The Celtics are tanking

[URL="https://celticswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/celtics/2025/07/25/can-the-celtics-team-culture-handle-a-ben-simmons-signing/85375445007/"]Doesn't he have some desperate contender he can go ruin?[/URL]

He would be great with the Knicks. Fantastic. Compliments Brunson well because he never wants to shoot the ball. Or something. And I heard a rumor that he and KAT are friends. Would be excellent with the Lakers. Give them someone to defend Kawhi Leonard or blame easily when the team goes out in the first round. Cleveland could use him for, umm, basketball reasons.


If they do this could they at least make him give Tatum that ROY? I mean he wasn't a rookie. Not really.

Ya, no one figured that out after they lost tatum for the season and had a fire sale on jrue and porzingus.

Thanks for the insight.

[QUOTE=warriorfan;15024918]Ya, no one figured that out after they lost tatum for the season and had a fire sale on jrue and porzingus.

Thanks for the insight.[/QUOTE] Topic was a joking comment on the potential signing of has-Ben Simmons. Of course it went over your head. I can accept the fact of you being stupid but do you have to comment on every post I make? Go be stupid somewhere else. Thanks in advance.

[QUOTE=Real Men Wear Green;15024919]Topic was a joking comment on the potential signing of has-Ben Simmons. Of course it went over your head. [B]I can accept the fact of you being stupid but do you have to comment on every post I make? Go be stupid somewhere else.[/B] Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]

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And stull probably a playoff team in that sad ass conference

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;15024933]And stull probably a playoff team in that sad ass conference[/QUOTE]

Zero chance.

Brown is guaranteed to play less than 60 games with some suspicious injury (he's averaged 63.5 games the last 6 years while they've been competing for something).

This Ben Simmons news is his agent drumming up interest. Ex:
Stevens: "Hey agent, we'd like to hold a workout for Ben Simmons, is he available?"

Agent: "Let me check in with my client and get back to you"
**furiously texts Shams on Celtics interest**

[QUOTE=beasted;15024936]Zero chance.

Brown is guaranteed to play less than 60 games with some suspicious injury (he's averaged 63.5 games the last 6 years while they've been competing for something).

This Ben Simmons news is his agent drumming up interest. Ex:
Stevens: "Hey agent, we'd like to hold a workout for Ben Simmons, is he available?"

Agent: "Let me check in with my client and get back to you"
**furiously texts Shams on Celtics interest**[/QUOTE]

Simons, white, mazulla... the east is a joke. Hard not to be in the mix

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;15024942]Simons, white, mazulla... the east is a joke. Hard not to be in the mix[/QUOTE]

Just to make sure we are clear on the definition of a playoff team, I consider it a team that finishes as a top 8 seed. A team teetering between 11 and 10 doesn't count in my eyes.

Regardless of how weak the east is (considering 3 superstars from 3 top teams in the East tore their Achilles) there is still a 0% chance that happens. NY, CLE, ORL, DET, MIL, MIA, ATL, PHI all guaranteed better.

That leaves them with WAS, BKN, CHA in tank mode. IND, CHI are in no man's land, and TOR which is hard to gauge.

Simons plays no defense and is inefficient. Celtics will have a mid season fire sale anyway and ship him off if it means an expiring is coming back that either reduces their tax or nets them a pick.

The overall team is terrible defensively aside from White and Brown. You're optimistic at best and a deluded East hater at worst likely with some ludicrous belief Utah would be less putrid in a different conference.

Simmons is one of those guys who makes you wonder how he still has a job in the NBA. Surprising that any team would sign him.

[QUOTE=beasted;15024946]Just to make sure we are clear on the definition of a playoff team, I consider it a team that finishes as a top 8 seed. A team teetering between 11 and 10 doesn't count in my eyes.

Regardless of how weak the east is (considering 3 superstars from 3 top teams in the East tore their Achilles) there is still a 0% chance that happens. NY, CLE, ORL, DET, MIL, MIA, ATL, PHI all guaranteed better.

That leaves them with WAS, BKN, CHA in tank mode. IND, CHI are in no man's land, and TOR which is hard to gauge.

Simons plays no defense and is inefficient. Celtics will have a mid season fire sale anyway and ship him off if it means an expiring is coming back that either reduces their tax or nets them a pick.

