<<< Official Boston Celtics Thread >>>

[oldirtyharry 0]

Hey i might post by myself all season in this thing but hey, who cares. The Lakers thread only has 2 posts. Celts next up tommorow, I predict a 4 game win streak for the Celts to get back in business. Al Jeff get back soon!

[king_tanner 84]

I like the Celtics... I'm a big fan of Paul Pierce. I kinda wish they'd trade him or surround him with a better team because it seems like people have forgotten him since they have been bad for a while. He is a force to be reckoned with.... and I have his jersey. Hopefully the team will get better in the future but when you are bad in the Eastern Conference then you are really bad.

[oldirtyharry 0]

I like the Celtics... I'm a big fan of Paul Pierce. I kinda wish they'd trade him or surround him with a better team because it seems like people have forgotten him since they have been bad for a while. He is a force to be reckoned with.... and I have his jersey. Hopefully the team will get better in the future but when you are bad in the Eastern Conference then you are really bad.

I hear you, I really wish they were able to get Iverson in the offseason. Would have been a damn exciting team to watch. Don't sleep on this current team, there better then there record states and they're playing a bunch more crappy teams (ny, charlotte, ny, milwaukee) coming up. They've been in every game so far this season and there actually averaginng 2.3 points more then there opponents this year despite being 3-6. Plus Al Jefferson is coming back in two or three games. Im optimistic. Cheers

[oldirtyharry 0]

Celts win again, now 4-6......They have been up by at least 20 points in each of their 4 games.

[oldirtyharry 0]

Celtics are in first place in the Atlantic (5-8) and would be a 3 seed in the East yet are # 27 in the espn power rankings. That has to be some type of record. Man that division sucks balls

[princeof56k 0]

The gap between the West and East had never looked bigger. I hope to god this is a short term phenomenon. And while the East stinks, there is a special place in stinkdom for the Atlantic division. Its been bad out there for the last couple of year, but its just horrible out there right now. I'm bracing for a division winner below .500.On a different topic, I thoroughly believe the Celtic management is running the team into the ground and it aint just Doc Rivers. They have a top flight superstar in Pierce and a very good player in Wally. Too bad they're basically the same player with Wally being a poor mans Paul Pierce. And Pierce has been in the league for 8 years now! How long does it take to build around a player! How a team with a guy like Pierce plays below .500 in the weak East I'll never know.

[oldirtyharry 0]

The gap between the West and East had never looked bigger. I hope to god this is a short term phenomenon. And while the East stinks, there is a special place in stinkdom for the Atlantic division. Its been bad out there for the last couple of year, but its just horrible out there right now. I'm bracing for a division winner below .500.On a different topic, I thoroughly believe the Celtic management is running the team into the ground and it aint just Doc Rivers. They have a top flight superstar in Pierce and a very good player in Wally. Too bad they're basically the same player with Wally being a poor mans Paul Pierce. And Pierce has been in the league for 8 years now! How long does it take to build around a player! How a team with a guy like Pierce plays below .500 in the weak East I'll never know.

I definatly do not see the Wally/Pierce comparison at all. Wally is strictly a spot up shooter with decent break away skills and below average defense. Paul Pierce I think we know is a lot more then this. The team has the talent to win, but they are far, far to young and inconsistent. Hopefully they can trade 3 or 4 of the youngsters and a pick away for a good veteran big man (Gasol?!) And don't forget Pierce and Walker did make it to the Eastern Conference finals so Pierce and the Celts have had some success, although short lived.

[princeof56k 0]

I definatly do not see the Wally/Pierce comparison at all. Wally is strictly a spot up shooter with decent break away skills and below average defense. Paul Pierce I think we know is a lot more then this. The team has the talent to win, but they are far, far to young and inconsistent. Hopefully they can trade 3 or 4 of the youngsters and a pick away for a good veteran big man (Gasol?!) And don't forget Pierce and Walker did make it to the Eastern Conference finals so Pierce and the Celts have had some success, although short lived.

