Boston Celtics fans have spent this summer watching the Eastern Conference load up on talent. To make matters worse, it’s the Philadelphia 76ers that have taken the biggest leap.
Of course, the Celtics played a role in Philadelphia’s sudden rise. Brad Stevens signed-off on the trade that landed Jaylen Brown next to Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe.
That trade ultimately played its part in LeBron James opting to join the 76ers in free agency, too.
However, despite the Sixers transformation into a superteam, former Celtics’ guard Jeff Teague isn’t sold on Philadelphia’s chances of immediate success. He shared his reasons during a recent episode of his “Club 520” podcast.
“I think it’s going to take, not too much time, but it’s gonna take time for them to gel. I’m not on the Philly train,” Teague explained. “Have they ever played where they got to move the ball in a certain light? Golden State had a brand of basketball where they shared the ball. And their shooting was so elite that dribbling and ISO basketball was just taken out. They rarely did ISOs. All these dudes are isolation players.”
In fairness, Teague isn’t the only one with this viewpoint. Countless Celtics fans have shared the same argument throughout the summer. After all, when all five starters need the ball to be at their most effective, it’s often a recipie for disaster.
Celtics’ Brad Stevens Not Focused On Sixers Threat
When speaking to the media on September 15, during an introductory news conference for Paul George and Mike Conley, Brad Stevens addressed the threat Philadelphia now poses.
“Our focus is on us,” Stevens said. “Obviously, we will look forward to any challenges. There’s a lot of good teams all around the league. But we have to do what’s best, what we think is in the best interest of us, both in the short and long term.”
Stevens made the decision to trade Brown based on two key factors. The first was Brown’s impending contract extension and the issues it would cause with the Celtics’ salary cap. Second was the fact that having two max-usage talents makes it hard to play an egalitarian brand of basketball.
The Sixers will now have to figure out how to deal with five max-usage players on one roster.
Celtics Could Defy Expectations This Season
Despite losing Brown, and the Sixers loading up on talent, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes the Celtics could still make some noise this season.
“I just think Joe Mazzulla is going to be obsessed and the team is going to be obsessed with proving everybody wrong,” Windhorst said via the ‘Hoop Collective’ podcast. “…I would not be surprised if the Celtics end up with a top five or six record this season. That’s depending on the health of Jayson Tatum and reasonable health for Paul George…This is too high, but it may not be ridiculous.”
One thing Boston has going for it, is that Joe Mazzulla’s system is built on maximizing the talent at his disposal. That’s why the Celtics were able to outperform expectations last season. So, as long as everyone on the roster can stay healthy, there’s no reason to believe Boston will struggle in the East. At least not in the regular season.
Former Celtics Guard Casts Doubt On Sixers’ Threat