Thanks Rollie for kind words on the other thread. As for LeBron, I'm not scared and he doesn't have to get injured. If the Celtics gel, we can beat anyone.
The big ifs for the C's are getting smaller. We want to know if Marcus Smart is good or great. There are a lot of players on the team who fit that category.
Danny deserves credit, but so does Brad. They are kind of like a two-headed monster always on the same page or willing to bend for the other guy's vision.
Brad forced Danny's hand into not being a cheater/tanker and to make buyer and improvement for the present trades. We have to thank Brooklyn. We might as well thank Kevin McHale while we're at it. Yet it was Danny who not only got the great player KG, he filled in that roster as good as anyone could have done. I thank young players such as Perk and Rondo who helped get us #17.
Danny is an aggressive gm, no doubt.
Brad Stevens is an aggressive coach. He was showing up for wins with Humphreys and Crawford. I don't know the insides of all these jobs- gm's, coaches, even players, but I still watch and try to make sense of it.
The truth is in the results. Whether Danny is a genius, lucky or above average, he is close to getting to the mountain top twice. Other teams like Sacramento never improve. I will give Toronto some respect. It is not easy to win in the NBA. You only need five guys, so we all know why everyone is clamoring for a superstar.
Isaiah is a superstar on offense. Horford made the all-star. I think Amir Johnson is completely underrated. I want to see Olynyk and Crowder do well to the point we wonder if they too are good or great.
After a while when everyone is good to great, it becomes a lot easier to beat teams top heavy with Lebron divas.
I think we will attack the traditional 60 win mark for great teams. I'll be surprised if we only win 45-50.
I think if everything pans out the way it looks, we could be the third best team behind Golden State and Cleveland. Then it is not so crazy to dream of a cinderella finish. Don't forget Brad got no-name Butler teams to Final Fours. He is a genius coach like Belichick at football. He is a scientist. I think Danny is more of a gambler always scheming.
Brad is like Spock, very logical, yet still half human. Danny is pure Captain Kirk. It's working. I admit I'm biased with green goggles, but I still have the same two eyes as everyone else and like you, I see what moves Danny has made and how they keep working out.