Official Boston Celtics Thread

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Another comeback win in Game #2 tonight. Game #1 we had the great 3rd quarter defensively. Tonight, it was the 4th quarter with solid offensive play combined with good but not great defense. Kyrie was just unbelievable on both ends of the floor in Game #2. He had 2 blocks & 2 steals tonight.

I said after Game #1 we needed more out of Horford but he gets a pass in Game #2 because of having the flu over the past 2 days. He still contributed 10 rebounds, 4 assists, & 2 blocks to go with the 2 buckets for 4 points. We also got a donut on the offensive end tonight from Morris after having a solid Game #1 especially in the 1st half. He was 0-8 from the field tonight.

Jaylen Brown looked to be healthy for Game #2 with the high leaping for 9 rebounds but he only gave us 6 points with 3-6 shooting. We need double figure scoring from him consistently moving forward in the next round with Smart being out. Yes, I'm confident saying next round because I just don't see the Pacers taking more than 1 game against us.

Hayward waited until the 4th quarter to play his type of game tonight. I still say start him over Brown so Hayward can get going right off the bat to start games. But, I know Stevens won't do that & I guess others can say if it broke don't fix it by keeping Brown starting & Hayward off the bench. Baynes & Theis both made their presence felt on the defensive end in Game #2.

Tatum had one of his best overall games in a long while. When he's aggressive like Kyrie is at all times then we're a different team. Tatum must stay aggressive scoring the ball. He can get hot with his 3-pt. shot & also that 12-15 ft. mid-range of his as well. When he's doing that it opens up the drive for him in which he had a couple of nice drives in tonight's game.

Our defense in Game #2 wasn't nowhere near as good as Game #1 but it was sufficient enough in the 4th quarter. Then again, Indiana couldn't throw the ball in the Atlantic Ocean in the 3rd quarter of Game #1. LOL! Some of those shots the Pacers had in the 3rd quarter of Game #1 they were hitting a lot of those in Game #2. However, our defensive pressure on their shots wasn't there tonight like in Game #1.

Rozier also didn't have too good of a Game #2. In 21 minutes he scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting w/2 turnovers. He did have 6 assists & 6 rebounds though. If Kyrie can put up 37 points a game then we don't need Rozier giving us 10-15+ points per game. He provided in other ways tonight with those 6 assists & 6 rebounds. That's pretty good for only 21 minutes of court time. 10 points would have been nice from him but to offset that tonight he did other things.

I will make a prediction for Game #3 right now. If Kyrie plays or has a scoring game like he did in Game #2 (something like 35+ points) & either Tatum, Hayward, Brown, Morris, or somebody else gives us 20+ points then we take Game #3 as well. If those 2 things don't happen then the Pacers might take Game #3 from us. Having said that, IF the Pacers was to have another poor shooting game like in Game #1 then we wouldn't need for Kyrie to have 35+ & another player 20+ to win. However, I expect the Pacers to go back home & be more comfortable shooting & we will need what I said above in order to get the Game #3 win.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Are we going to get the sweep guys? I picked us to win this series in 5 games once the postseason matchup was confirmed. I still think the Pacers might take Game #4 from us but I put that @ about 30%-40% now. Jaylen Brown has really picked it up. In Games #1 & #2 he looked unhealthy but in Game #3 he looked 100% healthy with his scoring, rebounding, & leaping.

I don't know if you other Celtic guys remember but in the playoffs last season Jaylen Brown was our leading scorer. I don't see that happening this postseason with Kyrie playing & healthy but Brown hopefully will continue to play like he did in Game #3. GO CELTICS!

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Very nice to get the sweep against the Pacers. I didn't expect this to happen when we locked up 4th & the Pacers 5th for the playoffs. I said we would win in 5 games but I certainly didn't expect a sweep. I thought Indiana was too good of a team for us to sweep. Especially considering that we never completely got it together during the regular season.

We won this game today with arguably our top 3 players (Kyrie, Tatum, & Horford) combining to shoot 12-42 from the field. That is 28.5% FG shooting from those 3 players alone. If you were to look at the boxscore & seen those stats alone you would think there was no way we would have won this game. These 3 players were 2-13 combined from 3-pt. range too. Wow!

