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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 18:22:35 GMT -5
So we play the Cavs tonight and they have 8 players out:
Osman
Nance
Garland
Dellavedova
Prince
Windler
Stevens
Hartenstein
Does that mean we can win? We should but don't count on it. Could be our roster doesn't want to play in the POs this year given the still problematic virus, injuries, fatigue and poor position and likelihood of getting bumped out in early rounds. Besides, we will be short handed (and of course short as usual) tonight as well:
Kemba
Brown
Smart (rt calf contusion from collision w/ Robinson)
RWill (Sore toe despite shot of cortisone)
A win locks the C's into the 7th spot with HCA. A loss could drop them to 8th or potentially out of POs if they continue to lose.
We still have the talent to win and the Cavs are tanking for a better lottery pick. Should they try to beat us, the message would be one of sticking it to our GM ... how else could it be interpreted?
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 18:59:35 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:23:25 GMT -5
Is this season Marcus Smart’s Cs swan song? by Andrew Hughes
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
This season has been an eye-opener for the Boston Celtics. With pupils preoccupied with the C’s title hopes crashing and burning against every Eastern Conference contender, this team showed its true colors in 2020-21.
With two All-Stars on the roster, Boston proved incapable of even avoiding the postseason play-in tournament and will now have to win a one-game playoff just to qualify for the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
It shouldn’t have been this way. Clearly, something isn’t going right behind the scenes, because a team with this much talent should have achieved more.
If you ask former Boston Celtics center and 2007-08 NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins, the issue is Marcus Smart:
The mere mention of dealing Smart has gotten strongly-worded messages sent my way in the past, but at this point, it seems pretty clear that he may not be long for the Boston Celtics.
Next summer, Smart is due for an extension. Having turned blue in the face several times over pointing this out over the past year after Boston proved incapable of containing a top-tier big man like Bam Adebayo, Smart could prove to be too costly of an asset to keep considering the roster imbalance of the Celtics core.
The five best players (possibly even seven best if you’re convinced by the rookie class of 2020’s sample size) on the roster are all perimeter players. Danny Ainge has repeatedly tried to fill the pivot position with low-cost options–whether it be international free agent signings like Daniel Theis and Vincent Poirier, late-round selections like Robert Williams and even Grant Williams, or MLE free agent signings like Enes Kanter and Tristan Thompson–to no avail the past several seasons.
Simply put, he needs to invest in the frontcourt. Perhaps he feels burned by signing Al Horford sign to such a lucrative deal and then opt-out and leave early for even more money. Maybe he has simply tried to recreate the Golden State Warriors model of finding premiere players on the wing and simply out-shooting opponents. Either way, his plans have been foiled every single season. Something needs to change. And if you agree with Perkins, Smart’s $13 million salary will be a part of it.
There’s been a weird air surrounding Smart this season after he went down with a calf strain in January and the C’s season fell off a cliff. When asked about the possibility of being traded at the March trade deadline, Smart seemed at peace with whatever happens:
“I think anytime you hear your name in trade talks you prepare for the worst…You pray for the best, but prepare for the worst. This is seven years in for me, my name has been in trade talks every year. So it’s nothing new.”
“It’s a business,” Smart said. “Sometimes you get so attached to guys, to players, to teammates, to organizations that we forget that. But we’re human. Especially when you’ve been in one place for a very long time and your name comes up in trade rumors, you definitely, like I said, just preparing for anything to happen. So, I wasn’t really concerned, but I was prepared.”
Now, after earning the inaugural ‘Tommy Award’ in honor of recently deceased long-time Boston Celtics announcer Tommy Heinsohn, Smart has finally been honored for all of the undocumented “Tommy Points” he has accumulated through years of floor-burn from diving for loose balls and taking charges.
Marcus Smart has inarguably done just about everything he can in green and white as a former Defensive Player of the Year. Even still, he has yet to be honored on a personal level as an NBA All-Star (likely because of the surplus of wing talent in Beantown) and has yet to be a part of an Eastern Conference champion.
Dealing Smart away could potentially land a big fish in Boston. Perhaps the Golden State Warriors would consider dealing last year’s #2 pick, James Wiseman, for Smart after there were rumors last November that the two teams were considering a swap. Throwing some draft capital into a Smart-for-Christian Wood swap could give the Cs a potential third star in 2021-22. Atlanta has eyed Smart in the past, and they have young cost-controlled talent with more offensive upside to offer in a potential package.
