Do the Boston Celtics Need More Veterans?

The Boston Celtics have one of the best rosters in the NBA, but they may be missing one important aspect

The Boston Celtics have finally reached a point in their rebuild where they have NBA Finals caliber talent. That being said, their roster has been assembled in a bit of an unconventional manner. They have six rookies and four players coming from overseas.

A 23 year old Marcus Smart is the longest tenured player on the team and Aron Baynes and Al Horford are the only players above 30 years old. Add on that they have one of the youngest head coaches in the NBA, and there may be cause for concern.

There are a lot of things about the Celtics that scream championship contending team, but you would be hard pressed to find any team of that caliber at any point in the NBA with so few veteran presences.

Horford certainly is at the top of this list. He has solid playoff experience, and leads both on and of the court. He clearly has the respect of the players, and they look to him, even if he is not the most vocal or demonstrative player.

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Baynes is hard to gauge. He is not established with the team, and a potentially limited role on the team will prevent him from being that kind of presence.

The Celtics have no championship experience on their team, meaning the entire roster will inevitably be in unfamiliar territories if they reach their goal.

The question then, is whether or not that will hold back the Celtics. On the court, the Celtics should not have to be too worried. Off the court, the Celtics still cannot even tell if they need that help, because no one knows what to expect.

For most teams, this could be a legitimate concern. For the Celtics, it is something that could come back to hurt them, but they have always embraced a different kind of leadership.

The Celtics may not have many real veteran presences, but they have never lacked leadership. Stevens has earned the kind of respect that makes his age beyond irrelevant.

They have the emotional leaders in Smart and Jae Crowder that bring more intensity that maybe anyone else in the league, and it is infectious to the rest of the roster.

They have an inspiration in Isaiah Thomas that creates one of the most unique situations in the legaue. This is a Celtics team that does not need anything to bring them closer together, and they do not need anyone to tell them that they need to be ready to do everything and anything for their teammates.

The Celtics are in a situation where they get a lot of the benefits of a veteran presence, but they do not need that veteran player to get it.

Then there are potential situation issues, and the whole not knowing what to do because they’ve never been there. That is where Stevens comes in. He has already proven that he will make proper playoff adjustments, and he is a calm and collective in any situation.

Maybe this will be the year that the Celtics realize what they are missing without that veteran or that championship experience. Thankfully, they have one of the most unique cores of leaders in the league, and they will feel just find with what they have.

This is a team that has bonded together is ways that almost no teams get to experience. Now, these players know they have what it takes and they will have all the confidence that they can get to their goal with the roster they currently have.

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The Celtics may lack experience, but they have a different kind of experience. There certainly are benefits to bringing in a veteran leader to help guide this team. The problem is that they may actually be better off embracing the young leadership that has guided them throughout this rebuild.

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