They all 3 had bad games shooting but Morris & Hayward stepped up for us shooting/scoring the ball. Hayward was 3-3 from the 3-pt. line & 7-9 overall from the field & also 3-3 from the FT line. Great to see from him because we are going to need some 20+ point games from him against the Bucks. Even with the offensive woes from our top 3 scorers make no mistake about it. Our defense was what won this series in a sweep. This series was the Celtics defense we watched the past 2-3 seasons.

We were 8th ranked overall in the NBA during the regular season which isn't bad at all but it was a drop from being either #1 or #2 three straight seasons in a row. However, we wasn't facing an offensive juggernaut type team in the Pacers. The Pacers were more of a defensive team being ranked ahead of us defensively coming into the playoffs. They also didn't have their best offensive weapon in Oladipo. If they have him this series it would have been much different but I still think we would have won the series but certainly not a sweep.

I don't know how Brad Stevens plans on guarding the Greek Freak but every time we played them this season he made us look like kids on the floor. Then again, he's made a lot of teams look very inferior. He averaged nearly a triple-double against us in the 4 games we played against the Bucks. I say we have to guard him a little better somehow but there is no stopping him. I could accept us allowing him 25-30 points each game but we can't allow him to get 40+ multiple games in the next series.

We allow him 25-30 & limit all their other main scorers (Middleton, Lopez, Bledsoe, Mirotic, & Hill) then we can win this series. It's going to take an outstanding performance by the whole Celtics team though. Defense will be the key just as it always has been in all 3 main sports. Our defense was GOOD against the Pacers but it will need to be GREAT against the Bucks.

[jeremym480]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

A 4 game sweep with 4 pretty tough games is exactly what this team needed. I was surprised at the consistency of the bench in Game 4 (mostly Morris and Rozier as Hayward has been playing well). If they can keep that up then I like our chances against the Bucks.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Finally get this series going against the Bucks later today. It's been a week since we have played. Sure hope we're not rusty in Game #1 due to being off so long. The Bucks had 1 less day off than us. We can win this series but I would like to have been able to start the series sooner after the momentum we had created vs the Pacers.

A totally different beast though now in the Bucks. They have been the best team not only in the Eastern Conference but in the NBA all season long. We will need to bring our A+ game in order to even compete in this series. I don't think we're getting Smart back either unless it's after Game #4 or #5 but it's not likely. He's going to be missed in this series for sure. He would be our defensive stopper on a number of Bucks players. Probably would even have a few goes @ Giannis just to rough him up.

Kyrie only had 1 big game in the Pacers series but we didn't need him to be dominate in that series. We will need more from him in this series & he knows that too. Horford we will need more from as well. I think the key player for us will be either Jaylen Brown or Gordon Hayward. One or both of those guys will need to have a better than average series for us. I expect Tatum to do his thing.

I still have no idea as to who we will use as the key defender on The Greek Freak. Maybe we should use some zone against him because he has dominated us every time they've played us this season. His stats are 33 pts., 12 rebounds, 7 assists, & 2.5 blocks a game against us. The problem in going zone against this Bucks team is they have good outside shooters. Giannis is probably the weakest 3-pt. shooter of their main rotation guys. The rest besides him can shoot the 3 ball well.

So, a zone might not work but I think we need to throw it in from time to time because we can't allow Giannis to beat us by himself. Defense is going to win this series like it does ALL series & games in sports. However, the offense this season in the NBA has been the best it's ever been so we are going to need ALL rotation guys to score, rebound, & pass the ball well.

I think regardless this series will go 7 games. I would like to say we would win the series in 7 games but our best chance to take this series would be in 6 games with that 6th game of the series being @ home. I wouldn't like our chances in a Game #7 @ Milwaukee but just like the Bucks have a game closer in Giannis we have one too in Kyrie so you never know what could happen. We are going to need to win away from home at least 1 game so we do that & I think that really gives us a solid chance at pulling off the upset.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

What a Game #1 performance by our Celtics. I never thought we could/would dominate the Bucks like we did on their home court. This just proved home court advantage with this Celtics team doesn't really matter. They have turned it on just like Kevin Durant predicted we would do come playoff time.

To hold Giannis to only 22 points plus Bledsoe only had 6 points is just simply amazing. Everybody except Tatum had an awesome Game #1 for us. Kyrie was the tone setter as expected but Horford, Brown, & Hayward played their games. Horford even blocked 2 of Giannis' shots which is hard to do. Giannis is the one that's normally doing the blocking. We are not intimidated by him at all. Other teams have shown intimidation all season long but we didn't at all in Game #1.

