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2017-18 Celtics Season Thread
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Post by voiceofreason on May 11, 2018 10:12:20 GMT -5
Al on Love is a matchup I like and is going to be key, could be the key to the series. Whenever Thompson is out there the C's need to have Barnes in to keep him from dominating the boards, something they haven't had in the past. When it comes to Lebron they can try to slow him down with Smart, Morris, Brown and Semi rotating and making him work for everything he gets. You could also have Al on him at times but Lebron is going to get his, play him tough and don't let anyone else get going. If they can do that they could win, obviously that is a big IF. I would be happy if the C's win 2, hell I am already happy. It would be astonishing if the C's win this based on everyones thoughts just a month ago.
Also and very important, when Lebron is on the bench the C's need to hurt them every time. That will only be about 6 minutes/game but they have to make it hurt to take him off the court.
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Post by Don Caballero on May 11, 2018 10:58:46 GMT -5
Can the Celtics win? Sure it’s possible, but it’s more likely they don’t even with home court. We beat the Sixers in 5, but 3 of the wins came down to final minute and execution. LeBron wins those games, he’s basically impossible to stop so you need to dominate the rest of the game and I think you’re under-rating the Cavs season. They were 19-10 with a.655 winning percentage after their trades. That’s impressive integrating a whole new lineup and we all know a team like that is different in the playoffs than regular season. You shouldn't fear Lebron. Celtics legend Delonte West sure didn't. |
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ianrs
Veteran
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Post by ianrs on May 11, 2018 11:02:38 GMT -5
How do you figure that? The Bucks have more talent than the Pacers. I'd bet a good amount the Bucks would have won against the Pacers. Just remember the Bucks had a lot of injuries this year. I’m not going to quibble over the differences between the Pacers and Bucks - I know how these discussions go. 3 pages later we will be at the same point. Let’s just agree they are similar teams and move on. Therefore, we can’t point to the Pacers taking the Cavs to 7 is evidence of why the Celtics will beat them. Yeah, its also a moot point because George Hill and Kevin Love were not really healthy in that series. I think if you make LeBron play hero ball while taking out his other options, you have a shot to take this series in 7. Remember, we did not have Smart most of the Bucks series too, he is going to be huge. If the Celtics take the first two games at home they have a real shot to take the series, but they have to start out strong. I feel Tatum is going to go off for a career high this series, and LeBron is really going to have to work on defense to contain him. Not to mention Kyrie is on our bench rather than starting for the Cavs, like last year. |
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Post by umassgrad2005 on May 11, 2018 11:35:32 GMT -5
They basically benched everyone they traded for in the playoffs outside of Hill. Hood and Nance hardly played and Clarkson played limited minutes. They didn't gel at all, so they benched them and played Korver and Thompson again. So what? The fact is they played better. Perhaps it was addition by subtraction. Who knows, but it’s irrelevant they changed their team drastically and were way better off for it, simple as that. Your point is what .655 is great? The Celtics season winning percentage was better than that, at .671. So what? You want to point to that team that went 19-10, that wasn't the team that swept the Raptors, that was the team that barely beat the Pacers. Why does it matter? A starting lineup of Love, LeBron, Korver, Smith, and Hill is perfect for us, that's why. The players that helped them go 19-10 got buried on the bench and those are the guys that they need against us. Along the way Hood refuses to enter game 4 against the Raptors. So the chances he starts or plays big minutes early in the series is very low. It all boils down to I don't think Lue is a good coach. I bet he goes to that lineup because it swept the Raptors, maybe inserting Thompson if we start Baynes. If I'm Stevens I love that. It takes away all the athletes they acquired at the deadline. Maybe Lue surprises me early in the series, but I highly doubt that. |
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on May 11, 2018 11:37:19 GMT -5
Can the Celtics win? Sure it’s possible, but it’s more likely they don’t even with home court. We beat the Sixers in 5, but 3 of the wins came down to final minute and execution. LeBron wins those games, he’s basically impossible to stop so you need to dominate the rest of the game and I think you’re under-rating the Cavs season. They were 19-10 with a.655 winning percentage after their trades. That’s impressive integrating a whole new lineup and we all know a team like that is different in the playoffs than regular season. You shouldn't fear Lebron. Celtics legend Delonte West sure didn't. Lol, no he didn't fear his mom. Not so sure about LeBron. |