The overall team is terrible defensively aside from White and Brown. You're optimistic at best and a deluded East hater at worst likely with some ludicrous belief Utah would be less putrid in a different conference.[/QUOTE]

Utah traded away most of their best players. They would be less putrid just because they would play more awful teams. They would still be amongst the worst. 10 and 11 can make the playoffs. Less chance than 7 and 8 yes but again in the east the chances increase because it is an awful conference. Boston will probably try to get under the tax but right now they are certainly in the mix. There are no guarantees. Philly was guaranteed last years as well :roll:

Philly is most definitely not a playoff lock. They are counting on Embiid and Paul George to stay healthy and that's why they didn't make it last season. Celtics need a 75+ game season from Brown and certain young players to step up. They aren't a good-looking bet but 0% chance is a bit too hyperbolic. 40 wins could definitely be enough to make a top 8 record.

Getting back to my least-favorite subject, Simmons is possibly the ultimate argument against giving a player a guaranteed contract.
With a hundred mil assured he was free to treat his job like a joke and he did. If the Celtics can bring him on for the minimum and assuming Mazzulla has full authority to deal with him however he sees fit I will go as far as saying I understand the logic behind bringing him in for the minimum(which is all the Celtics can offer) but let's just say that I will be pleasantly surprised if by the end of the season I feel anything other than disgust at seeing him starting in Tatum's place. I only support this signing if he's giving that ROY to its rightful owner.

I was debating with someone earlier this year about the wisdom of taking on Simmons. Poster more or less said someone will give him a shot ( this is after the Clips signed him). I remain flabbergasted as to why anyone would bother at this point. In 18 games in LA he gave you 3/3/4 on 43% shooting. Even on a minimum zero risk contract there has to be a line where you're just throwing money away thinking this guy is ever going to be even 1/4 of what he once was.

Minimum contract for rebounds assists and d. I d be more worried about how much longer his back has

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[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;15024948]Utah traded away most of their best players. They would be less putrid just because they would play more awful teams. They would still be amongst the worst. 10 and 11 can make the playoffs. Less chance than 7 and 8 yes but again in the east the chances increase because it is an awful conference. Boston will probably try to get under the tax but right now they are certainly in the mix. There are no guarantees. Philly was guaranteed last years as well :roll:[/QUOTE]
Just a friendly reminder that in the East, Lauri was a role player.

[QUOTE=Real Men Wear Green;15024950]Philly is most definitely not a playoff lock. They are counting on Embiid and Paul George to stay healthy and that's why they didn't make it last season. Celtics need a 75+ game season from Brown and certain young players to step up. They aren't a good-looking bet but 0% chance is a bit too hyperbolic. 40 wins could definitely be enough to make a top 8 record.

Getting back to my least-favorite subject, Simmons is possibly the ultimate argument against giving a player a guaranteed contract.
With a hundred mil assured he was free to treat his job like a joke and he did. If the Celtics can bring him on for the minimum and assuming Mazzulla has full authority to deal with him however he sees fit I will go as far as saying I understand the logic behind bringing him in for the minimum(which is all the Celtics can offer) but let's just say that I will be pleasantly surprised if by the end of the season I feel anything other than disgust at seeing him starting in Tatum's place. I only support this signing if he's giving that ROY to its rightful owner.[/QUOTE]

0% is for top 8. I acknowledge there is a 100% percentage chance they likely finish 9-11th.

They just don't have the defense or rebounding to get into the 8th spot. As for Philly, I think even putting aside Embiid and PG13, the combination of Maxey, Mccain, Grimes, and Edgecomb is equal if not better than any 4 players from the Celtics. If you get anything good from Embiid and PG, it makes them a clear 2 seeds at minimum ahead of Boston which is why I have them penciled in at 8th.

The biggest problem for the Cs is by far their defense. You just can't play Hauser and Simons together given their front court and general defensive shortcomings. You can't play Simons and Pritchard together either. You can't play Niang and any of those guys together either. You see a trend here? There are multiple projected rotation player combinations that tanks their defense will below league average.

[QUOTE=beasted;15024957]0% is for top 8. I acknowledge there is a 100% percentage chance they likely finish 9-11th.

They just don't have the defense or rebounding to get into the 8th spot. As for Philly, I think even putting aside Embiid and PG13, the combination of Maxey, Mccain, Grimes, and Edgecomb is equal if not better than any 4 players from the Celtics. If you get anything good from Embiid and PG, it makes them a clear 2 seeds at minimum ahead of Boston which is why I have them penciled in at 8th.

