This is the wrong type of roster for CBS

[Tr1boy]

Talented pieces but there are no real leader(s) in the lineup.   When you have a soft spoken CBS + team full of "nice/passive guys" ... it doesn't really work

Mental toughness, physical toughness is weak with this years team.  Jaylen stated earlier in the season, something was missing that was there last season.   I guess this was what he was talking about

IT4, AB, Crowder, Jerebko, Olynyk  all had qualities about them where CBS didn't have to yell or fire them up constantly, to play with a certain level of toughness/energy.  They were self starters in this regard

This squad is weak.  Picks set are soft, lack of mindset to take it to the rim knowing punishment will be faced,  you barely see anyone taking charges (outside of Smart) etc...   I wish Popovich was the coach sometimes to scream at each player to "wake up"

Can only pray the return of Smart and Hayward can stir this club in the right direction...   

[dweeks7]

Your take is depressing but I will provide some balanced analysis. They were over-rated in my opinion and this team is more like a 3rd or 4th seed in the East. With that being said, this team is VERY VERY YOUNG.

Yes it is an excuse because experience in the NBA wins every time especially come playoff time. This year is perfect in terms of the young players getting much needed experience and coming back next year to compete.

We add an all-star next year and Brown and Tatum will be a ton better than they are now. They just don't have the offensive fire-power to compete with the big boys yet. I will say I fear Philadelphia is coming up behind us fast so I hope we can stay in front of them in the coming years.

 For now, I will enjoy the season, expect a second round exit in the playoffs, and get excited about next year.

[Tr1boy]

Your take is depressing but I will provide some balanced analysis. They were over-rated in my opinion and this team is more like a 3rd or 4th seed in the East. With that being said, this team is VERY VERY YOUNG.

Yes it is an excuse because experience in the NBA wins every time especially come playoff time. This year is perfect in terms of the young players getting much needed experience and coming back next year to compete.

We add an all-star next year and Brown and Tatum will be a ton better than they are now. They just don't have the offensive fire-power to compete with the big boys yet. I will say I fear Philadelphia is coming up behind us fast so I hope we can stay in front of them in the coming years.

 For now, I will enjoy the season, expect a second round exit in the playoffs, and get excited about next year.

how is this possible?  This team is maxed out money wise

[KGs Knee]

Your take is depressing but I will provide some balanced analysis. They were over-rated in my opinion and this team is more like a 3rd or 4th seed in the East. With that being said, this team is VERY VERY YOUNG.

Yes it is an excuse because experience in the NBA wins every time especially come playoff time. This year is perfect in terms of the young players getting much needed experience and coming back next year to compete.

We add an all-star next year and Brown and Tatum will be a ton better than they are now. They just don't have the offensive fire-power to compete with the big boys yet. I will say I fear Philadelphia is coming up behind us fast so I hope we can stay in front of them in the coming years.

 For now, I will enjoy the season, expect a second round exit in the playoffs, and get excited about next year.

how is this possible?  This team is maxed out money wise

Is Gordon Hayward not an All-Star?

Having him healthy (hopefully) next season should be a big help.  It's almost like people forget he's actually part of the team.

[Tr1boy]

Your take is depressing but I will provide some balanced analysis. They were over-rated in my opinion and this team is more like a 3rd or 4th seed in the East. With that being said, this team is VERY VERY YOUNG.

Yes it is an excuse because experience in the NBA wins every time especially come playoff time. This year is perfect in terms of the young players getting much needed experience and coming back next year to compete.

We add an all-star next year and Brown and Tatum will be a ton better than they are now. They just don't have the offensive fire-power to compete with the big boys yet. I will say I fear Philadelphia is coming up behind us fast so I hope we can stay in front of them in the coming years.

 For now, I will enjoy the season, expect a second round exit in the playoffs, and get excited about next year.

how is this possible?  This team is maxed out money wise

Is Gordon Hayward not an All-Star?

Having him healthy (hopefully) next season should be a big help.  It's almost like people forget he's actually part of the team.

Like I said, lets pray Hayward can help stir the ship in the right direction. 

[Alleyoopster]

Your take is depressing but I will provide some balanced analysis. They were over-rated in my opinion and this team is more like a 3rd or 4th seed in the East. With that being said, this team is VERY VERY YOUNG.

