Everything Valanciunas

[GLF]

My concern is the top playoff teams, particularly in the east. One thing that saved us last year was having Tucker to really get into Giannis (with his physicality) and frustrate him. The reality is that we're going to likely run into Giannis, Hayward, LeBron and don't have any sort of answer for them defensively (maybe Hayward to a lesser extent since he's not as much of a physical freak as the other two). Then if by some miracle we did get to the finals, I'm not sure how we're supposed to guard Durant, Kawhi, etc. Those are the players I'm worried about because those are the guys you have to beat to advance in the playoffs. I'm not as worried about whether Orlando or Phoenix have a good SF.

I agree with Shaolin here. Powell is still our best bet no question, unless OG shows something in his first year, but Powell can't guard the guys Shaolin is talking about. Not even close. I think he can handle Hayard but he ain't scaring Giannis, Kawhi, Durant or Lebron and as he said those are the guys we have to be able to slow down at least a bit if we wanna advance in the playoffs. But I guess most teams cant slow down those guys either so we're not alone in this. Also other than maybe Milwaukee we were never beating any of those teams in the playoffs anyway so it is what it is. Pretty much the point is there is no one on our team that will do a better job than Powell so he should start but if you guys don't think he's going to struggle pretty badly against those guys mentioned think again. And if you can't even remotely slow those guys down you are not beating their team. It's as simple as that.

[GLF]

We're better off than last year. Carroll couldn't defend big threes either. This year, Powell gets more of a shot, Miles is more capable than Ross was of defending big players, and OG is a more promising young wing who could step in than Bruno was at this time last year (plus Bruno with another year under his belt is still here).

We'll be fine.

Tucker saved our ass against Giannis last year. He did a very good job on him and Giannis STILL did his thing. Powell is no where close to the defender Tucker is so Giannis would probably do whatever he wants if we met up with them again this playoffs. And if he's not being at least slowed down we ain't winning that series. So I don't know if I would say we'd be fine if we want to advance far in the playoffs. But yes in a general sense we'll be fine because only like 6 teams have a big small forward who is an elite player. But we'll have to meet up with one of them the at some point in the playoffs and I don't think Powell can even remotely slow down those guys. Tucker was able to and that helped us a lot in that first round. I prefer to compare him to tucker because that's who we had in the playoffs and who we used the majority of the time. Carroll was barely getting minutes when Tucker arrived. Who cares about who we had and what we were doing in the regular season. We are a playoff team and playoff success is all I care about at this point. Raps have proven they can do a lot and get away with a lot during the regular season but when the playoffs start things change.

[DanH]

I can't begin to describe how not worried I would be if we had to face Milwaukee in the playoffs. We solved their nonsense last year, and did so without starting Tucker even once.

Yeah, LeBron will be tough to beat. And I'll worry about who we face in the Finals if we get there.

Don't tell me we're worried about Gordon freaking Hayward.

[GLF]

I can't begin to describe how not worried I would be if we had to face Milwaukee in the playoffs. We solved their nonsense last year, and did so without starting Tucker even once.

Yeah, LeBron will be tough to beat. And I'll worry about who we face in the Finals if we get there.

Don't tell me we're worried about Gordon freaking Hayward.

Okay if you say so. If you're not worried then I'm gonna stop worrying as well. The real joke is we're all over here talking about Powell when CJ is most likely going to be the starter lol. Like hello it's Casey we're talking about here. Veterans over everything.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

I can't begin to describe how not worried I would be if we had to face Milwaukee in the playoffs. We solved their nonsense last year, and did so without starting Tucker even once.

Yeah, LeBron will be tough to beat. And I'll worry about who we face in the Finals if we get there.

Don't tell me we're worried about Gordon freaking Hayward.

Milwaukee didn't even have their second/third best player last year in Jabari Parker and they gave us a very tough series. We've downgraded since and the primary defender we used on Giannis is no longer here. Giannis was killing us when PJ wasn't on the floor to guard him for the most part. That's also a young team, and all their guys should be improving year over year, particularly guys like Giannis, Brogdon and the aforementioned Parker. Not to mention Thon Maker.

I do not understand why everyone here is underselling Boston. Yes they lost rebounding and their PG defense won't be as good with Bradley gone, but they just got Gordon Hayward, who has similar impact offensively to DeRozan. I don't know how people are just trying to dismiss that signing entirely. They also made some pretty smart moves to strengthen their frontcourt with Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes (who's a pretty solid rebounder at the 5).