The biggest problem for the Cs is by far their defense. You just can't play Hauser and Simons together given their front court and general defensive shortcomings. You can't play Simons and Pritchard together either. You can't play Niang and any of those guys together either. You see a trend here? There are multiple projected rotation player combinations that tanks their defense will below league average.[/QUOTE]

Maxey mccain and grimes had one of the worst records in the league

[QUOTE=beasted;15024957]0% is for top 8. I acknowledge there is a 100% percentage chance they likely finish 9-11th.

They just don't have the defense or rebounding to get into the 8th spot. As for Philly, I think even putting aside Embiid and PG13, the combination of Maxey, Mccain, Grimes, and Edgecomb is equal if not better than any 4 players from the Celtics. If you get anything good from Embiid and PG, it makes them a clear 2 seeds at minimum ahead of Boston which is why I have them penciled in at 8th.

The biggest problem for the Cs is by far their defense. You just can't play Hauser and Simons together given their front court and general defensive shortcomings. You can't play Simons and Pritchard together either. You can't play Niang and any of those guys together either. You see a trend here? There are multiple projected rotation player combinations that tanks their defense will below league average.[/QUOTE] Sam Hauser is not a bad defender. His jumper deserting him last season is a concern but his defense is actually solid. He would often be the most likely guy for the opponent to attack but that's because the options were often Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, JB and JT. Furthermore when 2 of your starting five are good enough to potentially make an all-d team (White and Brown) the rest of the defense had to be pretty bad for the overall defense to be bad. Simons and Niang could create defensive weaknesses to be attacked but Niang is almost definitely not going to start and if Simons looks like he can't guard then there's no reason to start him over Pritchard. The Celtics will no longer be the elite switching unit they were with Tatum at the 4, Holiday at the point of attack and Porzingis erasing mistakes but if Mazzulla can keep the players disciplined there's no reason they can't be respectable on that end.

Philly's top 4 with Embiid taken out of the equation is nothing special. Whether they have a better tip 4 than the Celtics' top 4 means nothing. Both teams season success will be about young players playing better than they did last year and/or injured players ability to come back. Philly is not doing anything without Embiid.

Niang was a bad defender who became solid with the jazz. No idea if that remains the case without gobert

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;15024972]Maxey mccain and grimes had one of the worst records in the league[/QUOTE]

Mccain played all of 23 games last year. The first 13 you can throw away. The first 7 he was not in the rotation. And then a Maxey injury that lasted 6 then put him into the rotation.

So when Maxey returned, they played 10 games together going 5 and 5 over that stretch with only 2 games with Embiid playing.

Grimes was a late season trade and played 12 games with Maxey long after the tank was already in effect.

I don't trust the 76ers, but they have something to play for given next year's pick is only top 4 protected. I expect them to limp into the play-in.

[QUOTE=Real Men Wear Green;15024974]Sam Hauser is not a bad defender. His jumper deserting him last season is a concern but his defense is actually solid. He would often be the most likely guy for the opponent to attack but that's because the options were often Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, JB and JT. Furthermore when 2 of your starting five are good enough to potentially make an all-d team (White and Brown) the rest of the defense had to be pretty bad for the overall defense to be bad. Simons and Niang could create defensive weaknesses to be attacked but Niang is almost definitely not going to start and if Simons looks like he can't guard then there's no reason to start him over Pritchard. The Celtics will no longer be the elite switching unit they were with Tatum at the 4, Holiday at the point of attack and Porzingis erasing mistakes but if Mazzulla can keep the players disciplined there's no reason they can't be respectable on that end.

Philly's top 4 with Embiid taken out of the equation is nothing special. Whether they have a better tip 4 than the Celtics' top 4 means nothing. Both teams season success will be about young players playing better than they did last year and/or injured players ability to come back. Philly is not doing anything without Embiid.[/QUOTE]

Brown having to carry such an offensive load isn't going to be capable of giving as much energy on the other end, especially since it now becomes critical he stays out of foul trouble - something that has been an issue at times over his career.

Given that, the Cs are in a terrible place defensively and rebounding.

[QUOTE=beasted;15024986]Brown having to carry such an offensive load isn't going to be capable of giving as much energy on the other end, especially since it now becomes critical he stays out of foul trouble - something that has been an issue at times over his career.

