Who thinks the Celtics will repeat?

[WayOutWest]

They are a year wiser and IMO KG will keep the fire lit under that team.  They slapped together and all start team and made it work in ONE season.

IMO, the East has not gotten any stronger with the exception of Philly.  I have not kept up to date with all the dealings in the East so I may be off on this but IMO the Celtics should have no problem comming out of the East.

In the West the Rockets have gotten stronger and so have the Blazers.  Everyone else IMO has gotten a little weaker.  The Spurs need to get healthy and stay healthy to have a shot at comming out of the West.  The Hornets are a player away from getting over the top so that leaves the Lakers, Spurs, Rockets and Jazz to fight it out, in that order IMO.

The Lakers need to figure out how to get the most out of Bynum and Gasol on the floor at the same time.  That might take some time and hopefully they can stay healthy all year as well.  IMO Odom is going to be a distraction because he was the "escape" goat last year in the Finals, undeservedly IMO, and all the trade talk revolves around him.  He did not come into camp in shape, did not work on his outside shot, and is on again off again about complaining about starting.

Spurs need to figure out their support for TD.  TD and Manu have shown that the wear and tear of heavy minutes can hurt them in the playoffs.  I have not seen anything new regarding Manu's health, if I was a Spurs fan I would not be too happy with his decision to play in the Olympics after the bad playoffs showing he had last year.  Every year it seems that Manu will break out of his 1 in 3 attendance in the playoffs but every hear he seems to disappoint.  Tony will be Tony, he's young and very comfortable with his role on the Spurs, his outside shot has developed very nicely and he's now a triple threat, drive, dish, and shoot.  In the past you could just give Tony a lot of space and pretty much neutralize his game, much like Rondo of the Celtics, but he's shown to be a bit more consistent from the field in the playoffs.  TD is the Spurs, at least the title winning Spurs, they go as far as he will take them so keeping his minutes down, while not losing too much ground in a game/season, is going to be the real trick.  Pop has done an excellent job throughout the years at keeping him somewhat fresh but at the cost of the rest of the team and victories with their sup-par bench and role players.

Jazz, IMO are the most well balanced team in the league.  Deron has clearly emerged as the "man" on that team and IMO he needs to have a CP3 type of playoffs to succeed.  If Deron is up to it his supporting case is far superior to the Hornets and that should be enough to at LEAST get into the WC Finals and possibly beyond.

Rockets...three words....Yao, T-Mac, and HEALTH.  I don't think the Rockets get very far if they lose one of those guys let alone both.  I don't think thier improved defense can offset the loss of offensive production from one guys.

Hornets...ehhhh....I just don't think they have "IT".  Not sure how much of an impact Posey will have but I just don't see them standing up to the pressure that the top 4 will put on them in the playoffs.

Everyone else seems to be going backwards, Mavs, Suns, GS and the Blazers don't have what it takes to make a strong playoff push.  Mavs and Suns just seem to be getting older and slower with a touch of drama thrown into the mix.  GS is a fun team to watch but I don't expect anything different from them this year.  Blazers IMO are just too young to do much in the playoffs despite their amazing talent.

[Derek Bodner]

Celtics are the only great team in the east, IMO.  There are several other "good" teams (Detroit, Cleveland, Philly at the top IMO.  I think Washington falls down this year, Orlando comes back to earth a bit with their flawed design, and I don't trust Toronto to stay healthy).  Several of these teams CAN beat the celtics, but I would make them the (fairly heavy) favorites IMO.

[jemagee]

The Cavs got stronger, on paper, the Magic are better for being together for another year, if Jermaine O'neal retains health the Raptors are better as they also have no point guard confusion.

The celtics may be a year wiser, but they are a year older...

I don't think the loss of posey is that big of a deal but the NBA season is a grind and there are some rather intense miles on the big 3. 

I'm a sixer fan and don't think they are going to get out of the second round this year, but I don't think it's a shoo in for the celtics by any means...

[westkoast]

I don't see how you could say 'yes' or 'no' for sure.  An argument can be made for both but there is no way you can say for sure.

Until they are beaten they are still the champs.  That right there always counts for something in my eyes.  They were the best team last year.  A number of teams have improved but I don't know if they improved enough to be exceed what the Celtics have.

[WayOutWest]

I agree that the Celtics are a year older, in basketball speak, and that might be most noticable on Ray Allen, but the Celtics can conserve any one of their big three in any game, regular season and playoffs, so I don't see milage as being a big problem next year.

