Boston Celtics Loaded For Championship Run

As we settle into the dog days of summer, our expectations for the upcoming season continue to accelerate.

We have all marveled at the sheer fortitude of this young Celtics team that learned how to play through extreme levels of adversity.  

Next season our expectations will be raised another notch or two.  This is why.

Last season Boston returned one starter and 3 rotation players.  Danny replaced  around 73% of his 15 man roster.

Fast forward to the upcoming season and this team should surpass everything that they did last year.  The longer a team stays together one should expect improvements.  Brad goes into next year with a team that is more knowledgeable of the system and their teammates.  Developing players should continue to excel and what can only be considered as a significant roster addition in a healthy Gordon Hayward, will fuel the upcoming surge.

The process to rebuild the Boston Celtics into a championship team with a long  term competitive profile has been completed.

Danny Ainge has masterminded this project with precision and foresight.  We have been witness to many rebuilds of the Boston Celtics but we have never witnessed a rebuild inside of a rebuild.  That twist in the program is unlike anything that we have experience before. To be clear, Boston had the best regular season record in the East in 2016-17 with 53 wins.  By all accounts, one or 2 additions to that team and it is rebuilt. Danny took that team apart and put it back together and upgraded every position while keeping a few players that were part of the core moving forward.   It was an amazing stroke of genius that still has me scratching my head and thinking, how the hell did he manage that.  Danny had built a contending team but he knew it was not a championship level team.  Adding a piece here or there was not going to be enough.  So he embarked on an enormously ambitious makeover while still retaining an impressive inventory of future draft assets.

Our young coach Brad Stevens has far exceeded  everything that any fan of any team could want.  Now that Danny has stocked this roster with talent  all around, he is destined to bring another championship title to Boston .  The East remains a competitive conference with several teams other than Boston that have talent on their rosters.  Rumors of the demise are greatly exaggerated.  The East is still strong but Boston has risen to the top of the pecking order with the best roster and the best coach.

Boston will make it to the championship round in 2019 and I expect them to best whoever they face.

I am still in an "Are your kidding me" frame of mind when I think about the quality of depth on this team.

If Hayward is back, this team will be unbeatable. If he is healthy, he will seamlessly fit into flow.

Boston's starting 5 will be the best in the NBA!

We have a championship contender this year. Clearly the most talented team in the East and one of the few teams that can play with both Houston and GSW.

This is a full blown team now and there is an expectation that they will win the title this season. This comes from several players.

God Bless John Mccain

Dboss,

It really is remarkable what Danny hath wrought.  I cannot believe our depth, our 2nd team would have a shot at the playoffs, as starters, with a good bench behind them.

And yes, God Bless John McCain, an American hero.  5 1/2 years as a POW at the infamous Hanoi Hilton, tortured so badly he was never again able to raise his arms above his shoulders and yet refused early release (offered because his father was Chief of Naval Operations) because it would mean leapfrogging over POWs who had been there longer and were scheduled to be exchanged before him.  I would be proud to be a man of such character.


bob

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Dboss,

I cannot agree more on how stacked we are, the implications of having what I feel is likely 9 starter quality players on a roster is immense and will pay huge dividends I think later on. While other teams (Pops teams for example) often have to/ choose to give up wins during the regular season in exchange for allowing key players time to rest up for the playoffs, we just don't have to worry about that.

I was going to right a long winded piece on how important the degree of depth we have helps us, but i'll try to surmise instead since I got early breakfast plans tomorrow.

* our depth will allow us to focus on playing healthier guys during the regular season, lessoning the ill effects of nagging injuries

*less minutes per game, with more guys to use, we can keep guys minutes down keeping them fresher when they are playing and saving them overall for the playoffs

* Other teams will have a harder time prepping for us. Just what version of the Celtics will Brad put out there for other teams to have to deal with?

I'm not sure who are starting 5 will be, i'm leaning towards more of a start by commitie, nor will it be all about who finishes games, as I feel like Gino will be singing well before the 00:00 mark in 4th quarters a lot this season. One thing I do know is this season is going to be a lot of fun to watch!


P.S. Hawks got the Celtics visiting on nov 23rd and Jan 19th. It appears as though I will buy buying tickets. How about you?

I don't think the Celtics are playing any pre-season games overseas, so the first day of veterans camp is September 25th.

That's exactly 30 days from today, and the pump is already primed.

Chris Forsberg @ESPNForsberg
yesterday
Rozier said he visited the new practice facility yesterday and talked with Brad and Danny. He said players are all texting each other eager to find out when first 5-on-5 games will start next month. Rozier said Kyrie is in Miami now, the two will work together again next week.


bob


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dboss,

Great post.