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Post by umassgrad2005 on May 11, 2018 11:41:08 GMT -5
How do you figure that? The Bucks have more talent than the Pacers. I'd bet a good amount the Bucks would have won against the Pacers. Just remember the Bucks had a lot of injuries this year. I’m not going to quibble over the differences between the Pacers and Bucks - I know how these discussions go. 3 pages later we will be at the same point. Let’s just agree they are similar teams and move on. Therefore, we can’t point to the Pacers taking the Cavs to 7 is evidence of why the Celtics will beat them. I wouldn't say it's evidence that we are going to beat them. More like evidence that this isn't a dominant Cavs team and we can beat them. |
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Post by umassgrad2005 on May 11, 2018 11:45:22 GMT -5
You shouldn't fear Lebron. Celtics legend Delonte West sure didn't. Lol, no he didn't fear his mom. Not so sure about LeBron. You sleep with a teammates mother, you don't fear him. Remember West has a lot of crazy in him. I don't think he feared anyone. |
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Post by Don Caballero on May 11, 2018 12:15:35 GMT -5
I wouldn't say it's evidence that we are going to beat them. More like evidence that this isn't a dominant Cavs team and we can beat them. Absolutely and the Cavs looked like a** during most of that series, it's hard to gauge where they are right now because Toronto offered 0 resistance whatsoever. There's a chance they have gotten better, there's also a good chance they haven't gotten significantly better. Their defense still sucked against the Raptors and I'd like to see how their shooters do against the best defense in the league. We can take the Cavs and I like our chances much more than I did last year. Every weakness the roster had that the Cavs could exploit has seemingly been patched, it's just about being able to score enough without Kyrie and Hayward to actually take this one. |
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Post by rjp313jr on May 11, 2018 12:48:17 GMT -5
I’m not going to quibble over the differences between the Pacers and Bucks - I know how these discussions go. 3 pages later we will be at the same point. Let’s just agree they are similar teams and move on. Therefore, we can’t point to the Pacers taking the Cavs to 7 is evidence of why the Celtics will beat them. I wouldn't say it's evidence that we are going to beat them. More like evidence that this isn't a dominant Cavs team and we can beat them. I haven’t said we can’t win but the Cavs are favored and should be. This edition of the Celtics plus Hayward and Kyrie crush the Cavs. Funny part is we don’t have this edition without those injuries so next year will be crazy if all are healthy. For as good as the Celtics were versus the Sixers the last 3 wins were by the skin of their teeth and if they just hit their average on the wide open 3s they miss that series is still going and might even be in their favor so there was some luck there too. With the way Love is playing added to LeBron, it’s a lot to expect the Celtics to win the series. Now Love is soft so he could fall off at any point but until he does, I’m picking the Cavs. Which is good bc I’m a mush. |
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Post by umassgrad2005 on May 11, 2018 13:20:33 GMT -5
I wouldn't say it's evidence that we are going to beat them. More like evidence that this isn't a dominant Cavs team and we can beat them. I haven’t said we can’t win but the Cavs are favored and should be. This edition of the Celtics plus Hayward and Kyrie crush the Cavs. Funny part is we don’t have this edition without those injuries so next year will be crazy if all are healthy. For as good as the Celtics were versus the Sixers the last 3 wins were by the skin of their teeth and if they just hit their average on the wide open 3s they miss that series is still going and might even be in their favor so there was some luck there too. With the way Love is playing added to LeBron, it’s a lot to expect the Celtics to win the series. Now Love is soft so he could fall off at any point but until he does, I’m picking the Cavs. Which is good bc I’m a mush. Rip you actually did say just that 17 hours ago, then you said they could later. Yea the Celtics had some close games, so have the Cavs. Two of those four wins were down to the last shot against the Raptors and that's with the Cavs on fire from deep. So I don't get why you keep bringing that up. This Cavs team has litterally had to win a ton of close games. This team can win and I'm not talking about some miracle 5% if everything goes just right either. The Celtics have been underdogs for 3 straight series, I actually like it that way. This team seems to thrive on it and it takes the pressure off them. Just go play, no one thinks you can win, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Just what a young team needs. Which Love? The one from the Pacers series or the Raptor series? I love that matcup with Al on Love, if the Cavs go small I think Horford has a great series and easily wins that battle. |
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on May 11, 2018 13:27:28 GMT -5
LeBron is averaging 34 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists a game this playoffs. Jesus, he's better than ever.
