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Boston Celtics: Keys To Sucess For Next Season

By Eric Laboissonniere

Apr 12, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) reacts after his basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) reacts after his basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Summer is ending and the NBA season is a little more than a month away. The Boston Celtics have made strides to become a better team this offseason by acquiring new players and re-signing key players from last season. Since the Celtics have high expectations for this upcoming season after their great season last year, the team will need to play better defense, have better three-point shooting, and rack down more rebounds. These are the three keys for the Celtics to be successful next season.

1. Frontcourt Defense

The Celtics found many ways to win last season, but their defense did not lead to many victories. Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart are big-time defenders in the backcourt, along with Jae Crowder on the wing, but the team had no presence in the frontcourt. Tyler Zeller did a pretty good job of protecting the rim, but when he was out of the game or struggling the team let up way to many easy baskets around the paint. The team recently added Amir Johnson, who will be a big help on both ends of the floor, especially the defensive end. He is a great rim-protector and rebounder, which is something the Celtics need.

If the Celtics can be more dominant in the paint on the defensive end, then the Celtics will be a dangerous team next season. The team is a little undersized in the paint at times, but the addition of Amir Johnson should really help out the team in a big way on the defensive end.

2. Reliable Three-point Shooting

The Celtics have many players in their backcourt that can shoot the basketball from deep, but the team struggles to knock down consistent three-point jumpshots. Their most consistent three-point shooters were Jonas Jerebko and Kelly Olynyk last season. While Bradley shot pretty well from deep last season as well, but the rest of the team struggled to shoot consistently from deep.

If players like Smart and Isaiah Thomas can be more reliable three-point shooters then the Celtics will be hard to stop on the offensive end. Rookie R.J. Hunter will also be a big help for the Celtics next season because he can really shoot the basketball from deep. Reliable three-point shooting is something that every team needs if they want to make a run in the playoffs.

3. Better rebounding

If anyone watched the Celtics playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, everyone could see that the Celtics could not rebound the basketball at all. Tristan Thompson absolutely dominated on the boards against the Celtics and the team could not find any way to contain him from getting boards. The addition of Johnson and David Lee should help out tremendously, but the Celtics still need to make sure they are not letting up offensive rebounds that lead to easy baskets.

Rebounding is a big concern for some of the frontcourt players on the Celtics, but if they can find a way to make sure that they clean up on the glass, then the Celtics will have nothing to worry about.

Overall

These three keys seem like they are pretty simple to achieve, and they are, but if the Celtics do not achieve these three keys, then the Celtics will have a rough year next season. Better Frontcourt defense, reliable three-point shooting, and better rebounding will make the Celtics very dangerous next season.

Next: 25 Best Players to Play for the Boston Celtics

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