Regards

(And without question; God Bless John McCain)

John McCain was my senator. We didn't agree on a lot of things even though we both identify as Republican. I could never understand why he voted against most legislation that would benefit veterans. But when I had fallen through the cracks of the VA for the umpteenth time I reached out. I first contacted my Dem representative who offered to send a release of info form before they would help. Sen McCain's office returned my call the same day with an appointment. I was proud every time the "maverick" showed up. At the end of his life, when he had the good excuses why he couldn't show up, he showed up. He once again stood tall and put his country first. Way to represent, Senator!

bobheckler wrote:Dboss,

It really is remarkable what Danny hath wrought.  I cannot believe our depth, our 2nd team would have a shot at the playoffs, as starters, with a good bench behind them.

And yes, God Bless John McCain, an American hero.  5 1/2 years as a POW at the infamous Hanoi Hilton, tortured so badly he was never again able to raise his arms above his shoulders and yet refused early release (offered because his father was Chief of Naval Operations) because it would mean leapfrogging over POWs who had been there longer and were scheduled to be exchanged before him.  I would be proud to be a man of such character.


bob

.

Yes definitely, the rotation is stocked with starter level talent. And Danny has also upgraded into a 3rd level of depth.

Here is a question for you. Do the Celtics have room on their roster to add 3-4 first rounders over the next 2 years ?

I think that Boston will win the title and next year, have a top 2 or 3 pick in the draft. Danny could continue to add more gems like he has over the past 4 years (Smart, Rozier, Brown and Tatum) That is an impressive group. And if Danny is in a position to draft another young stud it will be hard to pry that pick out of his hands. A lot depends on the outcome of this year. Lose and you are missing something. Win and you have the luxury to keep drafting high end talent.

So right now on NBA TV there is a playoff game from 15 with Clippers vs Mavs, old friend HoFer Paul Pierce just hit a 3 a little while ago. I just mentioned to my son Johnny imagine how great Pierce would have been if he had Jaylen’s athleticism...his response was he would have been Michael Jordan.

Matty wrote:Dboss,

I cannot agree more on how stacked we are, the implications of having what I feel is likely 9 starter quality players on a roster is immense and will pay huge dividends I think later on.  While other teams (Pops teams for example) often have to/ choose  to give up wins during the regular season in exchange for allowing key players time to rest up for the playoffs, we just don't have to worry about that.

I was going to right a long winded piece on how important the degree of depth we have helps us, but i'll try to surmise instead since I got early breakfast plans tomorrow.

* our depth will allow us to focus on playing healthier guys during the regular season, lessoning the ill effects of nagging injuries

*less minutes per game, with more guys to use, we can keep guys minutes down keeping them fresher when they are playing and saving them overall for the playoffs

* Other teams will have a harder time prepping for us. Just what version of the Celtics will Brad put out there for other teams to have to deal with?

I'm not sure who are starting 5 will be, i'm leaning towards more of a start by commitie, nor will it be all about who finishes games, as I feel like Gino will be singing well before the 00:00 mark in 4th quarters a lot this season. One thing I do know is this season is going to be a lot of fun to watch!


 P.S.  Hawks got the Celtics visiting on nov 23rd and Jan 19th.  It appears as though I will buy buying tickets. How about you?

Matty you have brought up several things that I fully agree with. Regarding the depth I was also thinking that you do not have to play your starters as many minutes. Actually, I would like to see Boston kick it up a few notches and play fast break basketball along with all the other ways they can score. I would play them harder for less minutes and then let the bench do the same things.

As you pointed out, Boston is capable of playing many different styles.

Funny you should mention those games. Yesterday I went online to check on tickets. Matty the good seats are all in the $200 plus range. Have you checked out some options? We should go to one of these game at least.

Dboss, I have not looked into seats yet. My wife and I have been in different states with our jobs since about aug. 4th and I've been waiting to get with her and discuss whether she is coming and the dates we could do a Boston trip as well., there are two sat. home games and we want to get to one of them. So we have to plan accordingly. I can get back with you on this by the weekend though, be great to enjoy a game with you and Mrs. Dboss!!

cowens/oldschool wrote:So right now on NBA TV there is a playoff game from 15 with Clippers vs Mavs, old friend HoFer Paul Pierce just hit a 3 a little while ago. I just mentioned to my son Johnny imagine how great Pierce would have been if he had Jaylen’s athleticism...his response was he would have been Michael Jordan.

Many comparisons between them. Tatum is longer, quicker and has more hops. He has a lot to do however before he reaches the level of a young PP.

I think Jason is an easy 18 PPG scorer already.

Matty wrote:Dboss, I have not looked into seats yet. My wife and I have been in different states with our jobs since about aug. 4th and I've been waiting to get with her and discuss whether she is coming and the dates we could do a Boston trip as well., there are two sat. home games and we want to get to one of them.  So we have to plan accordingly. I can get back with you on this by the weekend though, be great to enjoy a game with you and Mrs. Dboss!!

