2018-19 Celtics Season

I'm not the one who's trying to stop your Irving crusade here.

Boston fans and the ebb and flow. Sox on top of the world (and we are all in withdrawl!)....Celtics, so promising in cast and coach but taking time to figure it all out, Bruins looking solid with some blemishes but in good shape, and the Patriots - for which we are all so spoiled, either showing that a bit of decline is on the way....or simply a one game glitch by a banged up team likely looking forward to that bye week.

Yes, we are spoiled (but isn't it fun...we are damn lucky!)

The Celtics were good in October defensively. Here in November, they've given well over 100 points a game. They have been bad on both sides of the ball and they need to fix that.

Dude, seriously? I'm not even sure you can make the argument that Butler is a better shooter than Saric or Covington. He's not. Look at the amount of 3s they attempt. Butler has a mighty .224 3 point attempt rate for his career, while for Saric it's .416 and RoCo shoots a ridiculous .625. A lot of Butler's 3s aren't assisted, but mostly ALL of them by RoCo and Saric are. Butler is NOT a shooter and it's admirable that he's somewhat passable on that end, but he doesn't open the floor like Saric and Covington. You back against Butler and dare him to shoot, you pack the paint. You die if you try that against Covington.

A line-up with Simmons, Butler, Fultz and Embiid borders on moronic. Unless they trade Fultz for a stretch 4 and play Redick some heavy minutes and hope he comes back to form.

Much better. Winning by more than 20 like they should be doing against this lowly team. Any sort of momentum is what the Celtics need right now.

That was a good win to build on....it is going to be a process this year, but it is all there for this team to make a deep run. I have faith Stevens will sort out how to get this bunch to win consistently.

You watched last years playoffs right? That team had as many shooters as a team can have and we destroyed them. Limited open looks and those guys couldn't make non wide open shots. What they needed was a secondary scorer, a guy that can shoot because you can limit Simmons by just playing the drive. That is Butler and Embiid can help space the floor with him doing his thing. I just don't see the issue. If Butler couldn't shoot it would be an issue, but no player in the league is going to not guard Butler, which is the point. Embiid being able to shoot changes everything for them. You really think Butler doesn't stretch the floor? That is kinda mind blowing stuff right there.

His 0-3 rate is .299 and his 3 point rate is .287, almost the same. Come on you act like he's Simmons. His 0-3 rate was 25% last year, I just don't get the that is what he is talk, they are crazy close.  You act like the fact that Saric can't  make other shots is a plus or the fact that it's good him taking so many threes that he can't make. Saric attemps a lot more threes, yet makes less per game than Butler. Great floor spacing alright

Have you looked at his assisted rates for his career? They have only gone down as he became by far and away the teams best player. When he played with a good Wade his assisted rates were crazy high. So its not like he can't play off the ball, he has before. Heck for the first four years of his career almost all his 3 point field goals were assisted, last year was 76%. Before this year his lowest amount was 64%. Simmons and Embiid are going to help Butler and vice versa. 

Acting like you need to take a crazy amount of threes and that is the game they should be playing is flawed. They need guys that can shoot, so defender can't flood the paint with Embiid and Simmons. Butler does that and I'd argue him taking that ball movement and using his grest mid-range game will be huge for that team. Live by the three, die by the three, Butler allows you to score in way other than just threes. I really hate how many threes the celtics have been taking. That isn't good Basketball and your basically saying you want or think the Sixers should be like last years playoff team.  That sounds like a horrible idea and is why they lost. Again huge difference from guys that can space the floor and guys that can only space the floor, especially when one of those isn't even good at it.

So one game proves your point? Basically no practice time, doesn't know the plays or heck almost anything, but yea that tells us a lot. Embiid shots 71.3% in the paint, he's a beast. Yet Butler shoots 70.2%, so yea it makes sense for Embiid to sometimes provide spacing and take threes while Butler does his thing. Get back at me by the end of the season when they have time to gel. If I'm wrong I'll take my licks, I just don't see it. It was an epic good deal for Philly. Now maxed out just go out and add another floor spacing big for the bench and that team is crazy good. That teams big issue is going to be Fultz, he has to learn to shoot or they have to trade him. He doesn't fit and you can't add another guy that needs the ball.

You're confusing being able to shoot respectably with being a shooter. Butler's main offense is in the paint, it's going one on one or driving on the defense. And yes, I think the Sixers should be like last years playoff team, it's how you succeed when you have a generational talent big in Embiid and another guy that needs the paint clear in Simmons. You surround them with guys that park outside the 3 point line. Maybe they get Butler to be that guy, but it's a bad usage of him. Realistically, Embiid, Simmons and Butler all should operate in the same area in the field, that's how you maximize their talents. You can bet Stevens is hoping for that as well.

Let's not monopolize the thread and let's agree to disagree. We'll see if it works. Maybe you're right and Butler being a better player than RoCo and Saric (which he certainly is) could lead to success, but I don't see it. I really dislike the fit there. Incidentally, I think Butler would be a much better option for the Celtics than the Sixers. But like I said, we'll see.

It's not that the issue is petty, it's that you in particular seem to always get stuck in these endless death spiral arguments that derail threads. Others will disagree with you. It doesn't mean that you should respond to every post that does so, especially when you do the thing where you pick out every single sentence or proposition that you disagree with and respond to it. That always devolves into bickering about side points and heated tempers and does not further good discussion. You've been warned about this before. Thanks. 

We'll have to agree to disagree. I think a majority of posters and viewers (who rarely post or don't post at all) would argue that the primary problem with this forum is that threads predictably become dominated by a vocal few. Further, those vocal few often get quarrelsome with each and it makes those threads unreadable. This isn't a guess, this is something we've been told privately and this is also a theme you can see mentioned in the 'In Search of New Members' thread. When there is a very visible core group of posters, I think its easy to forget just how many people view these threads that don't post here. We need to make this forum readable and inviting for everyone.

You've been privately messaged numerous times in the past so please don't act like that hasn't been attempted by the staff. If you think that you're being called out over a mere two posts, please take a glance at all of the active threads across the board right now and count the # of bickering posts you've made since the Red Sox won the WS. I don't have the time to count them for you, but I can tell you it's far more than two. You've proven yourself to be unteachable. The fact that you're going to respond to this post to argue individual points is proof of that.

What a game so far. Celtics might be finally playing up to their talent level finally.

Leonard is the real deal. Haven't watched him really at all, but what a player. Can see why there's so much hype with him and deservadly so.

Another option would be to not blow a 13-point lead in minutes.

This team doesn’t get it.