Given that, the Cs are in a terrible place defensively and rebounding.[/QUOTE]
Brown has averaged 26 while defending at a high level. His conditioning is always elite. The concern is how his knee is holding up next season (it's what cost him games this season and he got surgery on it pretty quickly after the postseason). If the knee is good he will be fine.

(insert) The Joker sitting on the couch smirking picture

The Celtics will absolutely make the playoffs in the East.

[QUOTE=Wally450;15025028]The Celtics will absolutely make the playoffs in the East.[/QUOTE]

Idk you seen that starting frontcourt. Niang and queta is worse than the starting front courts on the worst teams in the league. Simons is the 4th best player on team he’s not that good and could be traded. They have 5 playoff rotation guys only

Jaylen Brown is overpaid

Boston back to irrelevancy :oldlol:

[QUOTE=Manny98;15025189]Boston back to irrelevancy :oldlol:[/QUOTE]
I will admit that any team that depends on Simmons doesnt matter.

[QUOTE=NBAGOAT;15025179]Idk you seen that starting frontcourt. Niang and queta is worse than the starting front courts on the worst teams in the league. Simons is the 4th best player on team he’s not that good and could be traded. They have 5 playoff rotation guys only[/QUOTE]

Niang started on one of the best teams in the west. Didntvhe startvfor cleveland too. Elite shooter. Smart player

[QUOTE=Real Men Wear Green;15025192]I will admit that any team that depends on Simmons doesnt matter.[/QUOTE]

Is paying a guy vet minimum to play a role depending on a player? They didnt trade a future hall of famer for him like the nets. Im sure manny loved simmons at that time :lol

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;15025218]Is paying a guy vet minimum to play a role depending on a player? They didnt trade a future hall of famer for him like the nets. Im sure manny loved simmons at that time :lol[/QUOTE]
Manny's flip-flop is predictable. But regarding the Celtics, if they sign Simmons (not a given) the biggest gaping hole is the one left by Tatum at the 4. Only talented big on the team is Queta, who has size and athleticism but is extremely raw. And he's more likely to play center. So Simmons as the starting 4 is very possible, which means JB goes from normally seeing the second-best wing defender last season to facing the opponent's best defender plus a big all game long. Mazzulla would probably only allow that if the team was good on defense playing that way but the offense would be potentially ugly.

Im guessing the highest price paid for a 2 way player?

Shams Charania: The Boston Celtics are trading Georges Niang and two future second-round picks to the Utah Jazz for rookie RJ Luis Jr., sources tell ESPN.

x.com

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;15026704]Im guessing the highest price paid for a 2 way player?

Shams Charania: The Boston Celtics are trading Georges Niang and two future second-round picks to the Utah Jazz for rookie RJ Luis Jr., sources tell ESPN.

x.com[/QUOTE] another salary dump. Just when I had committed to stop hating Niang.

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You;15026704]Im guessing the highest price paid for a 2 way player?

Shams Charania: The Boston Celtics are trading Georges Niang and two future second-round picks to the Utah Jazz for rookie RJ Luis Jr., sources tell ESPN.

x.com[/QUOTE]

This is absolutely an Ainge favor to his old team.

They got two picks out of it and may find Niang useful. Neither team gave up much. It's a basic low-level transaction.

Only a matter of time they got rid of Niang

Good luck Cs. Hoping they'll have a nice upcoming season.

[QUOTE=Real Men Wear Green;15024919]I can accept the fact of you being stupid[/QUOTE]
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The Celtics are tanking...









And Axe is stinking. :roll:


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On paper Philly is a lock for the playoffs
On the court Philly is not a lock for the playoffs

Embiid/George health is the reason. And that’s not factoring any other injuries that occur. Which last season occurred. The thing is for Embiid/George/Maxey to play and get some sort of chemistry together. Hard to do. George is already hurt and if he’s not 100% or close no point rushing back. When he rushed back he looked like he did which wasn’t the George u paid for. Embiid is an unknown.

So you’re relying on Maxey and company to shoulder the load. As a fan I’m all for it. Wil it translate into wins/losses? Hard to tell. It could but also couldn’t. With it being an unknown that eliminates the locked for playoffs for me.

Sixers get no grace, no benefit of the doubt in the assumption they will be healthy enough to be a playoff lock. Wouldn’t shock me if the Celtics and Sixers record weren’t far apart. When it comes to the Sixers in a realist vs optimist.

So to conclude Sixers being a lock for anything is laughable. Tell me another joke