[Shaolin Fantastic]

We're better off than last year. Carroll couldn't defend big threes either. This year, Powell gets more of a shot, Miles is more capable than Ross was of defending big players, and OG is a more promising young wing who could step in than Bruno was at this time last year (plus Bruno with another year under his belt is still here).

We'll be fine.

Cool, just ignore that we had PJ Tucker on the team last year.

[S.R.]

Of course big 3's who are among the best players in the league will be tough to guard. GS had Durant, Iggy, and Draymond to throw at Lebron within a top-shelf defence as a whole, and Lebron still posts monster numbers against them every Finals.

I think the point is simply that this isn't a major concern/hole in the roster. Throwing Powell, Miles, and OG at wing players is going to be a decent set of options. Lebron may well still get a triple-double and Durant may drop 40 and Giannis may stuff the boxscore, but it's basketball and it's virtually inevitable that those guys do that. No one is holding Lebron to 15/2/2 over a 7 game series. No one. Have to figure out other ways to beat a team with a player that good - take away other options, make him work for it, add other strategic cliches here, etc. etc.

[DanH]

Cool, just ignore that we had PJ Tucker on the team last year.

We went into the season last year with no Tucker and I don't recall this whining and complaining about not being able to guard big 3's. We have options - Powell works for most, we can switch down and let Ibaka take really big threes for stretches, same for Siakam who will be better with another year under his belt, Miles is a perfectly functional defender at the 2 and the 3 and has even spent time at the 4, and we have a very promising rookie who projects as the ideal 3/4 tweeter defender with time. Plus Bruno in his "maybe he actually plays in the NBA a little bit" year.

Last year we had broken Carroll, a far less proven Powell, a Terrence Ross who had proven thoroughly that he can't guard starting 3's, let alone especially big ones, a rookie Siakam, Patterson, and Bruno. We might miss Patterson of those guys, but Ibaka can mostly replicate his efforts for the scenarios he would have been used in.

[DanH]

Milwaukee didn't even have their second/third best player last year in Jabari Parker and they gave us a very tough series. We've downgraded since and the primary defender we used on Giannis is no longer here. Giannis was killing us when PJ wasn't on the floor to guard him for the most part. That's also a young team, and all their guys should be improving year over year, particularly guys like Giannis, Brogdon and the aforementioned Parker. Not to mention Thon Maker.

I do not understand why everyone here is underselling Boston. Yes they lost rebounding and their PG defense won't be as good with Bradley gone, but they just got Gordon Hayward, who has similar impact offensively to DeRozan. I don't know how people are just trying to dismiss that signing entirely. They also made some pretty smart moves to strengthen their frontcourt with Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes (who's a pretty solid rebounder at the 5).

Milwaukee played way better without Parker, and I'd be not the least bit concerned about him playing improving their chances.

In the last three games of the series after Casey finally got off his ass and made a freaking adjustment, the Raptors defended Giannis with Tucker about half the time, and without Tucker the other half. The Raptors outscored the Bucks by 17 with Tucker on the floor, and by 22 without him. Giannis was somewhat more efficient without Tucker there, but not dramatically so - he mostly posted a higher usage, and in the meantime the Bucks managed a terrifying 97 ORTG without Tucker there, somehat better than the 90 ORTG they managed with him, but hardly a reason to be wetting ourselves over not having him anymore.

They are indeed a young team and could improve. Sue me for wanting to see that improvement before worrying about it.

Boston added a player who will take the ball out of Thomas' hands, so any improvement he brings in wing offence creation will be offset by Thomas being out there to defend more possessions than he's generating offence within. And I think losing all their rebounders and best wing defender is going to be an issue for them. Here's how you know that: the argument that it won't be an issue for them is mostly based on them adding Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes. They'll be about as good as last year, maybe a bit better - but they were far from the best team in the East last year, and still will be this year, IMO.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

Alright. I guess none of the other teams in the east are even a remote threat to us except Cleveland then. Should be smooth sailing to the ECF.

[Chr1s1anL]

I can't begin to describe how not worried I would be if we had to face Milwaukee in the playoffs. We solved their nonsense last year, and did so without starting Tucker even once.

Yeah, LeBron will be tough to beat. And I'll worry about who we face in the Finals if we get there.

Don't tell me we're worried about Gordon freaking Hayward.

For once were on the same page.

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[Chr1s1anL]

Okay if you say so. If you're not worried then I'm gonna stop worrying as well. The real joke is we're all over here talking about Powell when CJ is most likely going to be the starter lol. Like hello it's Casey we're talking about here. Veterans over everything.