Dont get me wrong. Pierce is way better than Wally. That was the reason for my "poorman's" remark. But I still think they're games are very similar and do NOT compliment each other. Pierce is a 6'6" 240 lb guard-forward. Wally is a 6'7" 245 lb guard forward. They're both basically tweeners - too small for forward and too slow for shooting guard. They also both like to have the ball in their hands most of the time. Both are very multi-skilled but remain on the perimeter too often. Pierce is the better inside player of the two with Wally having the better outside shot. I'm not knocking the 2 guys. I like both players. I just dont like them on the same team.The Celtics did get the East Finals in 2002 but its been downhill from there. And in 2004 they made the playoffs with a LOSING record. I'm not giving them props for that. They havent won 50 games since 1992. 2002 was their best year when they managed to win 49.I just dont like the moves they've made over the last few years. I think they've drafted too many high schoolers and made some questionable trades/signings (like Blounts contract or their indecision with whether they want Walker or not).BTW, getting Gasol wouldbe awsome, but they will only get Gasol if one of two things happens:1. Hell freezes over2. His injury is so bad that he will never recover

[oldirtyharry 0]

Dont get me wrong. Pierce is way better than Wally. That was the reason for my "poorman's" remark. But I still think they're games are very similar and do NOT compliment each other. Pierce is a 6'6" 240 lb guard-forward. Wally is a 6'7" 245 lb guard forward. They're both basically tweeners - too small for forward and too slow for shooting guard. They also both like to have the ball in their hands most of the time. Both are very multi-skilled but remain on the perimeter too often. Pierce is the better inside player of the two with Wally having the better outside shot. I'm not knocking the 2 guys. I like both players. I just dont like them on the same team.The Celtics did get the East Finals in 2002 but its been downhill from there. And in 2004 they made the playoffs with a LOSING record. I'm not giving them props for that. They havent won 50 games since 1992. 2002 was their best year when they managed to win 49.I just dont like the moves they've made over the last few years. I think they've drafted too many high schoolers and made some questionable trades/signings (like Blounts contract or their indecision with whether they want Walker or not).BTW, getting Gasol wouldbe awsome, but they will only get Gasol if one of two things happens:1. Hell freezes over2. His injury is so bad that he will never recover

Well I guess we can agree to disagree on the Pierce/Wally thing as I think they compliment each other fairly well and I see the problem being that they have an extremely young supporting cast (Jefferson, Telfair, West, Perkins, Gomes, Rondo, Green) and there coach is one of the worst in the NBA. Might be nit picking here, but you may be the first person I've ever heard describe Pierce as a "tweener." He plays above average D on just about every SG/SF in the leauge while outplaying them on the offensive end 90% of the time because of his size and the matchup problems it creates. Would you call Lebron a tweener?You are right about the signings, just about all of them have sucked under Ainge and the trades have done nothing but tread water. Luckily Ainge has drafted well with his mid picks giving the Celts a few chips they may be able to use to get back a good vet. I guess the question is could they get back someone like Gasol? Until they start stepping up I agree, highly unlikely.

[princeof56k 0]

Might be nit picking here, but you may be the first person I've ever heard describe Pierce as a "tweener." He plays above average D on just about every SG/SF in the leauge while outplaying them on the offensive end 90% of the time because of his size and the matchup problems it creates. Would you call Lebron a tweener?

I dont really mean the "tweener" label in negative sense. The way I phrased it might have sounded negative and most people associate that with the label, but I dont always think its bad. I just think of it as a way to descibe a guy.I might be wrong but I think Pierce got a little bit of the tweener label when he first came into the league. Its not uncommon for a lot of 6'5" or 6'6" guys to get that label. People just wondered what position he would play. I've always thought of him as being a tweener as I'm still not sure what position I'm comfortable with him playing. That said, he's beating his opponents most night because he's just tremendously talented.Lebron on the other hand is a unique player. Quick enough to play the shooting guard comfortably and powerful enough to play the small forward. He's a true 2 position player. I'm still more comfortable with him playing small forward though.Some players are actually better at playing one position but end up getting slotted into another. T-Mac is a good example of that. He played for a long time out of position at small forward (IMO this agrivated his back but thats another topic). Sure he's 6'8" but he is thin. His game isnt that much different than Kobe's who only plays shooting guard. No matter where they play him, I'll always think of him as a shooting guard which is where he's playing now for the most part.With Pierce, I'm not exactly sure what he is. That's the reason for me calling him a tweener. I am sure that he's one of the best in the game though.