POST GAME CHICAGO - HOME - PLAYOFF SERIES #2 > THE AUTOPSY

steve3344 wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:

mulcogiseng wrote:I've been sayin all year this is a flawed roster. I'm sayin now there is no need to panic. Take a breath and relax a second. No need to blow it up now and start all over again. Next year is year 5 of the rebuild. We have the players in the wings who meet the needs of this team. We have a low post rebounder, rim protector,  and scorer, we have a big who can get his own shot, take it to the rim, drain the 3, and we have a wing slasher who can hit from outside or take it to the hoop. We also have a top 3 pick in a good draft. This season's disappointment rests on Danny's shoulders for not having the right talent available for Brad. It also rests on Brad's shoulders for not utilizing his roster and maximizing the talent that he did have. Lose in the first round again and its a disappointment, not a setback. Certainly no reason to blow it up and start again. We are close, very close. We still need a piece or two and we have those guys in the wings. Let's give them a chance next year. It will still take an advantageous deal for Danny to pull the trigger. We don't need Melo or some other me first superstar. If we move part of the core it has to be for someone like Butler who showed last night what he can do. If someone needs to "stay the course" it's Danny not Phil IMO, of course.

Good, level-headed post. We may be lucky if this series goes 5 games, but that doesn't warrant "hitting the reset" button. Celtics overachieved a little in the regular season. They always played hard, and as a result they probably beat some more talented teams that were just taking a night off in the course of an 82 game season. This is apparent in their low overall point differential. Now, in the playoffs, every team is focused and plays hard, and our lack of talent is catching up. All that being said, developing a 50 win team is not trivial. Danny did it quickly, so maybe some folks think its easy to do. Its not. The same shitty teams are in the lottery year after year, never getting any better even though they are getting high draft picks. Everyone knew this team was not really ready to contend. Everyone knew we are one or two players away. This series doesn't change that, it only reinforces what we all knew. We are still a player or two away. Don't forget that other than Amir and Al, everyone on the Celtics is probably on the upslope of their career arc. Amir is probably toast, but Al can still be a key piece of a contending team for another year or two. I see no sign that IT has "lost a step" or that he is slowing down. He will average mid 20s again next year, and probably be even craftier. The point is, most guys will probably be a little better next year. BUT, they are still a player or two away. Danny knows this. Brad knows it. Wyc knows it. I'm sure all the guys on the team know it (though they wouldn't say it outloud). The Patriots built their dyansty by putting out the best team they can every year. I'm sure Belichik doesn't expect to win every year, but he maximizes his chances, and knows the value of being in the conversation each year. It can lead to players wanting to get on that train. Also, in some years luck will help push a contender to be a champion. Maximize your chances but putting out a team that only needs a little luck/fortune. Spurs have a similar model. My guess is that this is what Danny and Brad envision, and I think that's the way to go. Are they there yet? Obviously not. Are they closer than most teams in the NBA? Probably. I for one hope they don't "hit the reset", but rather gnore this unfortunate but understandable blip of a playoff round and continue this remarkable rebuild.

"We may be lucky if this series goes 5 games."

We MAY be lucky??  We'd be so incredibly lucky to be going home for a game 5 after winning two games in Chicago that it doesn't even seem possible, based on how we were manhandled twice in Boston. To have a slightly above average center like Robin Lopez dominate our bigs in both games was a real eye-opener.

112288 wrote:KDP 59

Ya just read it in the NY Post this morning then saw your post.  

I think Danny is best served by waiting and having the Knicks buyout Anthony's contract.  $25 million is way too much for him at this stage of his career - why - family issues that can mentally affect his game - knee issues that can affect his play and playing time i.e # of games played - and will he be a good locker room teammate or will he try to take over the locker room.  I do not think IT  would be too please with that scenario and could disrupt the team.

Getting back to the large contract of $25 million, if signed Danny must fill other positions that are very important - PF position with the departure of Johnson or a center with Horford sliding to PF.

I will say this, let the Knicks buy him out and give him a 2 year deal at $12 - 14 million, I can live with that.

