Everyone is really overreacting to the Celtics struggles over the last month. Titles are not won or lost in January. Pierce has been out and hobbled when in. Same with KG. They are only their top 2 players. When I read the ESPN NBA Power Ranks yesterday and saw the Raptors and Bobcats ahead of the Celtics...I mean come ON. ESPN, the overreacting hype machine...what a surprise. Anyway, the point is that when healthy and when in the playoffs, this team is a very very difficult beat and formidable opponent for anybody. So jump off the bandwagon if you want, but I would rather see Celts fan and the media nationwide show some sort of patience and discresion, these trade Ray Allen, the Celitcs run is over stories are wayyy overreactive. Things are always changing. Teams have ups and downs. It's a sprint, not a marathon. You get my point. Although i have to say Rasheed Wallace has been a complete waste of space all season. And Big Baby needs to get his ass in gear as well. Remember, Marquis Daniels is out. He's their 2nd primary ball handler, and a perimeter defensive lynchpin. IF they can all get healthy, sky is still the limit in 2010. Rant over.

Totally Agree with everything you're saying Bonk. Celtics are going through injuries right now which is to be expected when your top players are getting old. I really don't think the Celtics care if they are 2-4 seed because their main goal is to make sure that everyone on the team is healthy going into the playoffs. We all saw what they did 2 years ago when the team was healthy and they did relatively well last year in the playoffs to without Garnett. I'm sure any team in the league will tell you that they don't want to play a healthy Celtics because when the postseason comes these guys will be ready to compete and get KG that second ring.

I am going to piggy back on both of your comments.

Solid points. I agree about most of it, but not all.

I hope someday the Wolves suck slightly less so that we can all write inspiring comments like this about them.

Sigh.

John Wall and Evan Turner 4 2010 Draft

The Celtics wont even get it to the conference finals the Cavaliers, Hawks and Magic are all better then they.

John Wall,Evan Turner and Greg Monroe 4 2010 Draft

Flash wrote:
Yeah. I'm thinkin Cavs vs Hawks for ECF. Hope they don't play each other in the second round, because that would be a great series.

I'm a little surprised by all of the talk putting the Hawks in the same league as the Magic, Cavs, & Celtics. Maybe I am just drinking my Celtics kool-aid, but are the Hawks really in the same league as the other 3 E.C. powerhouses? I know that record-wise they are right up there, but do they really have the dynamic players to win a playoff series against any of these teams? I know that people get bored so the consensus tries to hype a rising team (Hawks) and tear down teams with some ups and downs a few notches (Celtics and Magic), but I feel like in a playoff series I would take the C's or Magic over the Hawks any day. But the beautiful thing is time will tell.

1st Side Note - Speaking of...Al Horford - An ALL STAR?!?!? WHAT?! i DON'T agree.

2nd Side Note - But the emergence of Jamal Crawford has been huge for the Hawks. He is >>> Mike Bibby at this stage of their careers. And I think Mo Evans is very underrated too.

3rd Side Note - WHY do the Celtics refuse to play my man Bill Walker???

4th Side Note - Rasheed Wallace looks absolutely TUUUUUUUUURIBLE. I feel like he's getting by on name alone this year. It is surreal how much he sucks this season. Unbelievable.

Well the Celtics are clearly the second best or maybe best team in the East IF they are completely healthy. I just don't think that's something everyone can assume or even count on. Especially come playoff time after the long rigors of the regular season. I mean, look at all the injuries they have had and currently have.

They are old.

I hate to say it, and it pains me, but KG is clearly a shell of his former self. Can he even get back to what he was two years ago? I'm not sure. There are a LOT of miles on those tires.

I like the Hawks because they are young and healthy. JJ is a complete stud, and Josh Smith isn't far behind. Horford is an "all-star" if you count strictly centers, but yeah, he shouldn't have made it. Still, they are a really good team.

BonK wrote:
The Hawks are 4-0 against the Celtics this year, 0-3 against Orlando, and o-2 against Cleveland. Other than when they play the Celtics, they haven't done well against the NBA elite.

I think people just include them in the discussion because of their record against Boston, which is pretty difficult to ignore. The Hawks clearly pose some matchup problems with those old folks.

I agree that the Celtics are far from dead. With all those old vets, they're the smartest team in the league and they're the most battle-tested. KG may not be what he used to be, but it's not like he's a liability or anything. He still has that sweet J and the Celtics' defense is infinitely better when he's on the court.

Plus Rondo could put up a triple-double every night, Perkins is a brick wall down low, and PP and Ray are assassins when they're healthy.

The bench is the only thing I'm worried about. Sheed is total garbage. He needs to at least play defense if all he's going to do on offense is shoot 3s. Glenn Davis needs to accept that he'll forever be "Big Baby." Marquis needs to get healthy because he needs some time to gel with his teammates before the playoffs. Scal needs to start wearing the white headband again.

I've always liked Eddie House, though. Dude is money. I also think Tony Allen is less erratic than he's been the last couple of years.

They're far from a lock, but the Celts are still legit.

HOWL to YWG for his quality Celtics thoughts. And I'm with you on E. House.

After watching 4 C's games in the past week & a half, I am confident in saying Sheed is complete garbage this year. It's unreal. Big Baby looks bad too. And I am worried about KG. That is 3 of their 4 big men who are really under-acheiving right now. That's not good. I still stick by my "if healthy, they are as good as anyone" sentiments though. If the Big 5 is all in good health come playoff time, don't sleep on them.

College Wolf wrote:
I told ya the C's were superior to the Hawks when the games really matter!

Is anyone as pumped up as I am for the Celtics to play the Cavs. I have a feeling that the Celtics are going to take one of the first 2 from the cavs and ride it out to a series win in 7. Even with a healthy James i still think the Celtics win this series.

I think Cavs in 6. Could be a good series though.

What would really help the Celtics is if one or two of 1st round series that are still going on go to 7 games, so they can get that extra few days of rest.

I think the Cavs will take it, but I definitely would not be surprised if the Celtics win. The Cavs have not looked good AT ALL.

It's pretty much Lebron who's amazing and a bunch of other scrubs. Overrated Mo Williams (seriously, what PG with a decent shot wouldn't look good shooting wide open 3-pointers all game that are being spoon fed by Lebron?), Shaq who's old and doesn't fit on their team, & overrated Jamison who's contract they are stuck with for the next 3 years. The only guy I really even like on their team is Varejao. What's sad is that this is BY FAR the best supporting cast that Lebron has ever had. How does Danny Ferry still have a job?

roundhouse wrote:
LeBron is just THAT good. Wonder if anything will come from his elbow issue...

If the Celtics win the series, it will be in 7 games. No other way.