The Boston Celtics were the second seed in the Eastern Conference a year ago. This was despite the fact that Jayson Tatum missed most of the season. However, this is a different team than it was last year, as Jaylen Brown was traded away.
Paul George was brought in for Brown. Boston also added Mitchell Robinson to be the backup center, which is a big upgrade. However, one pundit doesn’t believe that the moves made are going to be good enough for the Celtics to make a deep postseason run.
Celtics Predicted to Finish Fourth in the East, Not Make Deep Playoff Run
Boston is expected to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference by John Hollinger of The Athletic. However, he doesn’t believe they will make a run for the NBA title this season.
“For now, Boston’s projection feels straightforward: a near-lock for a top-six playoff seed but a bad bet to make a deep playoff run as constructed,” Hollinger writes.
Hollinger thinks that the team has to make a move in order to truly contend for a championship this season in what is a massively competitive East.
“In terms of their ceiling, however, it’s hard to get too fired up about the Celtics’ bandwagon unless some in-season work adds another star. The Brown trade feels like a reset until they can get their money situation in order (Boston is already over next season’s projected tax line thanks to Queta’s extension) and find a better complementary piece, most likely by flipping George and assets,” Hollinger notes.
George is not someone who can be counted on to play large swaths of the regular season. He has played just 78 games in the last two years combined. Brown was their most stable force in the starting lineup. With him gone, Tatum will have to shoulder more of the load.
Boston is Fully Leaning into Jayson Tatum’s Health
Now that he’s back, the Celtics are fully leaning on Jayson Tatum. His health will be the key to how far Boston can get in the postseason. Tatum looked good in his return from his Achilles tear, even if his stats went down. However, he missed Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs.
The Celtics are hoping that Tatum not only remains healthy all season, but also possibly makes a bit of a leap. Without Brown, it will be up to Derrick White and Payton Pritchard to become the second-best player on the team. Without Brown, the Celtics need to find another reliable player who can take the load off Tatum.
Last season, Boston had the second-best offense in the league without Tatum. With Tatum, it will be hard to sustain that level of play with how much better the East has gotten. The schedule will be tougher. It might be hard for Boston to make a midseason trade to raise their ceiling, too.
Celtics Considered to be a ‘Bad Bet’ to Make a Deep Playoff Run