5 reasons why 2018-19 will define future of the Boston Celtics
By Bret Stuter
5. Meting out minutes
As the Boston Celtics adjusted their lineups to compensate for injuries, playing minutes plinkoed into the hands of the younger talented players. That proved to be very fortuitous for both the players’ development and the team’s performance. After all, lighting up the NBA for the first half of the season is no small feat, and those minutes falling upon young players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown fast-tracked their growth.
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However, the expectation for next season is that both Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving will start. That will certainly impact the playing time of Tatum, Rozier and probably Brown too. Will that impact their performance? It’s almost impossible to avoid. While many believe the impacts of both Hayward and Irving for a full season will improve the overall play of the team, there are no guarantees.
One of the strengths of the Celtics was their balanced roster, both offensively and defensively. Through the season, the team carried eight players whose scoring exceeded 10 points per game. That prepared the team for postseason, where five players sustained a better than 10 points per game average.
It’s truly difficult to place either Hayward or Irving’s postseason performance much higher than the team effort of the Celtics this season. How will the team respond to their new lineups? That will be a huge defining trait of the team going forward.