As NBA training camps are set to open, the Boston Celtics’ outlook continues to get even murkier.
After such a great start to the offseason, suddenly the outlook for the Boston Celtics heading into the 2022-23 NBA season has gotten murky.
The Celtics entered the offseason motivated to address the biggest needs on the team’s roster. And they accomplished that by adding to their depth with the signing of Danilo Gallinari and solidified their lack of playmaking with the acquisition of Malcolm Brogdon.
A series of unfortunate events has unfolded for the Boston Celtics
However, ever since those two big moves, it seems as if nothing has gone the Celtics’ way. First, it was an ACL injury suffered by Gallinari that will force him to miss the entire season. Then, Robert Williams went under the knife to scope his knee. He’s expected to miss 4-6 weeks, which means the start of training camp and possibly the start of the regular season.
And now, it appears the Celtics will be without their head coach Ime Udoka for the foreseeable future (he’s likely to be suspended for the entire 2022-23 season).
"Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka is likely facing a suspension for the entire 2022-23 season for his role in an intimate relationship with a female member of the franchise’s staff, sources told ESPN on Thursday."
There’s really no point in talking about Udoka’s personal life but now that it will impact the Celtics’ on-the-court activities, it’s hard not to. Nevertheless, with respect to Udoka, this story is more about his absence on the court than anything else.
It will undoubtedly hurt the Celtics this season and his presence will be missed. After somewhat of a rocky start to the season, once players began to buy in on Udoka, the Celtics took off. During the first half of the season, they looked like an average collection of players that would be lucky to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
During the second half of the season, once it all began to click for both the coach and team, the Celtics were head and shoulders the best team in the conference. Even as they battled injury in the postseason, the Celtics still managed to navigate their way to the NBA Finals.
The Celtics still have championship aspirations but with everything that has transpired in and around the team over the last few weeks will not make their journey any easier heading into the start of the season.