Like!

dboss wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:So right now on NBA TV there is a playoff game from 15 with Clippers vs Mavs, old friend HoFer Paul Pierce just hit a 3 a little while ago. I just mentioned to my son Johnny imagine how great Pierce would have been if he had Jaylen’s athleticism...his response was he would have been Michael Jordan.

Many comparisons between them.  Tatum is longer, quicker and has more hops.  He has a lot to do however before he reaches the level of a young PP.

I think Jason is an easy 18 PPG scorer already.  

I was comparing Pierce if he had Jaylen’s athleticism, not Jaysons....but all your points were spot on Lol. Both J’s have abundance of athleticism, will be fascinating to watch their growth year to year. I can’t wait to see the improvements this year, can you imagine when Jaylen is 26 and Jayson is 25...??? The players today that have the work ethic have so many training techniques that even 10 years ago I don’t think we’re around. Look at Lebron and how hard he works on all the physical training stuff that has made him even more of a physical freak, that is the difference in his game and the other worldly old school best players from other eras, Lebron keeps pushing at a furious pace all the workout devices you can imagine and keeps going and going.

Danny used two #3 picks to draft 2 young studs and as a bonus, he picked up a lotto first round pick.

He is batting 4 for 4 last for years and could be 5 straight hits if Williams blows up.

Next year Danny will be adding crazy depth 11-15.

I have to find a new way to watch the games.  I got rid of Direct TV.  I am going to try the NBA app.  I upgraded my broadband and so far things are streaming well.  Not perfect but acceptable.

I can purchase team pass for just the Celtics.  That should include Celtics on NBA TV.

I hope I hit the lottery so I can take Matty to a game. Lol

dboss wrote:Danny used two #3 picks to draft 2 young studs and as a bonus, he picked up a lotto first round pick.

He is batting 4 for 4 last for years and could be 5 straight hits if Williams blows up.

Next year Danny will be adding crazy depth 11-15.

I have to find a new way to watch the games.  I got rid of Direct TV.  I am going to try the NBA app.  I upgraded my broadband and so far things are streaming well.  Not perfect but acceptable.

I can purchase team pass for just the Celtics.  That should include Celtics on NBA TV.

I hope I hit the lottery so I can take Matty to a game. Lol

If you have League Pass but no access to NBA TV (via cable or sat) you will not be able to watch NBA TV games live on LP. League Pass will only show games that are nationally broadcast (NBATV, ESPN, ABC, TBS, TNT) on cable or sat as archives. I think there was a three hour blackout, but I'm not sure if it was that for all broadcasters.

I have heard good and bad things about using the NBA App. Hope they have improved the App this year. NBA TV has 11 Celtics games.

dboss wrote:I have heard good and bad things about using the NBA App.  Hope they have improved the App this year.  NBA TV has 11 Celtics games.  

I usually watch after the game is archived so I can skip commercials and the halftime so the blackouts don't bother me much. I'm Mountain Time so games are usually over by evening my time if they're ET. Also, playback of an archive seems to be more forgiving of bandwidth than realtime. If you want to watch the archive but you want to remain in the dark on the score be sure to turn the show scores option off or it will display it on the button you click to view the game. I've kind of gotten to the point I don't mind the spoiler all that much. If it's a blowout either way you can watch just for the Gino show or just to see the bottom of the bench get some minutes if it's bad. If it's close my blood pressure prefers I know what's going to happen. Even knowing the Cs won I have watched games down to the last seconds and wondered if I saw that score right.

Here is the collection of apps and gadgets that I use to watch the Celtics without cable tv or dish.

Start with NBA League Pass single team option ($120.00/season).  That gets you all Celtics games not broadcast nationally or on NBA TV.  Nationally televised and local games have blackout rules.

Add Sling TV to get ESPN and TNT. ($20.00 + fees/month)

Add NBA TV channel to Sling TV ($5.00 + fees/month)

Buy a good attic mount digital antenna at Best Buy to get local ABC, etc for their nationally televised games.

The only games this does not allow you to watch live is local games.  Just buy the tickets or wait 24 hours and watch them then.

When you sign up for Sling TV, don't forget to get the promotional free Roku Stick or the free Fire Stick.  It you don't need it, so what?  It makes a great gift.

After the NBA season is over, cancel Sling TV.

gyso wrote:Here is the collection of apps and gadgets that I use to watch the Celtics without cable tv or dish.

Start with NBA League Pass single team option ($120.00/season).  That gets you all Celtics games not broadcast nationally or on NBA TV.  Nationally televised and local games have blackout rules.

Add Sling TV to get ESPN and TNT. ($20.00 + fees/month)

Add NBA TV channel to Sling TV ($5.00 + fees/month)

Buy a good attic mount digital antenna at Best Buy to get local ABC, etc for their nationally televised games.