Lol Dan isn't James Naismith. It's ok if your opinion doesnt fit his man.

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[Demographic Shift]

Milwaukee didn't even have their second/third best player last year in Jabari Parker and they gave us a very tough series. We've downgraded since and the primary defender we used on Giannis is no longer here. Giannis was killing us when PJ wasn't on the floor to guard him for the most part. That's also a young team, and all their guys should be improving year over year, particularly guys like Giannis, Brogdon and the aforementioned Parker. Not to mention Thon Maker.

I do not understand why everyone here is underselling Boston. Yes they lost rebounding and their PG defense won't be as good with Bradley gone, but they just got Gordon Hayward, who has similar impact offensively to DeRozan. I don't know how people are just trying to dismiss that signing entirely. They also made some pretty smart moves to strengthen their frontcourt with Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes (who's a pretty solid rebounder at the 5).

I don't know if its so much underselling Boston as it is looking beyond the hype to ask exactly what the fuck it is that makes them a prohibitive favourite (at least in the media) to win the east on the court. Having a lot of trade assests is certainly great but there are no trophies for that.

So lets have a look beyond the hype.

1. They didn't rebound well last year... in fact .. they sucked. Large. BradsBoys were 27 out of 30 in the regular season. They followed up that effort by confirming it in the playoffs coming in a very lame 14 out of 16 teams. They aren't good at it. Please don't tell me rebounding the ball isn't important. How did that get better ? They lost their 2nd best rebounder in Bradley and their 3rd and 4th in Amir and Olynk. Hayward is a lot of things.. but a rebounder he is not. They may be worse than 27th this year. You do need the ball to end possessionsand limit those crippling second chance points.

2. Thomas is a 5'9" PG who takes a hellacious beating when he drives the lane and he wound up with a couple of hip injuries last year. The last one forced him out of the playoffs. How healed up is that hip going to be this year ? He declined surgery in favour of letting it heal up on its own. He could come back at 100% but if you have had a hip flexor or a hip injury you know coming all the way back can be tough. Folks here gripe and worry that Lowry is always beat up but he is bigger and stronger than Thomas.

3. They are going to miss Avery Bradley. A lot. He gave them all NBA perimeter on the ball defense and its gone. He was a very impressive 39% from the arc. He was a solid citizen that provided leadership in that room. All those things are important and they are gone. Thomas can be a bit of an assmuppet as times. Remember the pistol finger when he got bumped in the ACC last year. Bradley held him in check. Hayward isn't going to do that.

4. Lots of talk about how good Tatum is and how he is going to step right in and contribute out of the gate by the folks stoking the Boston hype train. Yes he was good in summer league. However he is now going to play against the men who are bigger and faster and stronger than anything he has ever seen and he isn't all that good at passing. Some say his next pass may be his first. Add in that he is a rookie. He isn't going to be near the factor the pro Chowderhead crowd think he is going to be. This year anyway.

5. There are some who worry about the lack of size on our bigs. Bostons bigs are led by Al Horford who at 6'9 and half is going to have a bit of silent shit fit when he finds he is back at the 5 this year. It was one of the reasons he left Atlanta. He isn't a good rebounder and he isn't looking forward to taking the shit kicking he will take at the 5 at 32. Next up is a Morris twin at 6'9" followed by Jae Crowder at 6'6". This again highlights the dearth of rebounding in Chowdertown.

6. Marcus Smart is going to play PG this year when IT is playing off the ball. Smart can't shoot for shit and some of his decisions make him the very antithesis of his surname. Lots n Lots is expected of him. Maybe he finds a shot after shooting in the 20s from 3. I am betting that history repeats itself and Smart airballs as many as he usually does.

7. How signing Morris and Baynes..a couple of "guys" off a not near good enough 10th place Detroit team who melted under pressure down the stretch ....are upgrades is a pretty tough sell outside of the koolaid swilling fans of Chowderville.

So thats a few things why some are undersold on the idea of Celtic world domination.

[GLF]

Lol Dan isn't James Naismith. It's ok if your opinion doesnt fit his man.

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LOL I know. It's more so I trust his opinion and I want to be positive about the situation lol

[DanH]

Alright. I guess none of the other teams in the east are even a remote threat to us except Cleveland then. Should be smooth sailing to the ECF.

Has anyone said that?

I think the Raptors should be favourites in any series not against CLE, though not heavy favourites in several cases.