purpose, but I thought it was more to let the rebound go out of bounds.  All players in the NBA do this sort of thing, a guy holds you off like Love was doing, and you pull his arm and then flail, to make it look like he pushed you.  Of course he did it on purpose, but if everyone's shoulder dislocated that easy, there'd be no more players in the NBA.  If I were love I might take a minute to look at the guys he's playing with, taking multiple cheap shots at our best player, who was doing OK, on there way to a sweep.  Any need for the shots, nope - just bad winners I guess.  If he's out 2 weeks, that makes the series with Chicago a toss up, and if he's out longer, they are done as a team for the year in terms of winning it all.

no idea on trades, anything can happen.

Felger is just part of the media.  They all just make everything into a conflict, thinking that is what people want to see; I guess it must work, not unlike telemarketing calls and junk mail.  Yup, I compared Felger's talent to that of telemarketing and junk mail.

He's not a small forward he's really a 4 at 6 foot 8, but he appears to be playing point guard, and honestly I think his team would perform better if he did not do this and played his position.  So, since he is problematic to coach, and pads his own stats by getting way more touches than anyone else on the team, and does not play his position, and makes his whole team play around what he feels like doing,  I would not rank him top 10 all time at any position.  You have to be a team player to get there for me - and not cause a ton of locker room problems, maybe that is just me.  He could have 6 rings if he did not have these problems.  Sad, but true.  So, I would not put him in top of anything, but a list of guys you don't want to be like.  Possibly, your suspicions are the root of his cramping problems.  Maybe that is why half the Cavs team appeared to have some steroid rage during the final game of there sweep.  Never seen anything so dumb in my life.  Now Smith may be suspended, and he should be, and with Love out - best of luck with Chicago.

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2015, 01:24:38 AM »

Offline Boris Badenov

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Some random and disorganized thoughts after watching game 4 today. Curious to hear others' thoughts...

* I like many others couldn't believe the softness of the Celtics' rebounding in this series. For God's sake, the Celtics made Timofey Mozgov look like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Olynyk's inability to box out was disappointing, but not entirely surprising (just ask Evan Turner, who commented on it after the game). Zeller on the other hand was unfathomably bad and impotent on the defensive glass. It confirmed my impression of him that there is no way he's a starter on a contending team. Just way too soft.

* Don't know how anyone could be disappointed by Marcus Smart's rookie year. (Oh sorry, I meant Marcus Banks 2.0 of course.) Dude: he's a rookie. Tonight was representative of who he is as a player. Jump shot wasn't falling, but the guy made plays and buckled down on D down the stretch when some of his teammates were wilting. Smart is a winner and an important building block. Let him work on his offensive game over the next couple years -- his D is already among the best in the league -- and let's see what this kid turns into.

* Kevin Love's sprint off the floor after injuring his shoulder was revealing. I know that must have been painful, but to paraphrase Eddie Murphy, he didn't exactly look like the most masculine fellow in the world. Love's assessment of Olynyk's intentions after the game, I thought, said more about Love than they did his opponent. After the game I was thinking about Flip Saunders's comments on Love prior to trading him to Cleveland, and how Saunders was curiously lukewarm on what Love had offered the Wolves to that point. Talented player, but there may be something to the argument that if he were so good, the Wolves' record should have been better. Not thrilled about the idea of the Celtics going after him if he opts out.

* The Cavs -- and especially Lebron, but secondarily Kyrie Irving -- lazily fell into one-on-one offense very frequently in this series. There is no way David Blatt is coaching Lebron James to do this. This is something that you can get away with against a 7th seed, but when these guys play the likes of the Bulls, Hawks, or whoever emerges from the west, that type of hero ball won't get it done. I personally am hoping that Chicago throttles them in round 2.

* Crowder was a breath of fresh air in this series and this year in general, but let's not get carried away. He's still just a nice depth guy, an energy/3-and-D guy off the bench. If the Celtics are going to take the next step, they are going to need to acquire someone at the small forward spot with more offensive creativity and skill.

* What might the Celtics do with that cap space, not to mention that $13m trade exception from the Rondo deal, and Wallace's expiring contract? Who knows, but what I find intriguing is the possibility that they might capitalize on the disappointments of certain superstars whose teams flamed out early this year. Could they capitalize on an OKC teardown if that's the path that franchise takes? Could they pry away a disgruntled Lamarcus Aldridge? Who else fits in this category? Never say never, which is exactly what most of us did when Kevin Garnett was emphatically rejecting Boston as a trade destination, before he was sold on the idea following the Ray Allen trade.

* Caught Michael Felger on CSN tonight ripping the Celtics fans for cheering their team off the floor following a 4-game sweep. It is so emblematic of the way the C's are covered in this town by the assorted Felgers, Tanguays, and Massarottis. No sophistication, no depth, no nuance. Just terrible and completely frustrating.