I have my answer as to whether we could turn it on in the playoffs. This team has come together at the right time. I was worried this wasn't going to happen though. We still have 3 more games to win to take this series vs the Bucks but the way we're playing & have came together as a team now gives me great confidence that we will be in the Eastern Conference finals. GO MEAN GREEN!

[jake44np]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

I cannot believe I am saying this but as a Celtics fan I kind of hope Kyrie leaves.
They just look better when he is not on the court. They don't play as a team when he is in the game. He forces too many shots and cant play a lick of defense.
Something just seems off with him and the other guys just don't seem to mesh with him.
This Bucks series is over, no way they win 3 in a row with the horrible offense

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

I cannot believe I am saying this but as a Celtics fan I kind of hope Kyrie leaves.
They just look better when he is not on the court. They don't play as a team when he is in the game. He forces too many shots and cant play a lick of defense.
Something just seems off with him and the other guys just don't seem to mesh with him.
This Bucks series is over, no way they win 3 in a row with the horrible offense

Yeah, this series is OVER! No way like you said we come back & win 3 straight. As a matter of fact, just like Sir Charles has said on TNT it's over after next game.

I have to agree & disagree with your post a little though. Yes, Kyrie seems to try & do too much at times. He is the BEST overall offensive player on this team though. The problem is like you said the other players don't seem to gel with him on the court. It's like they are scared or intimidated by him for some reason.

I know Kyrie has said things that are probably uncomfortable to the guys around him about this team. I think some of his choices of words has caused a rift amongst them both on & off the court. To be honest, there are multiple players on this team that want the ball & are scorers. The only ones that don't really care about their own glory are Horford, Smart, & Baynes. The rest seem to try & do too much when they have the ball. Tatum is so talented but he tries at times to do to much just like Kyrie. Jaylen Brown can do so many things on the court but even he's trying to score when it's not there.

I really thought this team had turned the corner after the Pacers series & especially after Game #1 vs the Bucks. This in my opinion is what happened in Game #1. The Bucks didn't expect for us to do what we did on defense in the 1st game. We sagged to the middle & had multiple defenders on Giannis. He was FORCED to pass the ball & his teammates didn't make shots that 1st game. The Bucks are too good of an overall team to have that happen again.

They made adjustments while Stevens for some odd & wrong reason decided to start trying to guard Giannis one on one with either Horford or Morris. The double teams started coming too late & Giannis with a head of steam isn't going to be stopped. Heck, a double team can't even stop him. Giannis was just shocked in Game #1 with our style of defense & his fellow teammates couldn't knock down shots. That made us look like we were back to being a juggernaut. Adjustments by the Bucks & Giannis were made while Coach Stevens looks like a deer in headlights.

As far as Kyrie being gone. I think he will be gone. I like Kyrie but he hasn't been able to handle trying to take his own team to the top. Kyrie has forced some shots in this Bucks series but keep in mind he makes these shots too. He is capable of scoring from just about anywhere once he passes the mid-court line. He has the same range as Dame but Dame is a little better shooter from deep. For Kyrie to leave I would have mixed feelings. I would be sad to see him go but IF we can get a true PG that can come close to his skillset then I'm all for it.

I don't know who that would be though. Rozier looked like a starting PG in the playoffs last season when Kyrie was out injured but this season off the bench he hasn't nowhere near looked like that same guy. So, I would rule out Rozier being our starting PG. I haven't looked into the upcoming FA at all but it would be interesting to see which starting PG's would become available. I just don't think Kyrie is going to stay but I think Ainge & Celtics management does want him back.

Hayward for some reason looks like a totally different player in the playoffs than what he looked like in the last 8-10 games of the regular season. He isn't aggressive enough & when he is it's like he's intimidated. He's always been a good shooter but for us he's not hitting those typical shots that he's knock down his entire career.

I don't think at this point it has anything to do with his past leg injury. I say this because for an 8-10 game stretch at the end of the regular season Hayward was averaging 16+ points per game. He even had a 30 point game too. So so much talent on this team.

Multiple scorers & offensive skillset guys but we can't seem to gel together as a team. It seems only a select few games this season has all these scorers & offensive weapons played their games at the same time/game. There's no way even the Bucks or the Warriors could beat us if we had ALL of our main offensive guys playing well at the same time. It's just not happened.

