Boston Celtics: 3 reasons to be thankful this weekend
By Shea Norling
It’s an 82-game season
Be thankful for this Celtics fans: there are still SIXTY-FREAKING-THREE of these things to play before the playoffs start.
The Celtics problems are entirely fixable. It’s not a question of effort, as the Celtics have some of the best hustle players in the league (looking at you, Marcus Smart), and have displayed a tenacious style of defense that ranks as the best in the association.
It’s also not a question of talent, as the Celtics have a roster that many thought had potential to send their entire starting lineup to North Carolina for the All-Star Game.
A roster that boasts top-three picks in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, as well as All-Stars Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford cannot be knocked for a talent deficit.
Their problems also don’t stem from injury, at least not entirely. Sure, Hayward will need time to work himself back to full strength, but that hasn’t been his issue, as he’s been active defensively and shown himself to be an extremely talented playmaker.
The Celtics simply aren’t hitting shots right now. What’s easy to forget with this team is that it is practically brand-new. After a surprising trip to the Conference Finals last year, it’s easy to forget how different this team is this year.
The starting lineup of Irving-Brown-Hayward-Tatum-Horford had played all of five minutes together in the regular season before the start of this year; and not with heavy expectations on Tatum and Brown to be able to carry the load offensively.
Likewise, after a playoff stint in which Terry Rozier showed himself to be a truly special NBA point guard, being relegated to the second unit hasn’t done much to improve his game further.
Teams with this much talent take time to gel. Golden State wasn’t built in a day, and even LeBron’s 2010-11 Miami Heat got off to a rocky 9-8 start.
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The longer these Celtics play together, and learn to gel and play off of one another effectively, the better this team will be. So lastly, be thankful that it’s only November, and we’ll all be laughing about this 10-9 start in March.