They wouldnt have made the eastern finals, if they faced the bulls with derrick rose.
right now the east is so weak...that even with coasting, you should have high record if ur that good.
next year east will be stronger if bynum, granger, rose are healthy. thats 3 big players..celtics would be behind those teams IMO if they didnt have injuries.
They are having an identity crisis right now....don't really know who they are yet as a team w/ all the new guys. Not a bad thing, just a growing pain -- don't really think they are coasting rather, they just don't have a driving compulsion where they have to win every game as seeding isn't their priority.
They didn't shut anyone up the last couple of seasons. They were defeated each of the last two seasons by the Heat, soundly defeated in 2011, in only the second round. I assume their goal is to win championships and I don't know how not even making it to the finals, or in 2011 not even making it to the eastern conference finals, is shutting anyone up. They're only getting older, things are not just going to stay the same or get easier. Miami has the better team and has beaten them the last two seasons. Boston's title chances are diminishing.
This is a team that was not expected to make the playoffs at one point last year, and they make it to Game 7 of the ECF and you wanna act like that's not an accomplishment? I guess you think highly of the Celtics.
For a team so written off and disregarded, yes, they have shut a lot of people up. They were supposed to be done in 2010. Go back and look at the series predictions against the Heat and Cavs. No one had them winning in 5 against Miami and even fewer people had them winning at all against Cleveland. They literally came as close to winning a title as you can without doing so.
In 2011, they got bounced by the Heat, yeah, but the series was a lot more competitive than the score indicates. The Celtics led late in the last few games despite :
A. lacking their starting center and
B. their PG and marquee player playing with one f*cking arm, quite literally.
I'd argue they fared better against the Heat than the Bulls did, actually.
Last year, there were calls to blow it up before the All-Star break (and rightly so, perhaps), but they went on a run and were a few baskets (and perhaps a few missed calls) from the Finals. They won three straight games against the eventual champions, something no other team did, and (depending on which side you ask) were a hair away from winning a fourth.
Just because they've had higher expectations than most teams (in part due to their high team standing, but a lot of it is the tired "last run" drivel that's spewed out every f*cking year), doesn't mean they've not shut people up or entirely underperformed.
That said, they're clearly not "pacing themselves." They're having identity issues brought on by introducing a handful of new players to a system they may not be perfect for. I was excited when they added so many pieces, if only because it was interesting to see new players in Celtics jerseys, but they may have gone overboard in beefing up the offense at the expense of the defense. But, if we somehow do get back to game 7 in the Finals, at least we won't have to watch them struggle to score the ball for an entire freaking quarter.
They didn't shut anyone up the last couple of seasons. They were defeated each of the last two seasons by the Heat, soundly defeated in 2011, in only the second round. I assume their goal is to win championships and I don't know how not even making it to the finals, or in 2011 not even making it to the eastern conference finals, is shutting anyone up. They're only getting older, things are not just going to stay the same or get easier. Miami has the better team and has beaten them the last two seasons. Boston's title chances are diminishing.
They didn't get to the finals due to one foul call short in '11 and to magic surge of James and Wade in '12, comparable to that '00 Lakers run over the Blazers. Got unlucky twice, that's it.
They didn't get to the finals due to one foul call short in '11 and to magic surge of James and Wade in '12, comparable to that '00 Lakers run over the Blazers. Got unlucky twice, that's it.
Which one foul cost them a Finals trip in 2011? We lost 4-1 to the Heat.
They wouldnt have made the eastern finals, if they faced the bulls with derrick rose.
right now the east is so weak...that even with coasting, you should have high record if ur that good.
next year east will be stronger if bynum, granger, rose are healthy. thats 3 big players..celtics would be behind those teams IMO if they didnt have injuries.
That's about the Celtic offense, not Garnett's effort. Jumpshots and a little posting is how he's being used. If Doc told him to go high post 20 times a game he'd do it. But it's been decided that Garnett is to be preserved and he's never been the primary focus of the Celtic offense.
Which is what I've always said. I hate Rivers' offense. But KG has got to go and do something. He's still better than the way he's being used.
Which is what I've always said. I hate Rivers' offense. But KG has got to go and do something. He's still better than the way he's being used.
But the Celtics have to be careful about asking him to do too much. Back in '09 he had his first career-changing injury, losing a lot of the explosion he had when he was younger and starting his decline. You don't want to overuse him in the regular season and then lose him or get a more limited version in the playoffs. For the last few years the Celtic strategy has been to preserve Garnett and if that means you're not the top seed then so be it. NY and NJ may have finally made themselves into Atlantic Dision threats so the Cs may not be able to do this and get a high seed but it's still better than acting like Garnett is the 20/10/5 MVP he was in Minnie and losing him for the playoffs.
But the Celtics have to be careful about asking him to do too much. Back in '09 he had his first career-changing injury, losing a lot of the explosion he had when he was younger and starting his decline. You don't want to overuse him in the regular season and then lose him or get a more limited version in the playoffs. For the last few years the Celtic strategy has been to preserve Garnett and if that means you're not the top seed then so be it. NY and NJ may have finally made themselves into Atlantic Dision threats so the Cs may not be able to do this and get a high seed but it's still better than acting like Garnett is the 20/10/5 MVP he was in Minnie and losing him for the playoffs.
I get that. He most certainly lost explosiveness and that injury is where his prime was cut. But even tho he's no longer as dominant or as great, the question should is he any less durable?
If Rivers wants to preserve Garnett, then the way to do it is not to limit his involvement or his role throughout the season, but to limit his minutes. That's what depth is for. I think it's impossible to use him one way throughout the regular season and then another come the playoffs.
If Rivers wants to preserve Garnett, then the way to do it is not to limit his involvement or his role throughout the season, but to limit his minutes.
Rivers is limiting KG's minutes. KG only plays in spurts of 5 minutes then gets a rest. His involvement in the offense is not limited. It may appear like that because he is 36 years old and playing with a crappy defensive front court and cannot shoulder the entire defense on his own at this point of his career. The Celtics desperately need another defensive minded front court player because when KG is sitting, it's easy points time. That's what I'll be looking for tomorrow when the Celtics host my Nets.
I get that. He most certainly lost explosiveness and that injury is where his prime was cut. But even tho he's no longer as dominant or as great, the question should is he any less durable?
If Rivers wants to preserve Garnett, then the way to do it is not to limit his involvement or his role throughout the season, but to limit his minutes. That's what depth is for. I think it's impossible to use him one way throughout the regular season and then another come the playoffs.
They're limiting his minutes as well. The decision was made last season to base the offense on Rondo finding people. And the offense is probably the best part of the team right now as the D is weak when KG is off the court and the rebounding is horrible. The offense could be better but I have to agree with Doc's view that Garnett needs to be preserved for the postseason.
Re: Celtics are just taking it easy for now