The only games this does not allow you to watch live is local games.  Just buy the tickets or wait 24 hours and watch them then.

When you sign up for Sling TV, don't forget to get the promotional free Roku Stick or the free Fire Stick.  It you don't need it, so what?  It makes a great gift.

After the NBA season is over, cancel Sling TV.

gyso

This is great information.

I will probably need to get Sling.  I have Hulu live which includes 3 ESPN channels and TNT.  I downloaded the NBA App form Amazon and the signup period is supposed to be in the Fall.

I can see my biggest problem is NBATV.  I have to decide if I want to spend $20 + $5 on Sling and the NBA TV add on.  I could just cancel Hulu and go with Sling.

I am going to check on what Sling offers as far as programming.

Have you been happy with Sling?

GYSO

Just took a look at Sling options and they look good but will I be able to watch local Channels?

Sorry to treat you like a customer service rep. Do you know anyone that does roofing? great! can you get me two quotes and book an inspection for next Wednesday? lol

dboss wrote:

gyso wrote:Here is the collection of apps and gadgets that I use to watch the Celtics without cable tv or dish.

Start with NBA League Pass single team option ($120.00/season).  That gets you all Celtics games not broadcast nationally or on NBA TV.  Nationally televised and local games have blackout rules.

Add Sling TV to get ESPN and TNT. ($20.00 + fees/month)

Add NBA TV channel to Sling TV ($5.00 + fees/month)

Buy a good attic mount digital antenna at Best Buy to get local ABC, etc for their nationally televised games.

The only games this does not allow you to watch live is local games.  Just buy the tickets or wait 24 hours and watch them then.

When you sign up for Sling TV, don't forget to get the promotional free Roku Stick or the free Fire Stick.  It you don't need it, so what?  It makes a great gift.

After the NBA season is over, cancel Sling TV.

gyso

This is great information.

I will probably need to get Sling.  I have Hulu live which includes 3 ESPN channels and TNT.  I downloaded the NBA App form Amazon and the signup period is supposed to be in the Fall.

I can see my biggest problem is NBATV.  I have to decide if I want to spend $20 + $5 on Sling and the NBA TV add on.  I could just cancel Hulu and go with Sling.

I am going to check on what Sling offers as far as programming.

Have you been happy with Sling?

dboss

I've had NBAtv for years and love it - in addition to live nba games it has a great line up of nba complete games from the past such as a Laker game from 1972 and the Celtic -Suns great player game of 1976. See below for nbatv schedule for Wednesday 8/29/18 (click onto heading for 8/29/18)

http://www.nba.com/nbatv/schedule/

 swish

dboss

Error - Scratch Celtic-Suns and change to Celtic-Lakers 1986

swish

swish wrote:

dboss wrote:

gyso wrote:Here is the collection of apps and gadgets that I use to watch the Celtics without cable tv or dish.

Start with NBA League Pass single team option ($120.00/season).  That gets you all Celtics games not broadcast nationally or on NBA TV.  Nationally televised and local games have blackout rules.

Add Sling TV to get ESPN and TNT. ($20.00 + fees/month)

Add NBA TV channel to Sling TV ($5.00 + fees/month)

Buy a good attic mount digital antenna at Best Buy to get local ABC, etc for their nationally televised games.

The only games this does not allow you to watch live is local games.  Just buy the tickets or wait 24 hours and watch them then.

When you sign up for Sling TV, don't forget to get the promotional free Roku Stick or the free Fire Stick.  It you don't need it, so what?  It makes a great gift.

After the NBA season is over, cancel Sling TV.

gyso

This is great information.

I will probably need to get Sling.  I have Hulu live which includes 3 ESPN channels and TNT.  I downloaded the NBA App form Amazon and the signup period is supposed to be in the Fall.

I can see my biggest problem is NBATV.  I have to decide if I want to spend $20 + $5 on Sling and the NBA TV add on.  I could just cancel Hulu and go with Sling.

I am going to check on what Sling offers as far as programming.

Have you been happy with Sling?

dboss

I've had NBAtv for years and love it - in addition to live nba games it has a great line up of nba complete games from the past such as a Laker game from 1972 and the Celtic -Suns great player game of 1976. See below for nbatv schedule for Wednesday 8/29/18 (click onto heading for 8/29/18)

http://www.nba.com/nbatv/schedule/

 swish

Swish dito on NBA TV I had it for many years with Direct TV (which I finally cancelled after 11 years)

NBA TV is not available on HULU so I may just change over to Sling TV.

I was paying $211 per month with Direct TV not including my NBA league Pass and NFL Sunday ticket subscriptions. But I as working up until last year and had a lot more money to spend.

Now I am implementing an austerity plan.

Brad had another year of coaching under his belt, too. I think when we marvel over the growth of our young players we sometimes forget Brad's growth, too. He did an incredible job in the playoffs last season.


KJ