I blame a lot of this on Stevens & how he handles player rotations. It's different every game & nobody really knows or accepts their roles. Some changes are going to need to be made. I don't know what all these changes should be but something is going to need to be done for us to get better & become contenders instead of pretenders.

[areobee401]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

The nightmare has ended.

Let’s not allow the contributions of Baynes and Morris be forgotten or ignored if they are gone in what is sure to be an eventful offseason.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26704731/stevens-says-did-bad-job-c-fall-short

I said this ALL season long. Stevens wasn't doing a good job of handling player rotations. We really didn't have a true court leader as well. Kyrie should have been our leader. If not him then Horford. If a player on the team isn't going to accept being the leader then it's up to the head coach to pick one.

On a side note about upcoming FA:

Kyrie (Player Option)
Horford (Player Option)
Morris (UFA)
Rozier (RFA)
Theis (RFA)
Wannamaker (RFA)
Dozier (RFA)
Hunter (UFA)
Gibson (RFA)

Here's how I predict this FA might go:

Kyrie (probably declines player option- 60%-70% chance he's gone)
Horford (will stay on his player option for final year of contract)
Morris (50%-50% chance he will come back or sign elsewhere)
Rozier (80% chance he's back because he's not going to get big offers now with his subpar 2018-19 season)
Theis (will be back on similiar contract amount for 1 year)
Wannamaker (will be back probably, showed he can play on an NBA level at times)
Dozier (50%-50% chance he comes back or leaves, he's more of a G-League type player)
Hunter (won't be back, probably ends up back in G-League)
Gibson (gone because we won't pay him more than some other team)

I have such mixed feelings on Kyrie. He got us to the playoffs without a doubt. He played decent in the Pacers series but awful in the Bucks series. He just couldn't hit shots that he's made many many times before. On the other hand, Kyrie did cause some problems speaking to the media about this team when things weren't going well the 1st half of the season.

This was supposed to be HIS team but he failed at leading this team. Kyrie is a superstar without a doubt as well but it just seems this Celtics team isn't the right fit for him. It's that or something Brad Stevens done in coaching that made Kyrie not look like the right fit. I will say this for Stevens. Look at the talent on this team. He has a very hard job in determining how to play all these guys & keep everybody happy.

However, Kerr seems to do a very fine job of keeping the Warriors players happy with all their talent. For this Celtics team to gel & be the team that we should & are expected to be it's going to take an experienced & very good X's & O's type of coach. I don't know if Stevens is that good or not. I mean he even accepted the blame for this team's failure this season.

I think this team will look quite a bit different come next season. I also think Hayward isn't a guarantee to be kept in Boston. He looked good the last 8-10 games of the season. The playoffs he provided basically nothing. How much of that is to blame on Stevens though with the way he used him? If we go after AD then Hayward is probably going to be part of a trade if we try to get him. Hayward plus 3-4 other players will be in a different uniform next season if this happens. The good thing about possibly getting AD is that Kyrie might stay too.

Players like Hayward, Rozier, Brown, Baynes, & Yabusele would be players probably gone in a deal for AD. I don't think we will part ways with Tatum. However, I personally think AD is going to sign with either the Lakers or Clippers though but we have more resources to get involved in a trade for him.

One thing is for sure though. If Kyrie declines his player option & leaves we are in the market for a top notch PG. Kemba Walker is going to be an UFA so he would be the closest thing to a Kyrie that would be available. Rozier IS NOT a starting PG although he looked like he could be one in the playoffs last season. He also seems to play better as a starter than coming off the bench. He wants to be a starting PG in the league but I just think this season has really hurt his chances of starting most anywhere. There might be 1-2 teams that would consider trying him as a starting PG but his options for starting are going to be very limited-null.

This season was a disaster. I mean look what we did last season with 2 All-Stars injured in Kyrie & Hayward. Almost made the NBA Finals. We get these 2 All-Star players back but look like a bad team? This to me points more to a poor coaching job than anything else. I will say this though. Tatum after having a great season last year didn't improve his game. He wasn't a bad player this season but he didn't play as well. Jaylen Brown played a very bad 1st 40-50 games but picked it up after that too just like Hayward did. Brown arguably was one of our best players down the stretch of the season & in the playoffs.