I think being a year wiser is going to help them quite a bit next year.  Had the Celtics played in the WC they would have been out in the first round, no question in my mind.  They started out slow and got a scare in almost every round but they seemed to get stronger as the playoffs rolled on and rose to the level of their opponent and beyond.  They could not have done that in the West, it seemed that every first round match up had some slug fest matchups.  IMO the Celtics will START and finish strong in the playoffs and avoid any potential pitfalls in the early rounds so they will come out of the East.  IMO the Lakers on paper are better than the Celtics but that doesn't always translate into a victory.  It is also my opinion that nobody but the Lakers and Rockets can take out the Celtics in the Finals.

[WayOutWest]

I don't see how you could say 'yes' or 'no' for sure.  An argument can be made for both but there is no way you can say for sure.

Until they are beaten they are still the champs.  That right there always counts for something in my eyes.  They were the best team last year.  A number of teams have improved but I don't know if they improved enough to be exceed what the Celtics have.

Hey tosser, this isn't the presidential race, nobody is going to dig up this thread in June 09 and call you on an incorrect prediction in the court of public opinion.  Notice the word "think" in the title of this thread?  You overly sensative tree hugging OCP jerkoff!

IMO the Lakers fans base on this board has become overly PC.  F the Celtics!  One hit wonders IMO!

[westkoast]

I don't see how you could say 'yes' or 'no' for sure.  An argument can be made for both but there is no way you can say for sure.

Until they are beaten they are still the champs.  That right there always counts for something in my eyes.  They were the best team last year.  A number of teams have improved but I don't know if they improved enough to be exceed what the Celtics have.

Hey tosser, this isn't the presidential race, nobody is going to dig up this thread in June 09 and call you on an incorrect prediction in the court of public opinion.  Notice the word "think" in the title of this thread?  You overly sensative tree hugging OCP jerkoff!

IMO the Lakers fans base on this board has become overly PC.  F the Celtics!  One hit wonders IMO!

Hay guy-who-cant-vote-or-get-a-drivers-license if it was the presidential race it would be a no brainer as it's clear who should be president.  This however is still pre-season in the NBA and I have yet to see a single Celtics game since the finals last year.  Every year I say the same thing.  The team who won the previous year is still the favorite until proven otherwise.  When the Spurs won it, I said the same thing.  When the Lakers won it, I said the same thing.  The road to the championship still runs through Boston.

By the way you didn't answer your own question either.  You went the ultra PC route by outlining ALL the teams who could win the title this year. 

[WayOutWest]

I don't see how you could say 'yes' or 'no' for sure.  An argument can be made for both but there is no way you can say for sure.

Until they are beaten they are still the champs.  That right there always counts for something in my eyes.  They were the best team last year.  A number of teams have improved but I don't know if they improved enough to be exceed what the Celtics have.

Hey tosser, this isn't the presidential race, nobody is going to dig up this thread in June 09 and call you on an incorrect prediction in the court of public opinion.  Notice the word "think" in the title of this thread?  You overly sensative tree hugging OCP jerkoff!

IMO the Lakers fans base on this board has become overly PC.  F the Celtics!  One hit wonders IMO!

Hay guy-who-cant-vote-or-get-a-drivers-license if it was the presidential race it would be a no brainer as it's clear who should be president.  This however is still pre-season in the NBA and I have yet to see a single Celtics game since the finals last year.  Every year I say the same thing.  The team who won the previous year is still the favorite until proven otherwise.  When the Spurs won it, I said the same thing.  When the Lakers won it, I said the same thing.  The road to the championship still runs through Boston.

By the way you didn't answer your own question either.  You went the ultra PC route by outlining ALL the teams who could win the title this year. 

Let me translate what I posted already...."one hit wonder" means "No".   I don't have a picture to dumb it down to the level a "consultant" would understand but that "No" should do IMO.

By the way, any effort on your part to get into the world of SCADA or HMI's?  My versatility has kept me employed through some tough times, it's it's getting tougher every day around here. 

[westkoast]

I don't see how you could say 'yes' or 'no' for sure.  An argument can be made for both but there is no way you can say for sure.

Until they are beaten they are still the champs.  That right there always counts for something in my eyes.  They were the best team last year.  A number of teams have improved but I don't know if they improved enough to be exceed what the Celtics have.

Hey tosser, this isn't the presidential race, nobody is going to dig up this thread in June 09 and call you on an incorrect prediction in the court of public opinion.  Notice the word "think" in the title of this thread?  You overly sensative tree hugging OCP jerkoff!

IMO the Lakers fans base on this board has become overly PC.  F the Celtics!  One hit wonders IMO!

Hay guy-who-cant-vote-or-get-a-drivers-license if it was the presidential race it would be a no brainer as it's clear who should be president.  This however is still pre-season in the NBA and I have yet to see a single Celtics game since the finals last year.  Every year I say the same thing.  The team who won the previous year is still the favorite until proven otherwise.  When the Spurs won it, I said the same thing.  When the Lakers won it, I said the same thing.  The road to the championship still runs through Boston.

