The Boston Celtics made several moves during the offseason to change how the franchise acts. They made the decision to trade Jaylen Brown to the 76ers in exchange for some future financial flexibility. They also decided to sign Mitchell Robinson in free agency.
Boston has to replace Brown’s offensive production after he was the lead option for the team for most of last season. Jayson Tatum only played 16 games due to a torn Achilles. With Brown gone, Boston still believes it can contend for a championship next year.
ESPN went through a bunch of contenders and revealed some under-the-radar concerns. For Boston, theirs might be a bit more obvious.
GettyBoston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown drives the ball in a game. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Celtics’ Under-the-Radar Concern Deals With Loss of Jaylen Brown
Ohm Youngmisuk believes that the under-the-radar concern for Boston is replacing the offensive production that Brown has given them over the last few years.
“The Celtics need to find a way to replace Brown’s 28.7 points per game. Although Brown averaged a career high in points with Tatum out for much of last regular season, he also still averaged at least 22.2 points per game over the past six seasons. Tatum is expected to be healthy and will certainly pick up the scoring load again,” Youngmisuk wrote.
Youngmisuk also believes that Joe Mazzulla will be able to figure it out because of his coaching pedigree, but acknowledges things could get ugly if they can’t find that production.
“Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is one of the brightest minds in the game and certainly will be looking forward to the challenge of keeping the Celtics in contention in the East. But trading Brown was an unpopular decision with Celtics fans, and the noise will only get louder if Boston struggles to fill the void left behind by its former Finals MVP,” Youngmisuk noted.
GettyBoston Celtics guard Hugo Gonzalez dribbles the ball in a game. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Boston Believes Younger Players Will Step Up
Despite the fact that the Celtics won’t have Brown any longer, Boston believes they can replace his production with the guys they have on the roster. Younger players will have to step up. The coaching staff is going to be putting a lot of pressure on Hugo Gonzalez to take a leap.
Last season as a rookie, Gonzalez averaged 3.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game. He shot 47.6 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Gonzalez did all of this while only playing 14.6 minutes per game during the regular season.
How much of a leap he is able to make in his second year will go a long way in determining if the Celtics will be a contender next year. Tatum will be shouldering a much greater load than he has had in his career, and he will have to do it coming off an Achilles tear.
Brad Stevens and the front office are taking a big gamble on players such as Gonzalez and Payton Pritchard to be more of an offensive engine.
Celtics’ Under-the-Radar Concern for Title Contention Revealed