If you thought the Cs were done or don't like the makeup of the Cs, a few ???

[Bobshot]

The Celts got into the easier bracket with the no.1 seed. That means they get the Cavs, probably, in the finals, with home court. I expect them to beat the Wizards.

Can they beat the Cavs? Excluding the injury factor, they have a shot--because they have the best coach.

Bradley said just after game 6 that Stevens adjusted the defenses after the first two losses, and was responsible for the turnaround. If Stevens can do that with the Cavs, they have a real shot at getting to the finals.

Call it Belichickian adjustments. He's famous for that. 

[Neurotic Guy]

What do you think now? Are you satisfied with where this team is? Has this been a successful season?  Is IT now a proven max guy? Has Horford been a great addition? Is Bradley a real deal #2/#3 option that can give you All-NBA defense and should be kept? Is Brad Stevens vindicated as a top coach in this league?

This isn't a call out thread. I want to honestly know if this series win has changed your mind on anything.

I do think AB is a real 3rd option and a very valuable piece that I hope they keep.  The series did convince me that IT is a max guy  ("2nd Tier" max guy), but I'm not convinced the C's should be the team that pays him - I am not convinced he can lead a team to a championship and since they already have a max guy who also isn't  a guy who can lead a team to a championship, I am not sure I'd want max $$ tied up with 2 guys who are both 2/3 guys on a championship team.   Horford proved he's worth big bucks, but I don't think he's quite a max guy - if so, like IT he's 2nd Tier max. 

Re: where the team is -- after RR went out the Cs either had to win the series or be remembered as the worst #1 seed in NBA history.  Fortunately they took care of business. Now a comptetive series with The Wiz will leave me satisfied with the season (that is,  I'll feel that progress was made).

[green_bballers13]

Not much has changed in my eyes. I think they are a top 10 team in the league, and might be close to top 5. Their roster is still missing one or two stars to consistently beat Lebron (best player in the world) and his Cavs.

The Celtics played hard this year, and carried that through for the last 4 games of the series. I expect them to beat Washington, but won't cry if they lose.

I still think this team is rebuilding, so any interim success is a positive. I would not have cried to abandon ship if they lost to the Bulls. The Celtics have far too many assets at their disposal to have a negative view of their future.

[Chief]

I'd liked to have seen this series without It4 dealing with his sister's  death and Rondo not getting hurt.

Having said that, Rondo's injury seemed to be what turned the series in our favor, along with Cbs making some adjustments. 

My goal for this team was Ecf, top 2 pick, and another max fa. We are almost there. It's very exciting!

[Neurotic Guy]

I'd liked to have seen this series without It4 dealing with his sister's  death and Rondo not getting hurt.

Having said that, Rondo's injury seemed to be what turned the series in our favor, along with Cbs making some adjustments. 

My goal for this team was Ecf, top 2 pick, and another max fa. We are almost there. It's very exciting!

"Almost there" might be a little bit of an overstatement.  So far, still 0-3 on the goals, but progress made on ECF, close to 50% chance on top-2 pick, and who knows re: max FA.   But I agree with those being good measuring sticks for success.

[colincb]

Don't know how much the team can be judged by this series with IT's family issues weighing on the team and Rondo's injuries sabotaging the Bulls who didn't have a backup PG. In particular, I don't see how anyone can judge IT's performance under the circumstances. He was out of it the first two games.

I don't see AB as a 2-3 cog on a contender, but a 3-4 cog maybe. Not a consistent enough scorer to be #2. I wouldn't bother pursuing Butler anymore though after seeing AB outplay him the last couple of games. As for Horford, he was very good and dominated the series stats. The team still needs rebounding though. Finally, have to give credit to BCS for changing the scheme. Still think he needs to be faster to use timeouts to slow down runs.

[Roy H.]

What do you think now? Are you satisfied with where this team is? Has this been a successful season?  Is IT now a proven max guy? Has Horford been a great addition? Is Bradley a real deal #2/#3 option that can give you All-NBA defense and should be kept? Is Brad Stevens vindicated as a top coach in this league?

This isn't a call out thread. I want to honestly know if this series win has changed your mind on anything.

I don't think the series has changed my mind about anything. Perhaps it makes me more concerned about our vulnerability against above-average PGs, but that's about it.

We still have the same strengths and the same weaknesses. I'm still of the "build around this core" mindset.

[Moranis]

Not at all. Same opinion as always

[Csfan1984]

My mind hasn't changed when they went down 2 OR when the won the series. They should keep with the slow rebuild. Flip/trade AB on draft night. Let the dead weight (KO, JJ, AJ, Young, Mickey, DJ, and Zeller) move on. Keep IT, Smart, Horford, Rozier, and Crowder. Look to sign Griffin or Hayward. If you strike out on them try giving Gibson an AJ type contract or Millsap a two year with the third year being an option.

[footey]

I think we are in the process of learning how to play playoff basketball successfully. How to make adjustments during the course of a series. How to be more disciplined, take much better care of the Ball. In short, how to figure out how to win even when you are not hitting your shots, or your best player is not hitting his.

I'm really pleased to see how we responded in this series. Very impressive.