By the way you didn't answer your own question either.  You went the ultra PC route by outlining ALL the teams who could win the title this year. 

Let me translate what I posted already...."one hit wonder" means "No".   I don't have a picture to dumb it down to the level a "consultant" would understand but that "No" should do IMO.

By the way, any effort on your part to get into the world of SCADA or HMI's?  My versatility has kept me employed through some tough times, it's it's getting tougher every day around here. 

It wasn't until you "called me out" you took a solid stance.  Probably in anticipation of me pointing out you were being PC in your entire first post.

To be honest I've been busy doing training and writing material for the classes to do much else.  The SCADA stuff still really interests me but it seems like forever since I've actually got to step foot at a plant to pick the brains of the  SCADA operators and the engineers who designed the system.  The whole engineering industry seems to be slow right now.  People were saying this is the worst its been since the start of the 90s (which is long before I ever got into the industry).

[Reality]

woops, sorry didn't know you two were personalizg this room.
This guy does not think the Celts will repeat:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/nba/10/21/spurs/

[JoMal]

Who thinks the Celtics will repeat? Depends. Are we talking about them gorging on Boston Beans before games?

[JoMal]

I don't see how you could say 'yes' or 'no' for sure.  An argument can be made for both but there is no way you can say for sure.

Until they are beaten they are still the champs.  That right there always counts for something in my eyes.  They were the best team last year.  A number of teams have improved but I don't know if they improved enough to be exceed what the Celtics have.

Hey tosser, this isn't the presidential race, nobody is going to dig up this thread in June 09 and call you on an incorrect prediction in the court of public opinion.  Notice the word "think" in the title of this thread?  You overly sensative tree hugging OCP jerkoff!

IMO the Lakers fans base on this board has become overly PC.  F the Celtics!  One hit wonders IMO!

Nice take for someone who gets his NBA insight from his fellow inebriatants while sleeping it off at the LA City drunk tank.

[Joe Vancil]

I don't think the Celtics can repeat.

I think Posey was an important chemistry component.  I think Paul Pierce will be displaying a big head during the season.  I think the rest of the East is stronger than last year, and several "flawed" teams are as solid as Boston is.

Look for Washington to be much better this year.  Ditto with Philly.  And I think Toronto solidified themselves in acquiring Jermaine O'Neal to go on the front line with Chris Bosh.

I think Philly, Orlando, Detroit, Washington, and Cleveland all have a shot of knocking Boston off.

And in the West, I think that as a whole, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland, Phoenix, Utah, New Orleans, and San Antonio are teams which, at minimum, will be ultra-competitive with Boston.

I think Boston's run is more complicated this year, and that the eventual champion is coming from the West.

[jemagee]

While I don't think the celtics wil repeate the effusive amount of love for James Posey this summer has been downright Eckstein like.

I don't think the sixers will have home court advantage in the first round

[rickortreat]

The Celtics weren't just a little better than everyone else last season, they were a lot better.  They didn't just beat the Lakers, they dismantled them, and they beat every team out West they played.  Don't believe that nonsense for one second that they couldn't have gotten out of the West.  The only team that really scared them was Cleveland, and LeBron is the best player in the game today.

The Celtics won because they were the best rebounding and interior defense team.  They forced turnovers and didn't give up many second shots. They also have a bunch of players who can really score.  They were so much better that it took them time to take their playoff opponents seriously. If they were in the West, they would have woken up right away!

Posey seemed to be a big part of what they did, but loosing him isn't enough to downgrade the Celtics.  I still think they are the most likely team at this point to win the title,  it is up to the other teams in the East to demonstrate they have closed the gap.  If any of them go out West and beat those teams consistently, then I might change my mind.

Philly and Toronto improved the most, and Cleveland got better too. Detroit may have fallen back, but the Celts are still at the top until one of these teams beats them.

Out West, LA has made the most improvement by adding Bynum back into the mix  They were the best team last season and they added a stud at Center.  If he was playing when the Lakers met up with Boston, he may have very well made a difference.   Those are the two teams are most likely to get to the finals and we'll have to see if the Lakers have closed the gap.  Boston last year was a much better defensive team, can the Lakers become good enough to stop a team like the Celts from scoring?

I think the Sixers will be 2nd seed in the EC, and make it to the EC finals. It is possible they will unseat Boston, but they will have to integrate all the new players while maintaining their identity from last season.  The Celtics are good enough to force the Sixers into a half-court game, it isn't clear the Sixers are good enough to score against a team that works as hard as the Celtics do on defense.