* Lastly, and this will sound like some major sore-loserdom, but I've been on this for years. There's lots of debate currently about Lebron and where he ranks among the NBA's all-time greats. Specifically, folks are talking once again about who should be considered the greatest small forward of all time, Lebron or Larry. The answer is the latter, for one simple reason: Larry Bird wasn't on steroids. I'm not saying Lebron is the only one using, whether it be steroids, HGH, or whatever. I believe it's probably rampant in the NBA. But to play 82 games at heavy minutes per game, plus practices, and then come out on the other side with muscles like that is simply impossible. The guy is supremely talented, smart on the floor, everything. But even the best athletes in the world aren't supposed to look like that and move like that. There's no doubt in my mind that this is true, my only doubt is whether or not it ever makes it into the public domain.

TP. One of the best posts I've read on this board recently IMO.

The only thing I'd add is that at this point, the whole deal involves acquiring a First Team All-NBA talent who can form the first piece of the next championship team.

I think this and the next draft probably will not yield such a player for us. They're almost never around in the 12-25 range which is where the picks we own will most likely fall.

Nor do I think we can attract a top free agent. Once we have a Tier 1 star we might be able to, but not now.

The brightest hope I see is that there are guys like Aldridge who might become available via trade or sign and trade. Carmelo might become fed up. Who knows, Davis might become disgruntled. Etc.

I hope Ainge remains patient and keeps accumulating assets without giving up flexibility so that we can pounce when the time comes.

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #8 on: April 27, 2015, 01:40:27 AM »

Offline Beat LA

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Felger is a professional troll.  He doesn't really try to hide the fact.  He says what he knows will get people to react.  He also makes no effort to hide his disdain for the Celtics and the NBA in general.


Appreciate your thoughts on the series and the season.


I agree about Crowder.  Every good team needs a guy like that coming off the bench.  At the starting SF spot, the Celts really need a wing with the creativity and scoring touch of Evan Turner but the hustle, strength, and defensive grit of Crowder.  Ideally such a player would be able to at least break even on threes, too, but that might be asking too much.


The Celts definitely made Mozgov look like a monster.  Moz has the perfect skillset to play with LeBron and take advantage of undersized teams.  Playing small works in the regular season, but you need a lot of talent on your roster to make it work in the playoffs.  Too easy to get dominated inside by role players like Moz.

Could he be the phenomenon known as Kevin Dasd, lol? ;D

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #9 on: April 27, 2015, 01:54:58 AM »

Offline GC003332

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TP

I have no doubt in my mind that players in the NBA have used or are using multiple performance enhancing drugs, just take a look at the history of professional sports leagues and Olympics ,Cycling through the decades, players will do whatever they can to either get an edge or keep up with the competition whether  it be Steriods or other performance enhancing drugs.

They have got the advanced warning HGH testing is coming.

It will certainly be a black eye if any notable big names actually test positive next year.

Wonder how many asterisks will be attached to any future records.

Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis are 2 of bigger names to fail drug tests so far.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2015, 02:06:29 AM by GC003332 »

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #10 on: April 27, 2015, 03:26:08 AM »

Offline LarBrd33

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Lol i love that your big take-away after getting swept by the best player alive is "well it doesn't count cuz steroids"

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #11 on: April 27, 2015, 03:29:15 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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Some random and disorganized thoughts after watching game 4 today. Curious to hear others' thoughts...

* I like many others couldn't believe the softness of the Celtics' rebounding in this series. For God's sake, the Celtics made Timofey Mozgov look like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Olynyk's inability to box out was disappointing, but not entirely surprising (just ask Evan Turner, who commented on it after the game). Zeller on the other hand was unfathomably bad and impotent on the defensive glass. It confirmed my impression of him that there is no way he's a starter on a contending team. Just way too soft.

* Don't know how anyone could be disappointed by Marcus Smart's rookie year. (Oh sorry, I meant Marcus Banks 2.0 of course.) Dude: he's a rookie. Tonight was representative of who he is as a player. Jump shot wasn't falling, but the guy made plays and buckled down on D down the stretch when some of his teammates were wilting. Smart is a winner and an important building block. Let him work on his offensive game over the next couple years -- his D is already among the best in the league -- and let's see what this kid turns into.

* Kevin Love's sprint off the floor after injuring his shoulder was revealing. I know that must have been painful, but to paraphrase Eddie Murphy, he didn't exactly look like the most masculine fellow in the world. Love's assessment of Olynyk's intentions after the game, I thought, said more about Love than they did his opponent. After the game I was thinking about Flip Saunders's comments on Love prior to trading him to Cleveland, and how Saunders was curiously lukewarm on what Love had offered the Wolves to that point. Talented player, but there may be something to the argument that if he were so good, the Wolves' record should have been better. Not thrilled about the idea of the Celtics going after him if he opts out.