Yes it is an excuse because experience in the NBA wins every time especially come playoff time. This year is perfect in terms of the young players getting much needed experience and coming back next year to compete.

We add an all-star next year and Brown and Tatum will be a ton better than they are now. They just don't have the offensive fire-power to compete with the big boys yet. I will say I fear Philadelphia is coming up behind us fast so I hope we can stay in front of them in the coming years.

 For now, I will enjoy the season, expect a second round exit in the playoffs, and get excited about next year.

how is this possible?  This team is maxed out money wise

Is Gordon Hayward not an All-Star?

Having him healthy (hopefully) next season should be a big help.  It's almost like people forget he's actually part of the team.

Like I said, lets pray Hayward can help stir the ship in the right direction.

Plus, there's always the outside possibility the Lakers pick will be 2-5.

[ozgod]

Your take is depressing but I will provide some balanced analysis. They were over-rated in my opinion and this team is more like a 3rd or 4th seed in the East. With that being said, this team is VERY VERY YOUNG.

Yes it is an excuse because experience in the NBA wins every time especially come playoff time. This year is perfect in terms of the young players getting much needed experience and coming back next year to compete.

We add an all-star next year and Brown and Tatum will be a ton better than they are now. They just don't have the offensive fire-power to compete with the big boys yet. I will say I fear Philadelphia is coming up behind us fast so I hope we can stay in front of them in the coming years.

 For now, I will enjoy the season, expect a second round exit in the playoffs, and get excited about next year.

Winning 16 in a row created a lot of expectations for the team that they maybe weren't quite ready to live up to. Our young players need to develop that consistency of performance week-in week-out. The standard deviation between a good and bad performance for them is pretty big right now. And Al needs consistency in approach - he needs to be more aggressive more often, when he is aggressive the team really fires.

I'm not slitting wrists personally because they're performing about as well as I originally expected them to perform after Gordon's injury. We're far from the finished article, but there are a lot of teams that would love to be in our position right now.

[chilidawg]

I love that we're now lamenting the loss of olynyk's toughness.

[PhoSita]

Al Horford.

/thread

[Tr1boy]

I love that we're now lamenting the loss of olynyk's toughness.

You can laugh at his hair or inability to grab rebounds against certain big players

But KO motor was always firing and he wasnt passive. Took charges and wasnt shy to play physical

And he ripped Loves arm off 

[gouki88]

I love that we're now lamenting the loss of olynyk's toughness.

A real throwback tough guy!

[cltc5]

This team has toughness, I think they just all hit the wall.  They wanna be done and get into the playoffs.  Of course the Cavs are gonna be more energetic...it's new and fresh and these guys haven't been there before.  I think we'll be fine once everyone is full strength

[Ilikesports17]

I love that we're now lamenting the loss of olynyk's toughness.

You can laugh at his hair or inability to grab rebounds against certain big players

But KO motor was always firing and he wasnt passive. Took charges and wasnt shy to play physical

And he ripped Loves arm off 

no.

[Ilikesports17]

This is an awful panicked take.

This team has displayed tons of toughness and fire over the course of the year. An elite defense and tons of huge comebacks.

Bigtime wins over teams like GSW, Houston and Toronto.

Every year we do this. Legitimately every year for the past 3 years weve done this. The team has a slump and everyone moans about how last years team competed harder. They didnt. This team has played above its talent level for most of the year. They are slumping right now. They are still on pace to win more than last years team despite losing Hayward.

[Csfan1984]

I hope that the players execute and finish better in the "team offense" consistently before playoffs start, but a lot falls on the coaching not just the players. The team game plan is a mess at times especially on pushing the pace. Run your stuff and let your opponent show you they can stop it, dont stop yourself. Get more set plays away from Irving and Horford. Because the team struggles when those two don't bring it. Without a structure outside Irving and Horford we only see players go into hero ball mode. Also hold guys accountable for their effort in second half of games. And why don't the assistant coaches coach guys on the bench during the game more? Take a page out of college or NFL have the assistants work on reminding guys about opponent tendencies and better execution. It's a young team so the players need a lot of coaching.