Official Boston Celtics Thread

[McDwyane]

Eddie House is a deadly shooter.Yeah,he's also a nice key addition.

[Sauru]

Posey is a very nice pickup, but will he get that much time behind Allen and Pierce? I think they could have used a better PF/C to add to their team. Maybe they will be able to resign Kandiman, he is decent.

i dont think the playing time will be a big problem for him. you will see him come off the bench for both pierce and allen so i see no reason why he wont get over 20 min per game

[TheMC5]

If I'm Chris Webber right now, I personally call up Danny Ainge and offer to take the veteran minimum for a chance at a ring. I hope it doesn't happen, because I hate Chris Webber and want to see him fail anywhere he goes, but that's exactly what I'd do if I were him.

[Sauru]

i would not be surprised to see a couple of vets call the celts and take a minimum just for that shot at the ring, specially with them knowing that they will get plenty of time and actually be a part of the teams success

[Buckley]

They have a shot, i think they can make the finals but wont beat the big three.

[Andrew]

i would not be surprised to see a couple of vets call the celts and take a minimum just for that shot at the ring, specially with them knowing that they will get plenty of time and actually be a part of the teams success

If the Celtics did sign Webber and filled out their roster with another capable veteran player or two (perhaps a returning Allan Houston) then it will have been a truly outstanding offseason for Danny Ainge.

[-Young Buck-]

Rondo - Allen - Pierce - KG - Webber

Looks great on paper. Payton is another vet still unsigned, im not too sure how many guys the celtics could sign for the minimum, but if they can sign some vets they have a good shot to win it all. Webber and Payton could really make this team hot.

[cyanide]

Webber and Payton could really make this team hot.

That'd be fun to see, actually. A team filled with old former superstars should be an interesting experiment.

(they're not all old, but old enough.)

[grusom]

Webber and Payton could really make this team hot.

That'd be fun to see, actually. A team filled with old former superstars should be an interesting experiment.

(they're not all old, but old enough.)

You mean like the '04 Lakers?

[Fresh8]

Posey is a good signing and makes up for Reggie not coming back.

Payton should look into making a return to Beantown. It would be fun seeing him there.

And Jing will love this: Boston should sign Wang Zhizhi!

[Silas]

No, he will go to Seattle!

[Fresh8]

You mean like the '04 Lakers?

Theres a difference between the 04 Lakers and the new edition Celtics... there was a lot of ego on that Lakers team especially stemming from Shaq and Kobe. Payton never fit in and was pretty vocal in a good and a bad way but never really helped the team. Malone was often outspoken as well.

With these Celtics, P Dub, KG and Ray Ray seem like good team players and capable leaders. They all have one goal of winning a ring. compliment eachother on the court, ajd after having been stuck on teams by themselves they should really enjoy playing with eachother and notice that they can make something special out of this... even if it's only for the next 2-3 seasons.

[J J]

Well, it's all going to come down to who's going to win, Celtics or Pistons?

[-Young Buck-]

You mean like the '04 Lakers?

Theres a difference between the 04 Lakers and the new edition Celtics... there was a lot of ego on that Lakers team especially stemming from Shaq and Kobe. Payton never fit in and was pretty vocal in a good and a bad way but never really helped the team. Malone was often outspoken as well.

With these Celtics, P Dub, KG and Ray Ray seem like good team players and capable leaders. They all have one goal of winning a ring. compliment eachother on the court, ajd after having been stuck on teams by themselves they should really enjoy playing with eachother and notice that they can make something special out of this... even if it's only for the next 2-3 seasons.

Well said... KG, Pierce, and Allen are going to get along just fine. More superstars should be this way if they want to win championships. I mean look at the spurs, they have a ton of talent and i dont think anyone would get upset if they didnt go to them at the end of the game.

[Sauru]

another difference between the 04 lakers, and this years celtics is the laker already won some rings, they were proven. right now the big 3 on the celtics are all considered great players but none of them have won anything. they are all still completly unproven to be able to do what it takes to win a ring. ainge is surrounding the 3 with good talent for what he has to work with. celts are low on funds and needed alot of spots filled. the players they picked up will help alot off the bench. everyone keeps going on and on about the spurs but i honestly am not that worried about the spurs if by chance the celtics make it. well i wont say not worried but i dont see boston being at a huge disadvantage like some do. our greatest weekness is our center spot though the spurs and mavs dont really have a center either(though you could make the point that perkins is still worse than what they got). phoenix is the team i am most worried about being matched with in the finals as i think they would make up great vs the celtics. good thing i dont see the suns getting to the finals again this season.

