I'll take "better than last year's Celtics." Anything on top of that would be gravy.
It's not out of question we are one of the top 4 teams from the east. I'm not scared of anyone except the Cavs.
out of the question? no. miracles can happen.
Likely? no. just no. We finished 7th last year under .500.
There were 6 teams that had a better season than us. Which of those teams suddenly became worse than us? none.
Miami (at this point) has a starting line-up of legitimate starting talent that's far superior to any combination we put on the floor.
There's no reason to expect the C's to be better than them.
Indy gets Paul George back and added Monta Ellis. 2 guys that can score down the stretch and both better than anyone we have. they'll be fighting for that 8th spot with us.
Granted the season has to play out but since we can only make paper comparisons right now, C's will be in a dogfight to make the playoffs this year.
What we know is as long as this lineup is healthy we are going to end up better than 7th place.
no,
we dont
know it.
you are
assuming it.
it's one thing to look at how the C's performed at the end of last year and look only at what the C's did in the offseason but you don't seem to be taking into account how the other teams in the conference played and their offseasons. Without rehashing the teams I mentioned above, the rest of the conference improved as well.
- Knicks get back Melo and added Afflalo and Lopez. they won't contend for the playoffs but they're better than last year.
- Detroit and Charlotte shuffled their rosters a bit to improve chemistry in the lockerroom and on the court. probably won't contend for the playoffs but they could be better than last year depending on how the changes work out for them
- Orlando - has more top young talent that could make a leap this year and the youth is better balanced in terms of the positions
they play. They should be better this year.
- Philly - still a dumpster fire and the top asset they acquired plays the same position as their top player from last year. They still stink but they added some talent.
I predict 4th. I will gladly meet the hawks in the playoffs and will have confidence we could beat them
very optimistic and I would love nothing better than for the team to exceed your expectations but I just don't see how it's based on anything more than blind faith more than anything approaching a realistic review of the team in comparison to the other teams in the conference (never mind the league in general).