I know that some are going to say, but we have Zizic...........remember he will be a rookie and needs to learn the game on an NBA level.  Further, Danny needs to acquire better bench players then what he has now with KO, Jerebko and Zeller. We need a serviceable center who can really provide minutes- Zeller is not that guy.

Zizic and the Dancing Bear will be good additions and are young, but they are rookies.  If we get Fultz then we have redundancy at that position so Rozier could be packaged in a trade.

If I was Danny, patients is the key to #18, we are 2 years of having our day in the sun.

112288

kdp59 wrote:well, since we're all testy now , here is a piece that should drive most of us over the edge!!

http://nypost.com/2017/04/20/carmelo-anthony-to-celtics-scenario-could-pick-up-steam/

112288 wrote:Bob,

I do not think I said CA would take minutes from Zizic...I know he is a center and CA a SF, what I mean......CA would take $$$$$$ money way from cap space which has to be used to fill in with meaningful bench or starting players.

112288

112288

112288 wrote:TJ,

No Team ever waives a player and eats a full significant contract of that proportion.........it is negotiated by both sides where CA has to give up something in order to get his GET OUT OF JAIL CARD, and the Knicks give to move on and not be stuck for 2 years with a player they clearly do not want nor fits into the overall team strategy.

The last year is a player option that will be discounted down significantly. CA would not pick up his option next year with the way each party feels for each other and if CA wants a title he is forced to leave and forced to lose that size contract.  CA wants a title despite what he says publicly ....if he does not....I don't want a player like that on my team.

Look for a settlement to be $ 30 - 35M range which the Knicks would gladly do, they have the cash to do it.

112288

atcross wrote:I don't post here often. I prefer to bow to the regulars who clearly know more about the game and players than I do. But I must say I think there's a bit of an overreaction here. Stevens said before the playoffs that the Cs weren't as good as their record. Their point margin testifies to the thin ice they've skated on all year. Their winning the top seed was clearly a fluke of the Eastern Conf and other teams' dysfunction. And if you were following the Bulls at all you saw that they had begun to play the way their roster suggested they could. Rondo is still the best floor "general" in the league. He led the league in assists last year. That's not something a hasbeen does. Chicago management was playing head games with itself on the PG position all year and only recently realized those kids would not be starting PGs like RR anytime soon. And it took a while for Butler and Wade to figure out that if they just let RR run the show they would get open looks. Bottom line is the Bull's starting line up is better than the Cs. But now the news is in that RR is out with a broken thumb. That was the key to everything the Bulls were doing right and it's a major blow to them reproducing anything like their play in the first two games. Butler and Wade will revert to hero ball and if they aren't hitting then panic will set in. So it ain't necessarily over. IT will have a much easier time without RR out there reading his mind. IT was clearly emotionally exhausted in the last game. Hopefully he will be able to get back closer to his old self in game 3.  

atcross wrote:I don't post here often. I prefer to bow to the regulars who clearly know more about the game and players than I do. But I must say I think there's a bit of an overreaction here. Stevens said before the playoffs that the Cs weren't as good as their record. Their point margin testifies to the thin ice they've skated on all year. Their winning the top seed was clearly a fluke of the Eastern Conf and other teams' dysfunction. And if you were following the Bulls at all you saw that they had begun to play the way their roster suggested they could. Rondo is still the best floor "general" in the league. He led the league in assists last year. That's not something a hasbeen does. Chicago management was playing head games with itself on the PG position all year and only recently realized those kids would not be starting PGs like RR anytime soon. And it took a while for Butler and Wade to figure out that if they just let RR run the show they would get open looks. Bottom line is the Bull's starting line up is better than the Cs. But now the news is in that RR is out with a broken thumb. That was the key to everything the Bulls were doing right and it's a major blow to them reproducing anything like their play in the first two games. Butler and Wade will revert to hero ball and if they aren't hitting then panic will set in. So it ain't necessarily over. IT will have a much easier time without RR out there reading his mind. IT was clearly emotionally exhausted in the last game. Hopefully he will be able to get back closer to his old self in game 3.