These 4 Celtics won't be back after blowing a 3-1 lead in NBA playoffs

It’s been a rough month for Boston sports fans. New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel has been in the middle of a scandal, the Red Sox are bad and fielding an interim coaching staff this season, the Bruins lost in six games in the Stanley Cup playoffs and now the Celtics cap off the month from hell with a historic collapse in the NBA playoffs. 

Oof.

The latter is the most alarming as Boston now has a lot of answers after failing to close out the series against the Philadelphia 76ers. After a Game 4 win, Boston needed just one to advance to the second round. Instead, a lack of adjustments from Joe Mazzulla, abysmal shooting from deep and poor interior defense sent them home early. 

Much like last season, I expect Boston to have a busy offseason and that starts with figuring out this roster. Here’s four players that won’t be back after the Celtics miserable NBA playoffs performance.

Nikola Vucevic

When Boston traded for Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline, it was a way for them to get another scoring big to hopefully mask how bad their interior defense was. It flopped. Vucevic averaged less than 10 points in 15 games in Boston, averaged six in the playoffs and shot 29 percent from the 3-point arc in the first round against the 76ers. That’s unacceptable and while he wasn’t the sole reason the Celtics were handed an early playoff series loss, he didn’t help. 

Vucevic is at the end of his career and if he wasn’t able to elevate this offense this season like Boston needed him to, I doubt he comes back. He’s at the end of his career as well, which doesn’t help his case. Boston can’t afford to sacrifice interior defense for sub-par offense. Boston gains nothing from bringing back Vucevic and this year proved they need a true center to command the lane. 

Luka Garza

Luka Garza was in an odd situation in Boston. He was the team's backup center and he wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great. Joe Mazzulla was scrambling in the NBA playoffs, starting Garza in Game 7 and he played just nine minutes and essentially was just a body on the floor. I think Neemias Queta will get bumped back to the backup center role after being the starter this year and the Celtics will go find a true paint defender either in the draft or in free agency. 

At times, Garza had some strong moments offensively, but this team doesn’t necessarily need offensive bigs. They need a center that can defend players like Joel Embiid and occasionally provide offense. This will be an interesting offseason for Boston and it would shock me if Garza comes back.

Dalano Banton

Dalano Banton was a depth piece for Boston. The fact that he played in just two games on a team that loves to use its depth, shows he probably won’t survive the offseason. He signed a two-year deal in Boston so they’d probably trade him if they see much usage for him. Baylor Scheierman and Ron Harper Jr. have been the preferred options in the backcourt so it would make sense for Boston to offload Banton. 

I’m not sure what his value is, but Boston probably won’t bring him back. Since his breakout with the Portland Trailblazers in 2023-24, he hasn’t really turned into a reliable backup piece. The Celtics already have Payton Pritchard as their backup guard and he’s been one of the best bench players for some time in Boston. They have a lot of guard depth right now and Banton is simply the odd one out.

Sam Hauser

This one could go either way for me. I could see Boston bringing him back because he did shoot 41 percent from 3-point range in this series and he has been a steady producer from deep – a philosophy Mazzulla will coach until the end of time. That said, he’s not as consistent of a shooter as you would like for someone that essentially only shoots 3s. This past season, Hauser  shot 42 percent from deep, a career high. 

Offense isn’t the problem, it’s his defense. He’s a one-dimensional player and when Boston needed defense the most, they didn’t really have an answer. This team has some offensive firepower and when it’s rolling, it’s easy to see why without Jayson Tatum for much of the year, they were still the No. 2 seed. That said, Hauser’s career season could get Boston enough value to trade him if they want more of a 3-and-D type of player rather than a strictly offensive one.

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