Morris was steady all season long. Rozier only had a select few good games. Horford was injured off & on all season with both knees but when he was in the lineup he played well but we need a few more points out of him. He needs to be between 17-20 points per game scorer for us & not 13-15 per game. He's also turned into too much of a 3-pt. shooter. We need him scoring more on the block & not taking so much 3's. I also think we need to find a way to get Ojeleye more playing time. He's a two-way player playing both ends of the floor. He's more of just a 3-pt. specialist on the offensive end but he can play multiple positions on defense.

Smart improved his shooting this season but it's the little things that makes Smart so important to this Celtics team. He's our best overall defender but he's too small to guard the bigger guys. He certainly tries to guard them & does well in doing so but he gets in foul trouble. He's really our ONLY player that shows a lot of heart & grit on the floor. He doesn't care about personal stats. He cares about winning.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Marcus Smart speaks about Kyrie: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...eltics-fall-bs

[R1zzo23]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

There are two directions this team can go:
1) Re-sign Kyrie Irving, make a trade for Anthony Davis, get rid of Brad Stevens
2) Kyrie Irving walks, re-sign Terry Rozier, retain Brad Stevens and make all your draft picks.

There's really no in between in my mind. Either you're all in with Irving, AD and a veteran team that needs to be in title contention. Unfortunately, Stevens has proven that he's not able to establish a hierarchy where your best players dominate the ball and the rest fall in line. That was evident this year and killed this team.

If Kyrie leaves, or it's a real possibility the Celtics say thanks but no thanks, then Stevens stays, they re-sign Rozier, continue to build around Tatum and Brown and go back to being the gritty, young team that plays hard and plays together. Without Kyrie in town I don't think Marcus Morris stays either. You use all three draft picks and Stevens can continue to play 10-11 deep all season long to develop the youth.

[jake44np]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

All of this negativity towards Stevens is cracking me up.
You all loved him the last few years and all of the sudden think he has forgotten how to coach. Lets now blame the elephant in the room here at all.

All I needed to hear was the post game presser.

One guy took blame and responsibility and said he needed to get better.

One guy took none of the blame or responsibility even tho he played horribly the last 4 games of the series.

Ill keep the first guy every time.

One a side note I would love to see Stevens not come back and come home to coach IU!

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

There are two directions this team can go:
1) Re-sign Kyrie Irving, make a trade for Anthony Davis, get rid of Brad Stevens
2) Kyrie Irving walks, re-sign Terry Rozier, retain Brad Stevens and make all your draft picks.

There's really no in between in my mind. Either you're all in with Irving, AD and a veteran team that needs to be in title contention. Unfortunately, Stevens has proven that he's not able to establish a hierarchy where your best players dominate the ball and the rest fall in line. That was evident this year and killed this team.

If Kyrie leaves, or it's a real possibility the Celtics say thanks but no thanks, then Stevens stays, they re-sign Rozier, continue to build around Tatum and Brown and go back to being the gritty, young team that plays hard and plays together. Without Kyrie in town I don't think Marcus Morris stays either. You use all three draft picks and Stevens can continue to play 10-11 deep all season long to develop the youth.

+1 on your post. The problem in trading for AD is what the Pelicans has already stated multiple times in what players they want back in return. They want Tatum, Brown, & Rozier in any deal with the Celtics. Those 3 plus a 4th & possibly 5th thrown in player as well. We would get AD & one other Pelican player on their roster but nobody that's a key player for them. Ainge already has said there's no way he would part ways with both Tatum & Brown. He didn't rule out one of them but not both. So, unless the Pelicans lighten or change who they want in return then a trade to get AD might end up being too difficult.

I would love to have Kyrie back if we can get AD too. I just don't want to see us give up both Tatum & Brown. We need to keep one of these guys & probably both really. Brown outplayed Tatum in the playoffs & down the stretch of the regular season too. He just keeps improving. Both guys are very athletic but Brown is more athletic than Tatum & the upside/ceiling for both of them is still rising. I really think Kyrie would stay if we can get AD on our roster before he makes a decision. No doubt getting AD would make this a better team but this would come with not having both Tatum & Brown on our roster anymore.

I don't think Ainge can wiggle his way out of getting by with trading just one of these key players. I think we would have to part ways with both of them & me personally wouldn't like to see that happen. It would be like wasting 2 lottery picks with 2 players that are still young & improving with a higher ceiling. Brown just might end up once their careers are over a better player than Tatum. He is quicker & more athletic than Tatum plus he's stronger & a little better defender too. He just hasn't developed a better overall offensive game yet compared to Tatum but he's not far away.