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Post by rjp313jr on May 11, 2018 13:29:48 GMT -5
I haven’t said we can’t win but the Cavs are favored and should be. This edition of the Celtics plus Hayward and Kyrie crush the Cavs. Funny part is we don’t have this edition without those injuries so next year will be crazy if all are healthy. For as good as the Celtics were versus the Sixers the last 3 wins were by the skin of their teeth and if they just hit their average on the wide open 3s they miss that series is still going and might even be in their favor so there was some luck there too. With the way Love is playing added to LeBron, it’s a lot to expect the Celtics to win the series. Now Love is soft so he could fall off at any point but until he does, I’m picking the Cavs. Which is good bc I’m a mush. Rip you actually did say just that 17 hours ago, then you said they could later. Yea the Celtics had some close games, so have the Cavs. Two of those four wins were down to the last shot against the Raptors and that's with the Cavs on fire from deep. So I don't get why you keep bringing that up. This Cavs team has litterally had to win a ton of close games. This team can win and I'm not talking about some miracle 5% if everything goes just right either. The Celtics have been underdogs for 3 straight series, I actually like it that way. This team seems to thrive on it and it takes the pressure off them. Just go play, no one thinks you can win, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Just what a young team needs. Which Love? The one from the Pacers series or the Raptor series? I love that matcup with Al on Love, if the Cavs go small I think Horford has a great series and easily wins that battle. You expect me to remember 17 hours ago? Jeeesh... kidding I expect a good series but I expect a Celtics loss but I’ll b very happy if they play well and it’s a 6 or 7 game series. Really happy if they can win another road game even if it means they lose a couple st home. Beating LeBron is possible but a tall task. I put the odds at 65/35 in favor of Cleveland. That totals 100 right? |
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Post by rjp313jr on May 11, 2018 13:30:04 GMT -5
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Post by umassgrad2005 on May 11, 2018 13:30:17 GMT -5
I wouldn't say it's evidence that we are going to beat them. More like evidence that this isn't a dominant Cavs team and we can beat them. Absolutely and the Cavs looked like a** during most of that series, it's hard to gauge where they are right now because Toronto offered 0 resistance whatsoever. There's a chance they have gotten better, there's also a good chance they haven't gotten significantly better. Their defense still sucked against the Raptors and I'd like to see how their shooters do against the best defense in the league. We can take the Cavs and I like our chances much more than I did last year. Every weakness the roster had that the Cavs could exploit has seemingly been patched, it's just about being able to score enough without Kyrie and Hayward to actually take this one. Exactly. In the past Thompson could dominate the paint rebounding and playing D. Baynes takes that away, makes it a wash. Nevermind they can't play him 30 plus minutes a night because without Irving they can't score enough with him playing major minutes. That alone changes there entire D. We also have athletes we didn't have last year and a scoring attack that is spread among 4 players, not just one guy. Last year they had the majority of the mismatches and this year we do. We just have to keep playing Celtic ball. Great D and ball move movement on offense. |
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Post by rjp313jr on May 11, 2018 16:33:01 GMT -5
Not that I want to jump ahead but just read some stuff on Khyri Thomas from Creighton and he sounds like a Celtic. Could go mid teens but also could go second round. He’s a guy to keep an eye on as the draft approaches. 6’3 combo guard with a 6’10 wingspan. Solid 3 point shooter but already 22 so he’s older, but that’s not a bad thing for a team like the Celtics.
