Celtics

[Toro]

As you may know, I was not particularly thrilled about this trade. But I admit I am a little excited about the prospect of having a team that should be more competetive right away. For those of you that liked this trade, how many wins do you think it will translate to next year (assuming this is the team we go to battle with)?

[slothinator]

I'd say this team is good for 40+ wins, which is good enough to make the playoffs.

It would be nice if they could improve the D before the season starts or add another quality player. 45-50 wins might be possible under those two circumstances, as well as winning the division.

[MEbenhoe]

The Celtics are not winning the division, in fact their most likely finish is 3rd or 4th, with a last place finish still possible this season. Toronto and New Jersey are just too good for the Celtics to compete with and Philadelphia and New Jersey aren't going to exactly be horrible this season either. Claiming 45-50 wins is possible after a 24 win season when the Celtics have basically only marginally improved their team is crazy. Especially when you also consider that every other team in their division has improved this offseason too, and all of them likely by more than the Celtics. The only reason I think even a 3rd place finish in the division is possible is because of the injury problems from last year.

[kidcolin]

I think 40-42 wins is realistic, with a chance at 45ish.

Considering we played half the year w/o Pierce, the addition of Pierce and Allen gives the Cs a bigger improvement than any other team at this point. We'll also be getting back Tony Allen, hopefully at ~90% by All-Star break. The loss of he and Pierce last season probably accounted for ~8-9 wins. Tanking another 3-4.

How has every team gotten better in the Atlantic division? Knicks got Z-Bo. What has Philly, NJ, or Toronto done yet?

NJ is an enigma. I think they should be better, but they aren't. Let's call it the Vince Carter effect.

Toronto is probably the favorite to win it. Bargnani is still improving.

Knicks are still gonna blow, IMO.

Philly hasn't done anything yet.

[MEbenhoe]

NJ added a great draft pick in Sean Williams and also gets Krstic back from injury. They are just as good as Toronto, possibly better. Those two are pretty much guaranteed to finish 1-2 barring any catastrophic injuries.

NY added Randolph and also got rid of Franchise, they have a great rotation right now except for the fact that they play no defense. They'll be very inconsistent but a threat nonetheless.

Philly added two great draft picks in Thad Young and Jason Smith to an already solid young team. Dalembert/Hunter/Smith/and a healthy Shavlik is a solid frontcourt rotation and having Andre Miller along with a wing rotation of Iguodala/Korver/Young/Carney looks pretty good too. Again like the Knicks its a team that has potential to be a threat.

Now look at Boston. They may have gained an aging Ray Allen, but they lost their best young guard in Delonte West and a decent scorer when healthy in Szczerbiak and their draft picks aren't exactly the type that are going to solidly contribute this season if ever. Also, there is still a huge hole at one of the post positions, while they're also starting a 2nd year PG who is a horrendous shooter and have no even remotely reliable backup.

[kidcolin]

None of these teams added draft picks that are sending them over the edge. I'll be surprised if anyone in the Atlantic division gains 2 wins based on draft picks alone. None of them had a high enough pick to make a major standings move

Mentioning losing Wally as a negative is a big lol. He was decent in the season he got traded, though I was against the move. I think he sprained both his ankles 15 times last season. He's just not a good fit.

As for Delonte, he's one of the reasons I hate Doc. I thought going into this last season he was going to be our version of Ben Gordon. Nowhere near the scorer, but twice the basketball IQ, and he'd provide that spark. Instead he showed that swapping positions wasn't easy for him, and being used inconsistently seemed to mess him up.

The beauty of the new lineup is Rondo's shooting woes are hidden on this team. By most +/- metrics I've looked at, Rondo is a very effective player (he was also ROY by Berri's Wins Produced metric, which I guess kind of shows how flawed that stat is). I do have concerns about his effective while playing major minutes. Hence my post earlier for bringing in another PG.

[slothinator]

[ QUOTE ]
The Celtics are not winning the division, in fact their most likely finish is 3rd or 4th, with a last place finish still possible this season. Toronto and New Jersey are just too good for the Celtics to compete with and Philadelphia and New Jersey aren't going to exactly be horrible this season either. Claiming 45-50 wins is possible after a 24 win season when the Celtics have basically only marginally improved their team is crazy. Especially when you also consider that every other team in their division has improved this offseason too, and all of them likely by more than the Celtics. The only reason I think even a 3rd place finish in the division is possible is because of the injury problems from last year.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't say they would win 45-50 games; I said they could win 45-50 games if they make another move . 45-50 wins would be enough to win that division. Going from 24 to 40 wins (which the current roster is capable of) isn't that big of a leap considering Pierce was hurt last year and they were tanking at the end. Rondo and Green got a lot time, Jefferson gained a lot of experience (plus he was hurt early last year as well), and Allen is far from washed up. Another good move (a crap shoot with Ainge) could make this a 45-50 win team in a weak division.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Philly had a solid 2nd half (post Iverson), resulting in Thad Young & no playoffs. However I'm not sure how much of that record is a mirage due to our good health, not tanking, & what seemed like an easy schedule. Also, I think Miller will be up for trade talks as long as he's in Philly (he has 2 years left), so I don't think of us as a favorite to be in the POs.

[Green Kool Aid]

[ QUOTE ]
Dalembert/Hunter/Smith/and a healthy Shavlik is a solid frontcourt rotation

[/ QUOTE ]

Solid?

[xorbie]

i gaurantee playoffs, because thats just how i roll.