All of this negativity towards Stevens is cracking me up.
You all loved him the last few years and all of the sudden think he has forgotten how to coach. Lets now blame the elephant in the room here at all.

All I needed to hear was the post game presser.

One guy took blame and responsibility and said he needed to get better.

One guy took none of the blame or responsibility even tho he played horribly the last 4 games of the series.

Ill keep the first guy every time.

One a side note I would love to see Stevens not come back and come home to coach IU!

Yes, I have supported Stevens in the past & said he was a good young coach. He himself put the blame on his coaching for the Celtics failed 2018-19 season. The media didn't do it. The fans didn't do it. He vividly took the blame. Now, of course it's not 100% his fault. The players on EVERY team have to perform as well.

Hayward underperformed all season long except for the last 8-10 games of the regular season. Even Stevens said he thought Hayward's game suffered because of the way he used player rotations & also how he used Hayward on the court. It's like he was in over his head with all of their talent. That's basically what he's saying about himself. Can coaches improve just like players? Sure they can but I wouldn't use the word improve. I would use the word "learn" instead. Stevens came straight from Butler to the NBA. Having never coached an NBA game before I think he's done well. However, he didn't coach this 2018-19 fully loaded team the right way. I was one that called him out in the 1st 15-20 games this season on player rotations.

That's the one thing in interviews & press conferences since being ousted that he said he done a poor job handling. He also said he tinkered with the starting lineup way too many times & I said that about him too. All of this caused players to not know or accept their roles. It affected Hayward more than any other player but every player that received playing time were affected no doubt. Rozier was also significantly affected. He is just better starting. I was begging for Stevens to start Rozier & move Kyrie to SG & just try that out but he never even tried that one single game. But, he sure tried numerous other starting lineups. The players just weren't happy with their roles & also Kyrie early on was speaking to the media about problems with the team so Celtics players became aggravated about that too.

It was just a total nightmare of a season. No way this team should have been a #4 seed in the East. They never got it together as a complete team the entire regular season. They looked to have turned it on by sweeping the Pacers in the payoffs & beating the Bucks in Game #1. That wasn't the case though. However, the Bucks are a juggernaut & have so many weapons all over the court. What I don't understand though is why Stevens changed how he played Giannis after game #1. Plus, coaching adjustments by Budholtzer fixed that issue for the Bucks.

Stevens didn't have a clue as to what to do after Game #1 against the Bucks. He just like the players needs to "learn" from this coaching season. I have never called for him to be fired. He's a good coach. He just didn't know how to handle the talent on this 2018-19 team that was fully loaded. Hopefully whatever type team we have next season Stevens will know how to handle them better.

[BleacherBum2310]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

I was wrong about this team. I thought they'd turn it up in the postseason and they did not though a good portion of that was because I was optimistic with how Hayward was looking. but yeah I was very wrong.

I don't think it can be stated enough how bad Kyrie was in the MIL series. and how miserable this season was but....despite that you have to want him back because % of an AD trade goes up alot and that's really the only shot they have at being a contender. just don't include Smart as salary filler that's a total non starter for me. Build him a statue. what this season did do as I don't think i'd be okay with Kyrie leaving before now if that's the worst case scenario I'm more than okay with having like 10-15 more losses rolling with the Jays and having a fun team. That matters after you go through this miserable of a season.

I'll give Mook credit after being complete garbarge for 2 months he stepped up in the playoffs. Hayward doesn't get a pass but I want to see him get a complete off-season to recover like he didn't get last year. That really mattered. It's hard to be too critical off him coming off such a devastating injury. on Terry I'm going to miss his personality but he's terrible... He's was one of the worst players in the league last year. I can't wait to see which team gives him a terrible deal.

lastly Brad is going get alot of the heat for the playoffs but that blame is misguided. put the blame on him during the regular season because he was awful all around whether it's not benching or limiting terry/Mook, rotations, managing ego's. But in the playoffs where Terry barely played and Starters are playing near 40 mins when your star player and everyone hears about he's elite in the postseason to get outplayed by George Hill and Bench guys there's no adjustments in the world after that.

I think Brad is still one of the best coaches in the league that just had a bad year.