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Yeah I understand about Wall--I guess I just don't think he's that guy and nor has he shown he can be. This will be a critical year for him though now--no more excuses.
Wall will have to make a pretty incredible leap to make the Wiz a good team and I just don't see it happening (it could, but I doubt it). But even if he does they're pretty much say the Hornets of two years back (Paul's last season). That's about the ceiling I can see for them.
I don't see much to cheer about for the Wiz unless #3 (be it Beal, Robinson, MKG) turns out to be the All-Star the teams needs.
I could be horrible wrong and people can feel free to gloat at me the Wiz become a strong team. I really hope they do and Wall finally fulfils all the hype.
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Boston will not be worse than Washington, or the Bucks, or the Knicks. Sorry guys, when you have Rondo and Pierce, you're pretty much guaranteed to be a hard out in the playoffs, and the chances of them retaining Garnett are very high, as well as actually being able to spend their money on players who might play, not tragedies like Wilcox and Green, or wasting money on O'Neil.
Add in Bradley, and Boston has a top 3 back court in the east, I don't see how you guys are already predicting them to fail, (again) when they've proved they arent going anywhere. They may not be contenders, but they are certainly a playoff team, that will be a hard team to get passed.
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United States4471 Posts
Curious to see if KG comes back considering that BOS may not be a championship contender with Ray likely gone and Pierce and KG getting older. It'll be interesting to see how they fill out the frontcourt this season as I don't imagine KG being happy about having to play center again.
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If they lose Garnett they'll come right back to the pack. Agree they'll still be a Playoff team but they will lose a lot without Ray Ray and KG.
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On June 21 2012 14:00 Holcan wrote:
Boston will not be worse than Washington, or the Bucks, or the Knicks. Sorry guys, when you have Rondo and Pierce, you're pretty much guaranteed to be a hard out in the playoffs, and the chances of them retaining Garnett are very high, as well as actually being able to spend their money on players who might play, not tragedies like Wilcox and Green, or wasting money on O'Neil.
Add in Bradley, and Boston has a top 3 back court in the east, I don't see how you guys are already predicting them to fail, (again) when they've proved they arent going anywhere. They may not be contenders, but they are certainly a playoff team, that will be a hard team to get passed.
Who is Boston going to get? In reality, they're not going anywhere anytime soon, and they're better off building around Rondo and trying to trade in solid pieces than re-sign an aging core that will never overtake Miami. They had their best chance this year with Rose/Howard injured, and for Miami, Bosh out and Wade injured but they still couldn't pull it off.
Miami meanwhile is going to go after Nash, Billups, Terry, K. Martin and Marcus Camby.. They will offer the mid-level to Terry/Billups/Nash and see who takes it. Nash is a longshot, but Billups and Terry aren't. Are non-contending teams really going to sign these guys for more $ than the mid-level and give up some of their flexibility for aging veterans? Do those guys even want to play for non-contending teams? Terry has a chance at resigning with Dallas, but if he doesn't, he and Billups will likely see tons of $5M no-tax mid-level offers, but those will be from non-contending teams (not Chicago, not OKC, not SA), and they'll have a $3M tax mid-level offer from Miami. Furthermore, Billups is coming off an injury that will likely reduce the offers that head his way.
Marcus Camby has been rumored as headed to Miami for a century now. If Miami pulls off signing Billups to their mid-level and Camby to the veteran's minimum, a Billups/Wade/James/Bosh/Camby lineup would be practically unfair to the rest of the league, assuming Billups returns to form. Then they bring Chalmers, Battier and Haslem off the bench. The sad part is, I feel that this actually has a high probability of happening.
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KG to SA!
Too bad it will never happen....
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I'm more confident in KG staying than going "ship hunting" loyalty is key to him, and big decisions don't come easy
Boston is reportedly throwing offers towards Asik, and any other UFA with size to try and move KG back down to PF. Bass and Allen are most likely gone, Bass for money, and Allen due to the trade rumors (confirmations) earlier this year. I've heard that Hawes is being targeted as a UFA, they may also turn something up in S&T's with any team looking to sign Bass or Allen to lucrative deals, although the latter seems unlikely.
I've also heard Jeff Greens name being linked with returning to the Celtics, as they were very diplomatic towards him this year.
And never over take Miami? They took them to game 7 this year, and were apparently the second best team in the NBA this year during the playoffs, the way OKC is playing these finals. It's not pipe dreams to think that if Boston has Rondo, Bradley, Pierce, Garnett, Asik/Hawes can compete with Miami. With a solid backup guard in Dooling, Jeff Green, and whomever else they manage to pick up out of the slew of UFA PF's, Boston will not be going anywhere next season.
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lol I can't imagine Duncan hating anybody for some reason, he always seemed to me like your stereotypical "nice guy" 
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Don't forget about Jamal Crawford either. He could possibly be a nice fit in Boston, specially if no more Allen.
edit: not an UFA but someone who has been linked in rumors
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On June 21 2012 14:49 Holcan wrote:And never over take Miami? They took them to game 7 this year, and were apparently the second best team in the NBA this year during the playoffs, the way OKC is playing these finals. It's not pipe dreams to think that if Boston has Rondo, Bradley, Pierce, Garnett, Asik/Hawes can compete with Miami. With a solid backup guard in Dooling, Jeff Green, and whomever else they manage to pick up out of the slew of UFA PF's, Boston will not be going anywhere next season.
Look here, a delusional Boston fan!
Congrats to Boston for taking a Miami team with a hurt Wade, no Bosh, and a hurt Mike Miller to 7 games. Milestone accomplishment there, and for that reason, the entire team should stay together.
What?
Boston has no chance at competing with Miami OR Chicago.