[86MaxwellSmart]

I think we're in kinda the same position as last year--Where I think we would have won the 1st round, had Bradley and Crowder not been hurt.

Let's see if we can get past Washington now.

[LilRip]

The series hasn't changed my mind and from the thread, it seems like it hasn't changed the minds of many. For those whose minds changed though, particularly with the Game 6 blowout, I would caution against it.

Many NBA players can look like world beaters on any given night. A huge difference between a role player and a superstar (other than hard skill) is consistency. Avery Bradley had the glow on game 6 but can he consistently do that? Can he go out and get 20+ night in and night out?

Coz imo, the team still has a huge hole in the roster. Something a PG or Butler (or Hayward) type of player can fill admirably.

[SCeltic34]

The season has been extremely successful.  My thoughts:

- If we did not face Cleveland or Toronto in the 1st round, advance at minimum to 2nd round.  I still do not view the C's as a complete team, given our youth and noticeable holes (e.g. rebounding).  Thus I did not expect even the ECF (based on matchups) nor the Finals.  We're a team still in progress.
- Obtain a good draft pick via BKN.  Even though this was mostly outside of our control, obtaining the best odds in the draft was beyond expectations.  I expected a bottom 3 Nets team, but not necessarily the worst team in the NBA.  I knew the Lakers would be a problem.
- We earned the #1 seed despite significant time missed by multiple starters, including Horford, IT, and AB.  Other teams had injuries too, but we still finished on top.
- Jaylen Brown has exceeded my expectations.  He looks raw and lost on defense at times.  But he's shown flashes that most rookies do not on both ends of the floor.  He will be a terror in transition, has the tools to be a great defensive player, and at minimum will be a deadly slasher with reliable corner 3-point range.
- Brad Stevens does what he does.  Just a fantastic coach that shows that he's getting better and better.
- IT has actually emerged as a most improved player in the league.  He won't win it, but he probably deserves to.  This is probably the part where I struggle most as a fan, because I love IT - he's 1 inch taller than I am, but shows a ferocity on the floor that is reserved only for great players.  But I don't see him as a max contract because of his defensive deficiencies.  Either way, I'm glad he's on our team, and I trust Ainge to balance the needs of the C's and IT's contract moving forward.
- We signed Al Horford, the 2nd most sought after free agent after Durant.  He's performed to standards in the playoffs.
- AB continues to improve.  Played at an all-star level against the Bulls considering his defense on Butler.  As indispensable as Al Horford in our 4-game turnaround.
- Smart is Smart.  While disappointed with his lack of improvement in shooting %, he's clearly putting effort to improve, evidenced by his reformation on his shot.  I've been thinking that his poor shooting percentages may somewhat be of benefit (as counterintuitive as the sounds) if we can sign him at a lesser contract than he actually demands, because he simply makes winning plays at both ends of the floor.

And more.  This season has surpassed my expectations.  Funny how all the negativity from certain posters disappears when the Celtics are doing well.

[Casperian]

Can we please put an end to the mythology about Olynyk being soft/slow/specialist shooter/heartless/inconsistent/whatever? He's added a big repertoire of roll action to his pop, leads the team in defensive rebound%, is one of the league leaders in drawn charges, pressures out on the floor, gets lots of deflections... etc....

There's no myth, he's been wildly inconsistent the whole season, and has looked like absolute garbage after the first two games. People were right to call him out. If anything, we should call him out more often, as he seems to respond well to criticism. He was great the rest of the series, though.

Lets talk about the elephant in the room. The inability of the Celtics backcourt to deal with Rondo. Without pointing fingers. We had nobody to hinder his ability to get exactly where he wanted to, distribute the ball exactly where he had to, and score when he needed to.

When he got hurt, magically we won 4 in a row, certainly not a coincidence. What the next series will expose, or not expose, is anyone's guess.

No... the reality is difficult to except, but the "makeup" of the team will need to be addressed.

It's the playoffs, against his old team. Anyone who didn't expect playoff Rondo to show up hasn't been paying attention, imo. It's still an outlier. Rondo has been mostly crap since we traded him to Dallas, and pass-first PGs are still as much dinosaurs as big men who can't shoot.

[GC003332]

What do you think now? Are you satisfied with where this team is? Has this been a successful season?  Is IT now a proven max guy? Has Horford been a great addition? Is Bradley a real deal #2/#3 option that can give you All-NBA defense and should be kept? Is Brad Stevens vindicated as a top coach in this league?

This isn't a call out thread. I want to honestly know if this series win has changed your mind on anything.

Why concern yourself with a select few Nick , you have been a fan of the C's since what 1974? I believe you have stated. The Celtics aren't following those posters preferred rebuild plan, that has been well and truely established over the last few years.
A couple of weeks basketball shouldn't convince Ainge one way or the other , it is a fine line between success and failure in the playoffs, injuries, a shooting slump ,a bad matchup , to continually win round after round year after year , this team needs an major talent upgrade.Good news is Ainge has the means through free agency , the upcoming draft , and multiple team friendly contracts to trade if he goes that path.
So why even bother with those posters view points, Ainge and Ownership went in a different direction,let them be continually dissatisfied with it.
Why not just enjoy the Celtics still being in the playoffs ?