Breaking down where the Boston Celtics stand heading into the 2018 NBA offseason, where health will be their No. 1 priority
The Boston Celtics had high hopes entering the 2017-18 season but everything changed on opening night when star free agent acquisition Gordon Hayward was lost for the season with a gruesome leg injury just minutes into the new season.
Boston, however, still finished with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference led by Kyrie Irving and Al Horford.
Unfortunately for Boston, the injury bug would strike again as Irving would be lost for the rest of the season on March 11. Entering the playoffs, it seemed that Boston was destined for a early exit but the Celtics would win their first round series 4-3 over the Milwaukee Bucks and 4-1 over the Philadelphia 76ers in the semifinals. Boston would take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers but the Celtics would drop the final two games of the series.
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Boston will be healthy next season and depending on what happens with LeBron and his free agency, the Celtics should be considered the early favorite in the East.
Numbers:
- Record: 55-27
- Off Rtg: 105.2
- Def Rtg: 101.5
- Pace: 98.24
- EFG%: .518
- Net Rtg: 3.7
Starting 5:
- Kyrie Irving: 24.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.1 APG
- Jaylen Brown: 14.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.6 APG
- Jayson Tatum: 13.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.6 APG
- Aron Baynes: 6.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 0.9 APG
- Al Horford: 12.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 4.7 APG
Lineup record: 23-12
Draft picks and free agency outlook:
Entering the offseason the Celtics will need to decide what they do with Marcus Smart, who hits free agency in July. He’s been a vital key for the Celtics and he’s going to warrant somewhere between $12-14 million, per season.
Will Boston give him his money or can they find a number close to that?
As for the draft, the Celtics have 27th pick and should be able to find a solid bench player at that point. The big draft year for the Celtics could be next season, as they own the Philadelphia 76ers’ (top 1 protected) or Sacramento Kings’ (top 1 protected) pick, the Memphis Grizzlies (if it falls outside the top 8) and the Los Angeles Clippers pick (if it falls outside the top 14).
Burning question: How good is this Celtics team when healthy?
We never saw the real Boston Celtics as they only had Hayward for five minutes this year. Entering next season with him, Irving, and Tatum, who was phenomenal in the playoffs, should give the Celtics a shot at being the Eastern Conference best squad.
Must Read: NBA Rumors: Buying or selling the latest 2018 NBA Draft rumblings
Outlook:
As long as Boston stays healthy they easily have one of the best futures going forward. They have a team that was a win away from the NBA Finals and will return two key players from injury. Then, add in that next offseason they should have several top 20 picks and it’s not hard to see Boston becoming the Warriors next big threat.