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lol, okay there. Because Boston wasn't missing its key wing defenders, Green and Bradley, they certainly wouldn't help against the heat ! ^^ Not to mention Pierce and Allen were clearly not 100% either, but hey, Boston clearly can't compete against Miami, even though they almost beat them, unlike any other team this year.
Chicago vs Boston would be a nice match-up 
I've grown to accept that Boston is a group of winners, and everyone else (apparently biased miami fans :p) just underestimates them. We will see if they can be the #1 defense in the league again, and if they are, they will be a hard out in the playoffs.
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Chicago will probably slip a bit next year with Rose effectively gone for the entire season. Everything with Boston depends on what Ainge wants to do. He may decide to blow things up and free up space to make a play at future big-name FAs or make some big trades. Holcan is right in that the Celtics have a strong winning culture and will be looking to build towards contending for another championship. If they decide not to re-sign Garnett (maybe) and Ray Ray (99% he's gone) then I can see them trimming the fat pretty quickly with a view to signing some big names to pair with Rondo for the future.
They might even go the whole hog and ship Rondo too if the right deal comes along.
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On June 21 2012 15:08 Holcan wrote:lol, okay there. Because Boston wasn't missing its key wing defenders, Green and Bradley, they certainly wouldn't help against the heat ! ^^ Not to mention Pierce and Allen were clearly not 100% either, but hey, Boston clearly can't compete against Miami, even though they almost beat them, unlike any other team this year. Chicago vs Boston would be a nice match-up I've grown to accept that Boston is a group of winners, and everyone else (apparently biased miami fans :p) just underestimates them. We will see if they can be the #1 defense in the league again, and if they are, they will be a hard out in the playoffs.
Just because I'm realistic and objective about both team's chances against each other doesn't make me a Miami fan. I'm not, I just respect the way they play basketball and am being realistic about the fact that they will likely be even more loaded next season.
Meanwhile, Boston can tread water at best.
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On June 21 2012 15:55 RowdierBob wrote:
They might even go the whole hog and ship Rondo too if the right deal comes along.
I just don't see this happening, unless it's some impossible-to-say-no-to kind of deal. Maybe that's the fan in me talking, though. I love watching Rondo play for my Cs, he's absolutely a joy to watch run the floor.
Also, bias Heat fans knocking the Celtics is kind of insulting, after it took the Heat NOT 5, NOT 6, NOT 7, oh wait, 7, games to beat the aging, injured, Celtics.
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Miami's not a deep team and were playing with no Bosh and Wade hobbled.
I mean, just last year they tore apart the Celtics in 5 with both a worse team with less chemistry.
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after dislocating rondos elbow* let's not forget that key part there.
kg wasn't playing nearly as good as he was this year either.
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On June 21 2012 18:19 Holcan wrote:
after dislocating rondos elbow* let's not forget that key part there.
kg wasn't playing nearly as good as he was this year either.
And when they sign one of Camby/K. Martin and one of Billups/Terry/Nash, you're going to say what...
This is the problem for every other team in the league, Miami can basically bring in anyone they want that wants the best shot at a championship. We'll see how far they go with it over these next few years with the more punishing luxury tax approaching, but I don't see them trying to save money at this point.
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On June 21 2012 16:51 Leyra wrote:Show nested quote +On June 21 2012 15:55 RowdierBob wrote:
They might even go the whole hog and ship Rondo too if the right deal comes along. I just don't see this happening, unless it's some impossible-to-say-no-to kind of deal. Maybe that's the fan in me talking, though. I love watching Rondo play for my Cs, he's absolutely a joy to watch run the floor. Also, bias Heat fans knocking the Celtics is kind of insulting, after it took the Heat NOT 5, NOT 6, NOT 7, oh wait, 7, games to beat the aging, injured, Celtics.
They were pretty keen on shipping him earlier this year after they started the season so poorly. His second half + Playoffs may have saved him, but I don't think he's untouchable. I hear it's not so much talent but attitude when it comes to Rondo.
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On June 21 2012 18:34 saltygrapes wrote:Show nested quote +On June 21 2012 18:19 Holcan wrote:
after dislocating rondos elbow* let's not forget that key part there.
kg wasn't playing nearly as good as he was this year either. And when they sign one of Camby/K. Martin and one of Billups/Terry/Nash, you're going to say what... This is the problem for every other team in the league, Miami can basically bring in anyone they want that wants the best shot at a championship. We'll see how far they go with it over these next few years with the more punishing luxury tax approaching, but I don't see them trying to save money at this point.
I'm going to say that we can guard all those players, because we can. Sorry are those players supposed to be intimidating or something? I'm more scared of Chalmers-Wade-Lebron-Battier-Bosh line-up than anything mixed with those old players/defensive liabilities you just mentioned.
On June 21 2012 18:39 RowdierBob wrote:Show nested quote +On June 21 2012 16:51 Leyra wrote:On June 21 2012 15:55 RowdierBob wrote:
They might even go the whole hog and ship Rondo too if the right deal comes along. I just don't see this happening, unless it's some impossible-to-say-no-to kind of deal. Maybe that's the fan in me talking, though. I love watching Rondo play for my Cs, he's absolutely a joy to watch run the floor. Also, bias Heat fans knocking the Celtics is kind of insulting, after it took the Heat NOT 5, NOT 6, NOT 7, oh wait, 7, games to beat the aging, injured, Celtics. They were pretty keen on shipping him earlier this year after they started the season so poorly. His second half + Playoffs may have saved him, but I don't think he's untouchable. I hear it's not so much talent but attitude when it comes to Rondo.
Rondo has the best contract in the league, theres no way he is getting shipped out for anything short of Durant/Lebron etc.
Cmon now, he has like 3 years for 33 million left, find me a better player with a contract as low as that.
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EPT