While this has been his best season from a statistical standpoint, the team as a whole has regressed. With Murphy’s Law seemingly being in effect this season for the Cs, it just wouldn’t be a shock to see the slate wiped clean next season.
As the unofficial heart and soul of the Boston Celtics, Smart’s departure would allow the team to establish a new identity and move onto the next era of the franchise.
Given the way this season has gone, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the 2020-21 season serve as the swan song of Smart’s Celtics legacy.
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:35:19 GMT -5
Nesmith opens scoring with a pair of FTs ... 2-6 Cavs
3 mins later Fournier a driving layup ... 4-6 Cavs
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:36:25 GMT -5
Tatum a layup ... 6-8
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:37:56 GMT -5
TT makes a hook ... 8-11
Tatum a three ... 11-11
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Post by petey62 on May 12, 2021 19:38:18 GMT -5
We really don't look that bad tonight. We just don't have any players on the court.
If we can stay in the game through 3 quarters, we can win this.
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:39:20 GMT -5
Celtics lineup change (Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, Tristan Thompson, Jayson Tatum)
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Post by petey62 on May 12, 2021 19:40:24 GMT -5
If we hit some shots we're right in this. Cleve is missing a lot of shots.
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:43:40 GMT -5
20-11 Cavs ... 2 mins left
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:44:36 GMT -5
JT a runner off the glass ... 13-22
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Post by petey62 on May 12, 2021 19:46:21 GMT -5
PP is going to have to continue to shoot. He seems aggressive offensively and his shot is falling.
TT should be out there looking to have a career night vs his former team. Oh well.
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:46:28 GMT -5
Payton fouled, makes 1-2 ... 14-22 Pritchard a three ... 17-22
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:52:01 GMT -5
Celtics lineup change (Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, Tristan Thompson, Jayson Tatum)
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Post by petey62 on May 12, 2021 19:52:04 GMT -5
BTW Admin, my sincere condolences on the passing of your Mom. I can only imagine what you're going thru but you are in my prayers.
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:52:24 GMT -5
GWill a three ... 24-20 Cavs
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:52:48 GMT -5
Thnx Petey!
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 19:54:51 GMT -5
PP a three ... 23-28
Fournier a layup ... 25-30
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Post by petey62 on May 12, 2021 19:55:29 GMT -5
What did Jabari Parker do to deserve NO MINUTES? This is the type of game we need his offense in.
Nobody’s playing much defense anyway but we could use his offense instead of Edwards throwing up bricks.
Don't really know what BS is doing.
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 20:00:35 GMT -5
Fournier a put-back layup ... 27-30
PP a driving layup ... 29-30
Celtics lineup change (Payton Pritchard, Grant Williams, Jayson Tatum, Evan Fournier, Carsen Edwards)
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 20:01:48 GMT -5
JT a driving layup ... 31-38
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2021 20:01:54 GMT -5
What did Jabari Parker do to deserve NO MINUTES? This is the type of game we need his offense in. Nobody’s playing much defense anyway but we could use his offense instead of Edwards throwing up bricks. Don't really know what BS is doing. Now i'll agree we havn't gave him a real shot.. I have no clue why he was signed other than a trade filler next year.. Internet so poor tonight its all a blur to me..
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Post by petey62 on May 12, 2021 20:02:09 GMT -5
We're still in this. They are as injured as we are so we could pull this one out.
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Post by Admin on May 12, 2021 20:04:12 GMT -5
JT a reverse layup ... 33-42
TT a hook ... 35-42
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Post by petey62 on May 12, 2021 20:04:34 GMT -5
What did Jabari Parker do to deserve NO MINUTES? This is the type of game we need his offense in. Nobody’s playing much defense anyway but we could use his offense instead of Edwards throwing up bricks. Don't really know what BS is doing. Now i'll agree we havn't gave him a real shot.. I have no clue why he was signed other than a trade filler next year.. Internet so poor tonight its all a blur to me.. Agree, why did we sign him if he can't play in THIS game? BS's personnel decisions, on the surface, don't make much sense.
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