First Week Finals: Way too early picks for the NBA’s next Eastern Conference champ
3. Boston Celtics
Will this be the year of the Boston Celtics finally coming out of the East to make NBA Finals? That seems to be the perennial question for Boston the past few seasons. The spotlight may never have been more glaring than in the NBA playoff bubble. Boston held numerous leads in the second half only to lose them when Miami stepped up to the pressure and Boston couldn’t stand the Heat. Sorry for that.
The good news is that they are another year developed, another year seasoned and another year hungry for what everybody in Beantown’s been yearning for. Jayson Tatum did show out in the playoffs, adding new elements of play-making and becoming a legitimate threat to average 4-6 assists per game, especially in the absence of Kemba Walker who’s still recovering from injury. Jaylen Brown also showed he can impact the game beyond shooting 3s and defense, and both players appear to be continuing their upward trajectories into the NBA’s elite class of two-way wings in the early part of this season.
Another weakness exposed by the Heat was Boston getting picked on in the pick-and-roll. Robert Williams shows promise and athleticism, but is still a young player. Daniel Theis is better closer to the basket and more integral to the Celtics offensively as a screen and pop or dive to the basket guy. Tristan Thompson is a good add for them because he has shown an ability to hedge and guard smaller players as well as be an offensive rebounding force in the NBA for a number of years. He will be an asset against Giannis, Bam Adebayo, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, and even KD to the extent any big man is, as well as bringing a little attitude to the Celtics who have lacked that at times outside of Marcus Smart.
Another good pick-up for them is Jeff Teague, who helps in Kemba’s absence, but also provides veteran leadership with more reliable scoring and 3-point shooting than Brad Wannamaker could. Boston had trouble scoring in big moments last playoffs and moving Tatum off the ball to run in screening actions could provide easier shots against mismatches or place Teague as a better option for kick-outs off drives. Not to mention, he is someone who has run an offense at an All-Star level so Boston should feel confident with the ball in his hands in big moments.
The off-season wasn’t all great; and though the loss of Gordan Hayward isn’t as big as it seems because the Celtics are so stocked at the wing and it never really felt like Hayward found his role within the team, losing him for nothing when they could’ve gotten some assets back from the Indiana Pacers is a miss. The rumored package would have addressed some Boston needs and while Teague is an experienced and useful pick-up, it still seems like the Celtics are missing something.
They have no real leader or any championship experience on their roster outside of their new addition in Thompson. Marcus Smart has that attitude, but sometimes his emotions get the best of him and being part of this young group of Celtics, he has the same shared experience as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who aren’t natural leaders beyond what their games say on the court. Smart has worked hard to become a better offensive threat, but he’s still a glue, heart and hustle guy. Despite being so good at it to be one of Boston’s most indispensable players; he’s only the third-best of the young trio which makes it hard for him to be the guy who can command the team at the end of games when his best attributes are his off-the-cuff reactions and instincts to it.
Boston almost seems to lead by committee, but as no one has the experience of having been there before, they look tentative and clunky at times and the reason I would have loved to see what someone like Rajon Rondo could provide for this team. Overall, the results have been good; but not to the standard of the Boston Celtics history or the increasingly-impatient fan base nervously eyeing empty spaces in the rafters while watching other teams get better all around them.