* The Cavs -- and especially Lebron, but secondarily Kyrie Irving -- lazily fell into one-on-one offense very frequently in this series. There is no way David Blatt is coaching Lebron James to do this. This is something that you can get away with against a 7th seed, but when these guys play the likes of the Bulls, Hawks, or whoever emerges from the west, that type of hero ball won't get it done. I personally am hoping that Chicago throttles them in round 2.

* Crowder was a breath of fresh air in this series and this year in general, but let's not get carried away. He's still just a nice depth guy, an energy/3-and-D guy off the bench. If the Celtics are going to take the next step, they are going to need to acquire someone at the small forward spot with more offensive creativity and skill.

* What might the Celtics do with that cap space, not to mention that $13m trade exception from the Rondo deal, and Wallace's expiring contract? Who knows, but what I find intriguing is the possibility that they might capitalize on the disappointments of certain superstars whose teams flamed out early this year. Could they capitalize on an OKC teardown if that's the path that franchise takes? Could they pry away a disgruntled Lamarcus Aldridge? Who else fits in this category? Never say never, which is exactly what most of us did when Kevin Garnett was emphatically rejecting Boston as a trade destination, before he was sold on the idea following the Ray Allen trade.

* Caught Michael Felger on CSN tonight ripping the Celtics fans for cheering their team off the floor following a 4-game sweep. It is so emblematic of the way the C's are covered in this town by the assorted Felgers, Tanguays, and Massarottis. No sophistication, no depth, no nuance. Just terrible and completely frustrating.

* Lastly, and this will sound like some major sore-loserdom, but I've been on this for years. There's lots of debate currently about Lebron and where he ranks among the NBA's all-time greats. Specifically, folks are talking once again about who should be considered the greatest small forward of all time, Lebron or Larry. The answer is the latter, for one simple reason: Larry Bird wasn't on steroids. I'm not saying Lebron is the only one using, whether it be steroids, HGH, or whatever. I believe it's probably rampant in the NBA. But to play 82 games at heavy minutes per game, plus practices, and then come out on the other side with muscles like that is simply impossible. The guy is supremely talented, smart on the floor, everything. But even the best athletes in the world aren't supposed to look like that and move like that. There's no doubt in my mind that this is true, my only doubt is whether or not it ever makes it into the public domain.

TP. One of the best posts I've read on this board recently IMO.

The only thing I'd add is that at this point, the whole deal involves acquiring a First Team All-NBA talent who can form the first piece of the next championship team.

I think this and the next draft probably will not yield such a player for us. They're almost never around in the 12-25 range which is where the picks we own will most likely fall.

Nor do I think we can attract a top free agent. Once we have a Tier 1 star we might be able to, but not now.

The brightest hope I see is that there are guys like Aldridge who might become available via trade or sign and trade. Carmelo might become fed up. Who knows, Davis might become disgruntled. Etc.

I hope Ainge remains patient and keeps accumulating assets without giving up flexibility so that we can pounce when the time comes.

I'd be pretty thrilled to get one guy who's in the conversation for a spot on the All-NBA Third Team.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #12 on: April 27, 2015, 05:01:35 AM »

Offline Greyman

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TP to the OP for the post. We are now officially in a kind of limbo. The possibilities are endless and while some believe DA will do the business this offseason and attract a number of big names and others are sure he will be patient and keep accumulating until he can get the players that bring Championships, nothing is certain. DA no doubt has formed/is forming a plan but he can't know for sure how it will play out.

Personally, I think DA will make a play for at least two big names in FA, and be willing to keep the war chest stocked, playing on with minor adjustments, if it doesn't work out. No point swapping average/good players for average/good players. I am not sure who those big names are but I hope he gets them. Rather be moving forward than treading water for another season - though it might have to be.

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #13 on: April 27, 2015, 05:11:27 AM »

Offline BornReady

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I agree they didn't use much teamwork to win this series
They used their talent (Lebrun, Kyrie, love, mozgov) to overpower us over plays
I don't think they got to the finals this year
I would pick Bulls or Atlanta to win the East this year

Also Lebrun doesn't use any performance enhancing drugs. That is a baseless claim

Re: Miscellaneous postmortem thoughts
« Reply #14 on: April 27, 2015, 07:50:14 AM »

Offline The One

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Worth pointing out for people, the Rondo TPE only gets used if the Celtics don't renounce their cap holds to create cap space to use on free agents.  Can't use a TPE and also have cap space.

I'm not sure if the Celts can use the TPE before the off-season begins (i.e. make a trade in the week leading up to the draft) and then later renounce cap holds to create cap space once free agency begins.  I have a feeling that's not possible, however.

So it won't be used?... :'(