NBA Season Preview 2018-19: 5 ways everything goes right for the Celtics
By Cody Rivera
The Boston Celtics have high hopes of winning their 18th championship next June, but they’ll need to avoid the bad luck they encountered last season.
When the Boston Celtics came into last season, they were already championship contenders.
They had landed their top free agent priority Gordon Hayward, reuniting him with his former Butler coach Brad Stevens. They had pulled off the biggest trade of the summer to bring superstar point guard Kyrie Irving to Boston. And they had drafted Jayson Tatum, who ended up looking like the best player in the draft, third overall out of Duke.
Everything came together for the Celtics leading up to last season, but the regular season took many unexpected turns. Hayward broke his ankle five minutes into the season opener, and Irving didn’t make it through the year due to knee problems.
Even still, the Celtics almost made it to the NBA Finals on the shoulders of Al Horford and youngsters Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier. In 2018-19, they will have a healthy roster, and their championship hopes are as high as ever.
But in order to win banner No. 18, they’ll need things to fall in their favor. Here are five ways everything can go right for the Celtics this season.