5 reasons the Boston Celtics will be worse next season
By Jake Finnen
The Boston Celtics have made severe changes to their team and their success will be limited to regular season play. Here’s why the Celtics will do worse next season.
What’s going on within the Boston Celtics organization is unknown to the general public, but recent trades and signings show all signs of the team heading in a different direction. Adding Gordon Hayward came at the cost of Avery Bradley, and the results of that decision will not come to light for awhile.
No player, just because he goes to a good team, is an automatic guarantee to be successful. Roles are changing, the speed of the offense is different and learning new defensive packages and how to communicate with new teammates is a big part of Hayward’s adjustment to joining the Celtics.
Boston needed help when it comes to defensive production. It had the athleticism to run with any team, but lacked the size to slow the league’s most unstoppable scorer, LeBron James. Now that they added size, they are forced to rely on a slightly inexperienced backcourt to help Hayward, Isaiah Thomas, and Al Horford run an efficient offense.
Terry Rozier developed a great deal last year, but after him, the crop is severely limited. Jaylen Brown has the athletic ability, but lacks the composure and consistent scoring that the Celtics are going to immediately need.
Highly touted rookie Jayson Tatum has a very bright future, but hasn’t played in an actual NBA game yet. He played with confidence in Summer League, as he should, but his production is up for debate when looking down the barrel of a Kawhi Leonard, or Andre Roberson.
The youth will have a great chance to learn under superstars, but they are going to need to have more of an impact now that the Celtics’ backcourt is going to be the area of emphasis. The backcourt needs help, and against the Eastern Conference, it is going to show.
It is easy to pick holes in something that has not been tested, but success from the Celtics is not guaranteed and should not be seen that way. Boston got to where it was by playing as a cohesive team that played in-sync on both sides of the ball. Now that that togetherness is gone, expect this next season to highlight the chemistry issues that tend to plague teams learning to play together.