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Post by rjp313jr on May 11, 2018 16:36:09 GMT -5
Absolutely and the Cavs looked like a** during most of that series, it's hard to gauge where they are right now because Toronto offered 0 resistance whatsoever. There's a chance they have gotten better, there's also a good chance they haven't gotten significantly better. Their defense still sucked against the Raptors and I'd like to see how their shooters do against the best defense in the league. We can take the Cavs and I like our chances much more than I did last year. Every weakness the roster had that the Cavs could exploit has seemingly been patched, it's just about being able to score enough without Kyrie and Hayward to actually take this one. Exactly. In the past Thompson could dominate the paint rebounding and playing D. Baynes takes that away, makes it a wash. Nevermind they can't play him 30 plus minutes a night because without Irving they can't score enough with him playing major minutes. That alone changes there entire D. We also have athletes we didn't have last year and a scoring attack that is spread among 4 players, not just one guy. Last year they had the majority of the mismatches and this year we do. We just have to keep playing Celtic ball. Great D and ball move movement on offense. A lot will come down to how Smith and Korver shoot it. The Sixers shot well under their averages even on a lot of wide open looks. If the Cavs do the same then that’s huge. Were we lucky against the Sixers or did we make them work so hard on D that they were more tired and out of rhythm on offense? I’m more of a “you make your own luck” kind of guy but it’s something to watch. |
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Post by umassgrad2005 on May 11, 2018 17:08:51 GMT -5
Exactly. In the past Thompson could dominate the paint rebounding and playing D. Baynes takes that away, makes it a wash. Nevermind they can't play him 30 plus minutes a night because without Irving they can't score enough with him playing major minutes. That alone changes there entire D. We also have athletes we didn't have last year and a scoring attack that is spread among 4 players, not just one guy. Last year they had the majority of the mismatches and this year we do. We just have to keep playing Celtic ball. Great D and ball move movement on offense. A lot will come down to how Smith and Korver shoot it. The Sixers shot well under their averages even on a lot of wide open looks. If the Cavs do the same then that’s huge. Were we lucky against the Sixers or did we make them work so hard on D that they were more tired and out of rhythm on offense? I’m more of a “you make your own luck” kind of guy but it’s something to watch. The Sixers took a ton of bad threes all series. I'd love to know what they counted as wide open. Covington taking wide open 3s 10 feet behind the 3 point line? I don't know about tired, but our D certainly took away there offensive rhythm. Nevermind I believe missing so many bad 3s certainly didn't help the players confidence, when they finally got a good look. I bet they were more mentally tired than physically. We just make everything harder. |
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Post by rjp313jr on May 11, 2018 18:38:33 GMT -5
A lot will come down to how Smith and Korver shoot it. The Sixers shot well under their averages even on a lot of wide open looks. If the Cavs do the same then that’s huge. Were we lucky against the Sixers or did we make them work so hard on D that they were more tired and out of rhythm on offense? I’m more of a “you make your own luck” kind of guy but it’s something to watch. The Sixers took a ton of bad threes all series. I'd love to know what they counted as wide open. Covington taking wide open 3s 10 feet behind the 3 point line? I don't know about tired, but our D certainly took away there offensive rhythm. Nevermind I believe missing so many bad 3s certainly didn't help the players confidence, when they finally got a good look. I bet they were more mentally tired than physically. We just make everything harder. I more meant tiring them with our offense. We made their shooters defend a lot. |
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Post by Don Caballero on May 11, 2018 22:21:16 GMT -5
Incredible read, just got me pumped as sh*t. There was one bit that I got me laughing for some weird reason: Oh man I sure hope Marcus Morris is reading this and he stops playing offense like a drunken sailor. |
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Post by greatscottcooper on May 12, 2018 13:34:46 GMT -5
Celtics in 7.
There was a little voice in my head who was saying Cavs in 5, but F*** that guy he's an idiot. I'm not listening to him.
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Post by voiceofreason on May 12, 2018 14:24:27 GMT -5
Celtics in 7. There was a little voice in my head who was saying Cavs in 5, but F*** that guy he's an idiot. I'm not listening to him. I want to believe I really do but it is hard to imagine that Horford, a 20 and a 21 year old along with Rozier are going to be enough to dethrone the king. I am already amazed at what they have accomplished. When you look at the matchups you can justify the optimism but then there is Lebron. |
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Post by rjp313jr on May 12, 2018 16:34:37 GMT -5
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Post by umassgrad2005 on May 12, 2018 18:21:21 GMT -5
How many times did you play? Just did 20 turns for fun and nothing. |
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Post by rjp313jr on May 12, 2018 18:38:39 GMT -5
How many times did you play? Just did 20 turns for fun and nothing. A lot. Philly got number 1 before I got that one. |
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on May 12, 2018 19:55:51 GMT -5
Yeah the Celtics can't get the number 4 and 5 pics after the lottery. They can't get the number 1 pick either.
So they have a 3 percent chance combined at getting the numbers 2 and 3 pick. Got to love those odds....
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