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Boston would be in incredible shape had they not given Horford that max deal.
 
Who would they have in his place though? They are already weak at PF/C *with* him. They need someone there. I don't think his contract really matters for them because they aren't planning on truly contending within the lifetime of his deal.
 
They needed Horford - he plays a crucial role for them.

Only legit (proven) defensive rebounder on the roster
 
DurhamSon said:
Who would they have in his place though? They are already weak at PF/C *with* him. They need someone there. I don't think his contract really matters for them because they aren't planning on truly contending within the lifetime of his deal.
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Easy to say in hindsight but doing a high salary one year deal like Philly did with Redick may have been beneficial.
 
So overall, if everyone stays healthy I think we can all agree Cleveland likely got slightly better this offseason. Lost Kyrie but added Thomas, Rose, Crowder and Green.

Is Boston better or worse than they were last year?

Lost Thomas, Crowder, Olynyk and Amir Johnson while adding Kyrie, Hayward, Morris and Tatum. I'd like to say a slight improvement short term, big improvement long term.

Irving>Thomas
Smart<Bradley
Hayward>Crowder
Morris>Johnson
Horford=Horford

I think the Celtics still win the east with probably 55 or so wins but Cavs beat them in the ECF in 6 games.
 
Aside from Crowder (who I think starts against Warriors), I disagree on the Cavs bench being good.

Rose is ok at best, knees seem shot. JR is ok but streaky. Green sucks but maybe the Cavs will make him not suck. Calderon is old and won't be playable in finals. Korver is ok but old. RJ sucks. Frye is ok but unplayable against GS. Shump is good defensively but sucks offensively.

The Cavs bench should be fine for the regular season though I doubt they rest LeBron as much as one would think. I still think he'll be playing 38 mpg because Lue won't trust any bench pieces to keep a lead without LeBron. I think either Love or Thomas should play with the bench more than one might think just to bolster their bench unit scoring - especially if JR still starts.

Regardless, I fully expect the Cavs to make several more roster moves and wouldn't be stunned if JR/Shumpert and Frye are moved this offseason along with some second round picks to get some non-old and playable in finals bench pieces.

Feel free to call me a homer.
 
I look forward to this forum becoming Boston Celtics fans and the game chats.
 
Slap the Floor said:
Didn't Crowder regress defensively this past season? Or am I thinking of someone else?
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Depends on who you listen to. Some people think he's been overrated from the start but once the big salary spike happened, he became a great value at his salary. Others say he is a great defender. Myself, I think he's the best defender the Cavs have on their team now. Also allowing LeBron to guard Draymond instead of KD is a huge win because he'll be able to roam on defense and if Draymond hits his 3s, you live with it.
 
^it was Bradley, though I don't have a link to support this.

Having said that, AB remains a better than average perimeter defender - the Yin to Kennard's Yang on the Pistons.
 
A lot of supposed lockdown defenders, especially perimeter defenders, are overrated. Patrick Beverly's DBPM is way less impressive than you would think. He was actually a net negative defender in 15-16.
 
I thought trading Bradley was a good move. He's going to get paid waaaay more than he's worth IMO. They probably could've gotten more than Morris but who knows. I also feel like they could've waited out the Kyrie trade and take out that Brooklyn pick or throw in their own pick.
 
It was a salary move more than anything; they needed to create $ room for Hayward

I liked AB a lot - he improved his offensive game so much over the years and was a relatively solid defender
 
Yeah, I get that but felt like they almost gave him away. Looking at their roster though, Bradley may have been a better fit than Hayward now that they have Irving.

Kyrie, Bradley, Brown/Tatum, free agent, Horford. I'm not that big on Hayward, or at least don't think he's a max guy.
 
If I were the Cavs I'd consider this lineup:

Thomas
JR
Crowder
Lebron
Love

I think it would do fine on the glass. It may be mediocre defensively, but the spacing and shooting would be insane.
 
rome8180 said:
If I were the Cavs I'd consider this lineup:

Thomas
JR
Crowder
Lebron
Love

I think it would do fine on the glass. It may be mediocre defensively, but the spacing and shooting would be insane.
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This is their best line-up, I agree. Against the Warriors I really think they are best suited with Crowder-LeBron-Love 3-5. It doesn't make sense for them to have Love and Thompson in the game at the same time.
 
Rome, that's definitely their best lineup in crunch time and against the Warriors. I think the Celtics will probably go Kyrie, Hayward, Brown, Tatum, Horford in crunch time and against Cleveland.
 
cameron06 said:
Spurs fans are soooooo sad it's hilarious
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Did they actually think they had a shot at Kyrie? I'd love for him to be on the Spurs but they didn't have anything to give Cleveland for him.

I think what needs to be looked at is the Paul George trade. Chicago and Cleveland got pretty good haul's for Kyrie and Butler. Indiana got pure garbage for George.
 
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