Evan Turner is pretty familiar with the Boston Celtics.
The former No. 2 overall draft pick spent two years with the Celtics (2014-2016), helping lead them to the playoffs. During that time frame, he played with longtime Celtics players such as Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley. He would later serve as an assistant coach for the Celtics during the 2020-21 season after retiring from the NBA.
During his time as the Celtics’ assistant coach, Turner coached Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard, two of the biggest players on the current roster. While many people are down on this current Boston squad after the departure of Jaylen Brown, Turner expresses an optimistic viewpoint. He believes this Celtics team will win at least 50 games during the regular season.
Turner — while speaking on behalf of Slotozilla, an independent online casino review and gaming information platform — detailed that the Celtics’ ceiling will be determined by their interior play.
“I see 50-plus wins,” said Turner in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports. “It’s just all about what they’re going to do come playoff time, and anchoring the interior. I love how they added Mitchell Robinson. I love Neemias Queta, but when it comes down trying to win that championship and who can maneuver around and everything, you’re going to have to be able to guard a Karl-Anthony Towns.”
Evan Turner Expects Celtics as Eastern Conference Threat
That would have placed them as the fifth-best team in the Eastern Conference this past season, which means Turner expects them to be a legit playoff squad and not a play-in one.
The Celtics went through a major roster overhaul after trading Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, which made them an immediate Eastern Conference threat. LeBron James also joined the 76ers.
However, Boston acquired nine-time All-Star Paul George in the Brown and also added NBA champion and former New York Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson. Robinson was a key reserve for the Knicks during their Finals run and helped slow down the San Antonio Spurs‘ Victor Wembanyama.
With that being said, they’re going to be tasked with replacing Brown, who was the 2024 NBA Finals MVP and helped lead the Celtics to the second-best record in the East last season without Tatum, who was dealing with the recovery from an injury for most of the season.
Evan Turner on Celtics: ‘Culture Over Talent’
Turner, who is very familiar with the Celtics’ organization, said that it’s “culture” over talent in Boston. That’s the reason why he still considers the Celtics to be one of the top teams in the East. He expects them to win the regular season games that they’re favored to win, but admits the postseason could be a difficult thing to overcome.
“I think it’s culture over talent,” said Turner. “I think much like the Heat, Boston has a culture where they’re going to compete every single game. I think they know how to play. I think they know their identity, which is 80% of the battle when you go into the NBA night in night out. Sometimes not even so much those big games versus the Knicks or versus theSixers. It’s how you handle those games: the game before All-Star break, the game the night of Thanksgiving, the game on Christmas. It’s all those games where you take them serious when you’re in Memphis and you win when you’re supposed to win. I think that’s the culture of that team. They play tough. They played tenacious, and I think last year would make sense to be more down on them.”
Ex-Celtics Veteran Makes Bold Prediction on Jaylen Brown-less Team