Boston Celtics
The Celtics had a strange year, after losing their big free agent signing and highest paid player in the first quarter of the first game of the season the door was open for somebody to step up, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum did just that and they went on to be one of the best teams in the league. Another blow late saw Kyrie Irving’s season end prematurely and Terry Rozier step up to fill in admirably which leads to the question, is it the system or the players?
Boston seems to keep on ticking no matter who is on the floor, Brad Stevens system just…works, and works well. If there is any trade candidate on this team it might very well be Kyrie himself. He has yet to prove his value on this squad and although they are better offensively when he plays, the defensive tradeoff may not be worth it.
The Celtics don’t have much cap space to work with but the only notable players who have a chance to walk are Marcus Smart, Greg Monroe, Aron Baynes and Shane Larkin. Larkin should be easily replaceable and either Monroe or Baynes would likely re-sign for the MLE if Stevens is uncomfortable giving big minutes to rookie Robert Williams. Smart, on the other hand, may sign an offer sheet the Celtics aren’t willing to match.
Boston came dangerously close to ending LeBron’s Finals run without the services of both Kyrie and Gordon Hayward. Theoretically having two healthy all-stars in addition to the squad that took the Cavaliers to 7 games would put the Celtics over the top and into the finals. Even if Irving’s ball dominance and tendency to resort to isolation doesn’t mesh all that well with the C’s offensive system. Ainge is unlikely to give up on his star point guard just yet and this team is young enough to run it back with a healthy Irving and Hayward.
Verdict: Rewind