Do you think IT/Hayward/Horford is a "big 3?" (poll)

[CelticsElite]

It's definitely not on the same level as GSW's, Cleveland's, or even San Antonio's, but it's still there.

I think complementing it with strong role players like Morris and Smart is a good move, not to mention our young guns. Hopefully we can add two more young guns in 2018!

san Antonio? Tony parker and ginobili are garbage now. Spurs have the worst point guard situation because their best guard is now patty mills. Kawhi is good but he is also flawed. He averaged very few assists

[KG Living Legend]

two and half men

 Hahahaha Shaq, but that's my joke all the way back to the Miami heat, I dubbed then that because of Bosh of course.

[gouki88]

It's definitely not on the same level as GSW's, Cleveland's, or even San Antonio's, but it's still there.

I think complementing it with strong role players like Morris and Smart is a good move, not to mention our young guns. Hopefully we can add two more young guns in 2018!

san Antonio? Tony parker and ginobili are garbage now. Spurs have the worst point guard situation because their best guard is now patty mills. Kawhi is good but he is also flawed. He averaged very few assists

Kawhi, Aldridge and Gay is superior compared to ours, unless LMA declines further.

Just because Kawhi doesn't get many assists doesn't mean he's not a top 3 player in the league (top 1 IMO)

[ETNCeltics]

Not really. Horford is paid like a superstar, yet he clearly isn't one. He's a very good player, but no one will make the case he's all-NBA. If he played for GSW, he'd be their 5th best player, and very few would dispute that.

[Dino Pitino]

Not really. Horford is paid like a superstar, yet he clearly isn't one. He's a very good player, but no one will make the case he's all-NBA. If he played for GSW, he'd be their 5th best player, and very few would dispute that.

He made the All-NBA 3rd team in '11, and he's a four-time All Star. The thread's question is whether IT/GH/AH is a big 3, not the biggest big 3.

[ETNCeltics]

Not really. Horford is paid like a superstar, yet he clearly isn't one. He's a very good player, but no one will make the case he's all-NBA. If he played for GSW, he'd be their 5th best player, and very few would dispute that.

He made the All-NBA 3rd team in '11, and he's a four-time All Star. The thread's question is whether IT/GH/AH is a big 3, not the biggest big 3.

That was 6 years ago. The question is whether or not it's a big 3 now, not if it might have been in 2011. A 4 time all star in his 10th year is evidence he's a good player, as I said he was.

But, he's a borderline all-star now. He didn't even make it in the perilously weak east last year. To me, a borderline all star isn't really part of any "big 3". Pierce and Garnett were 2 of the 10 or so best players in the league in 2007, and Ray Allen was a perennial all star. That's a "big 3". That's not to say Horford can't be a big part of our next title, but the reality is that if we win a title in the next 3 years, it will be far more likely that Brown or Tatum or someone else stepped up as part of a big 3, rather than Al Horford.

I like Horford and I don't wish that Ainge hadn't signed him, but it's hard to make the case he's even among the league's best 25 players.  IMO, there's really no way to include him in a "big" anything.

[Dino Pitino]

Not really. Horford is paid like a superstar, yet he clearly isn't one. He's a very good player, but no one will make the case he's all-NBA. If he played for GSW, he'd be their 5th best player, and very few would dispute that.

He made the All-NBA 3rd team in '11, and he's a four-time All Star. The thread's question is whether IT/GH/AH is a big 3, not the biggest big 3.

That was 6 years ago. The question is whether or not it's a big 3 now, not if it might have been in 2011. A 4 time all star in his 10th year is evidence he's a good player, as I said he was.

But, he's a borderline all-star now. He didn't even make it in the perilously weak east last year. To me, a borderline all star isn't really part of any "big 3". Pierce and Garnett were 2 of the 10 or so best players in the league in 2007, and Ray Allen was a perennial all star. That's a "big 3". That's not to say Horford can't be a big part of our next title, but the reality is that if we win a title in the next 3 years, it will be far more likely that Brown or Tatum or someone else stepped up as part of a big 3, rather than Al Horford.

I like Horford and I don't wish that Ainge hadn't signed him, but it's hard to make the case he's even among the league's best 25 players.  IMO, there's really no way to include him in a "big" anything.

You make good points. But how did our big three in 2012 compare to the league? Pierce wasn't a top 10 player anymore, KG was pretty far from 2008 KG. Ray wasn't a top 25 player anymore. Did we have a big 3 then, or just in name only?

[Moranis]

Teams with 3 players I'd rather swap for Thomas, Hayward, and Horford.  I'm not including the very young cores like Philly in this.

In no particular order
Golden State
Houston
Oklahoma City
Minnesota
New Orleans
San Antonio
Cleveland
Milwaukee
Washington

Teams I would at least think about
Toronto
Denver
Portland

[Dino Pitino]

Teams with 3 players I'd rather swap for Thomas, Hayward, and Horford.  I'm not including the very young cores like Philly in this.

In no particular order
Golden State
Houston
Oklahoma City
Minnesota
New Orleans
San Antonio
Cleveland
Milwaukee
Washington

Teams I would at least think about
Toronto
Denver
Portland

You would trade our big 3 for Washington's? You would think about Toronto? Why? So we can take a step back and miss out on the ECF?

Still, that is a lot of teams. Granted.

Our big 3 needs to be a big 4 to be a true contender. One of Brown, Tatum, Smart has to step forward and step past Horford in the hierarchy, as someone noted above.

[Moranis]

Teams with 3 players I'd rather swap for Thomas, Hayward, and Horford.  I'm not including the very young cores like Philly in this.

In no particular order
Golden State
Houston
Oklahoma City
Minnesota
New Orleans
San Antonio
Cleveland
Milwaukee
Washington

Teams I would at least think about
Toronto
Denver
Portland

You would trade our big 3 for Washington's? You would think about Toronto? Why? So we can take a step back and miss out on the ECF?

Still, that is a lot of teams. Granted.

Our big 3 needs to be a big 4 to be a true contender. One of Brown, Tatum, Smart has to step forward and step past Horford in the hierarchy, as someone noted above.

I think John Wall is the best player on the two teams which is why I would think about it.  And it isn't like Beal and Porter are terrible players. 

I think DeRozan is pretty comparable to Hayward, Ibaka is pretty comparable to Horford, and Lowry is pretty comparable to Thomas (not as good offensively but a much better defender).  Hence I would think about it. 

I don't think Boston misses out on the ECF with either of those teams unless it faces Cleveland before the ECF (like Toronto did last year).  I like Boston's secondary players a lot more and there is no contest in coaching, so I wouldn't switch rosters with those teams, but would at least think about swapping the top 3 players. 

[kozlodoev]

They are our three best players. How "big" they are is entirely up to them.

[Jon]

KG, PP, and Ray (with not a whole lot else) won 66 games and the title in their first year and probably could have won a few more had health things gone differently. 

With a better supporting cast, this current Big Three won't be able to come close to that.