is very key to the Celtics success. He is not the only problem Boston has, however.
Well, the Celtics might be in trouble. Over the past couple of seasons the Celtics have been right in the mix to win the east, coming up short every time. They have gone through a lot of roster changes. We can go through the point guards they have had since they traded Rajon Rondo in December of 2014. Isaiah Thomas, Terry Rozier, Kyrie Irving, and Kemba Walker. They have had stars like Thomas, Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford depart. Role players like Rozier, Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley, Marcus Morris, and more all depart as well. However, they have always stayed relevant, going to 3 of the past 4 Eastern Conference Finals. With great coaching and good talent always on the team, Boston has always been competitive. So why might Boston be in trouble now? There are plenty of reasons and we are going to do a deep dive on them and how they can fix them.
The first is Kemba Walker. Walker missed the first 13 games of the season with a knee injury that he was able to fight through during the bubble. Walker has been shaky in his return. In 6 games, Walker is averaging 14.3 points on 37% shooting from the field and 29% from 3 point range. Those are not good numbers, and very bad for Walker’s standards. He was abysmal in Saturday’s loss to the Lakers, making just 1 of his 12 shots, scoring 4 points and was a -8 on the night. He had a chance to avenge all of this with a late game winning attempt but he did not convert and the Celtics lost by 1 point, 96-95. Walker needs to figure this out if Boston has any chance this season. He makes max dollars and is very key to the Celtics success. He is not the only problem Boston has, however.
The Celtics simply are not deep enough. They signed veterans Jeff Teague and Tristan Thompson to try and help but to be blunt, they have not. It’s early and they can certainly turn it around but the string is getting shorter, especially for Teague, who is on a veteran minimum contract. One positive is they acquired a $28.5 million dollar traded player exception for Gordon Hayward in December, that they can use to acquire a player or 2 making less than $28.5 million. Names you’ll hear before the deadline are JJ Redick, P.J. Tucker, Derrick Rose, and others. They could also go a different route, a route I would go. Pursuing guys like Aaron Gordon and Julius Randle who have multi-year contracts that Boston would likely keep around long term. They could also look to free agents where a familiar face is waiting for an opportunity, Isaiah Thomas. The five foot nine guard averaged 28 points a night in 2017, finishing 5th in MVP voting. Yes, Thomas has fallen out of the league for a reason, struggling mightily as a hip injury he sustained during the 2017 Celtics East Finals playoff run, got worse and worse. He last played for the Wizards last season and was bad, averaging 12.2 points while shooting 41% from the field. He’s a liability on defense and is crippled by injury. However, he can’t be worse then Teague so that’s a start. However, if the Celts are going to improve their depth it has to come from the TPE, and it has to come soon.
Let’s look at a positive. Danny Ainge nailed the 2 Brooklyn picks that were high and he did not trade, in 2016 with Jaylen Brown, and after a trade back with the 76ers, in 2017 with Jayson Tatum. Tatum broke out last year and is a superstar. He averaged 23.7 points and 7 rebounds on 45% shooting and 40% from 3 point range. He was dominant in the second round vs Toronto, leading both the Celtics and Raptors in points, assists, and rebounds. This year he has made another leap averaging 26.8 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. You would like that assist number to jump, but in order to get an assist the other guy has to make the shot and that doesn’t always happen. However, Jayson Tatum has arrived and now his co-star has arrived in a big way too. As a rookie Jaylen Brown was not scaring anyone as a shooter, he shot just 34% from 3 point range and 45% from the field overall. This and limited minutes lead to him averaging 6.6 points. Brown has steadily improved every year and this year he exploded. He is averaging 27.1 points and 5.4 rebounds, shooting 53% from the field and 44% from 3 point range. The ascendance to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum has been huge for the green team and the future looks bright in Boston.
The Celtics future looks bright and now should too. However, shaky play this season has made people question the Celtics outlook this season. We truly never know what any team's future holds, with the amount of player movement, trade requests and free agency may lead to the demise in Boston. However for now the Celtics have Brown and Tatum locked up for 4 seasons together so they have at least that window to win the Eastern Conference and maybe even an NBA championship. It's up to Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens to pick the pieces and get the pieces to fit around the stars.
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