Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge made an appearance on The Big Show on Thursday and was open about where he thinks the Celtics stack up as a playoff team. He also talked about the NBA Trade Deadline (via WEEI).
Ainge said about the Celtics as a playoff team:
"Right now we're the seventh or eighth seed, that's who we are. There's no denying that," Ainge said. "Every team has had their challenges in this sort of crazy season. So that's who we are right now, but do I think that we can be better? Yeah. We haven't played to our capabilities yet. We haven't been at full strength. I'm not sure who our team is, quite honestly, as this stage. We're waiting to see that. We need to get to the playoffs and find out.
"I'm not really afraid of who we play in the first round, or the second round. It's going to be tough no matter who we play and I'm not afraid of playing the best teams in the league in the first round."
Ainge was not as open about the trade deadline, though he did say he is not interested in making a trade just because he can:
"It totally depends on what opportunities are there. I don't feel like I have to do something just for the sake of doing it," Ainge said. "If there's a way to improve, we'll do it."
Asked if he thought his team would be active at the March 15 trade deadline, Ainge said that it was too early to tell. "I don't know. I could see it either way," he said. "We've had a lot of discussions and we'll continue to have discussions but we'll only do things that help us in the long-term."
For more on the Celtics, visit our blog Celtics Blog.