[nba_baller]

Well, it's all going to come down to who's going to win, Celtics or Pistons?

Why Pistons, their team lost to Lebron James in the Eastern Confrence Finals. He practicaly single-handedly dismantled the Pistons.

[nba_baller]

Well, it's all going to come down to who's going to win, Celtics or Pistons?

Why the Pistons? Their team lost to Lebron James in the Eastern Confrence Finals. He practicaly single-handedly dismantled the Pistons.

[Fresh8]

Why the Pistons? Their team lost to Lebron James in the Eastern Confrence Finals. He practicaly single-handedly dismantled the Pistons.

nba_baller, the Pistons got complacent. After their series against Chicago, I pretty much recognised if they were to get past the Cavs - they'd need to change their attitude. Unfortuantely, the Pistons didn't change and got caught off guard.

They are still contenders in the East IMO as well although I see Chicago, Boston, Washington also being in the mix. The East is well balanced in its own right so this postseason should be exciting in both conferences.

You also seem to make it sound like it was all LeBron. The Cavs role players are capable defenders and they have a couple of streaky shooters who could get hot. I guess that's all it takes for you to win the Eastern Conference Title. LeBron was the catalyst but his teammates helped him too.

another difference between the 04 lakers, and this years celtics is the laker already won some rings, they were proven. right now the big 3 on the celtics are all considered great players but none of them have won anything. they are all still completly unproven to be able to do what it takes to win a ring. ainge is surrounding the 3 with good talent for what he has to work with. celts are low on funds and needed alot of spots filled. the players they picked up will help alot off the bench. everyone keeps going on and on about the spurs but i honestly am not that worried about the spurs if by chance the celtics make it. well i wont say not worried but i dont see boston being at a huge disadvantage like some do. our greatest weekness is our center spot though the spurs and mavs dont really have a center either(though you could make the point that perkins is still worse than what they got). phoenix is the team i am most worried about being matched with in the finals as i think they would make up great vs the celtics. good thing i dont see the suns getting to the finals again this season.

Yeah, I agree with you Sauru. Although, I think KG is capable of manning the centre position in the Eastern Conference. Getting to the NBA Finals is a different matter but that's getting a bit ahead of ourselves right now.

And to re-emphasise how I think this will work... I wanna show how the guys compliment eachother.

KG is the inside player, Allen can score from outside and Pierce can score as well as anyone inside and out. Pierce isn't a proven vocal leader so now he gets KG and Allen who are both gonna take up leadership roles off and on the court. KG doesn't have the burden of taking clutch shots with Allen and Pierce on his team. Allen/Pierce who have had injury issues in the past will probably have more ample time to rest as they aren't needed to carry their teams anymore.

The burden of leading by themselves have been taken off all of their shoulders. I think that will have a big impact on how they cope mentally and physically throughout the season!

[Patr1ck]

Having 3 great players means nothing unless the supporting cast can get their job done. Remember the TrailBlazers when they had 10 players who were all worthy of starting?

[Sauru]

blazers were in a much different situation than the celtics now. yes they had 10 players who could start, but none of them were at the top of the nba, the celtics have 1 who is at the very best and 2 in the top tier. celtics have also improved thier bench a bit so i dont think it will be nearly as bad as anyone thought.

still the west is very good so it is by no means guarenteed, hell making the finals is not a guarentee.

[Fresh8]

Perkins, Pollard, Posey, House, Scalabrine and Rondo aren't that bad. I think they will do a gfood enough job when you are considering the Celtics play in the East. But PDub is right, the Celtics need to sign the right role players. That's why getting Posey is a coup.

Now if they got Wang Zhizhi, a centre for the minimum who can shoot the three...

[J J]

Well...call me a spammer or whatever but I can't find this from anywhere: How much salary is left to sign players for the Celtics?

[Sauru]

without looking i would wager that all they have left is the ability to offer minimum contracts

[Fresh8]

And the veteran exception I think.

[grusom]

Celtics sign Batista and Dahntay Jones: http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archi ... d_batista/

I really like the Batista signing, and i think he could end up competing with Perkins for a starting spot.

I don't see what Jones brings to the table, that isn't already covered by Posey and T. Allen. A little debt can't hurt though, but I would still like to see them add a pass first PG to back up starter Rajon Rondo and Eddie House, who's a SG trapped in a PG's body.