Hardwood Houdini
Fansided

The Boston Celtics have no “face of the franchise” and that’s okay

By Andrew Hughes

CHAPEL HILL, NC - SEPTEMBER 28: Kemba Walker #15 of the Charlotte Hornets defends Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics in the first quarter of a preseason game at Dean Smith Center on September 28, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. The Hornets won 104-97. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - SEPTEMBER 28: Kemba Walker #15 of the Charlotte Hornets defends Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics in the first quarter of a preseason game at Dean Smith Center on September 28, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. The Hornets won 104-97. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics have had one defining leader the past few seasons and have had moderate success in the playoffs. They might not have one anymore…and that could be a good thing.

Isaiah Thomas. Kyrie Irving. Rajon Rondo. Since the 2013-14 season, the Boston Celtics have leaned on the skill of their point guards to propel the team during the regular season.

Irving was an All-Star starter in both of his two seasons with the Celtics. Thomas was an MVP candidate who led the team to the Eastern Conference finals in 2016-17 after consecutive playoff appearances in his first two seasons.

With Irving gone in free agency, the team lost its identity. That may actually be a good thing.

The 2017-18 playoffs showed what the young core of the current Boston Celtics were capable of. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had an incredible showing in a pretty improbable playoff run.

Without their top scorer and assist leader, the Boston Celtics rode the “Scary Terry” phenomenon through the first round. They outclassed the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. Then they took LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers to the limit in a seven-game series that went down to the very last minute.

It was a genuinely feel-good run…the type of run from an underdog sports franchise that every fan would dream to be in the position to root for. Unfortunately that set up unrealistic expectations for the 2018-19 season.

Irving’s return was supposed to put them over the top. It didn’t work. Just like the team’s over-reliance on Thomas in 2017 undid Boston when he had injury issues in the Eastern Conference Finals, Irving’s ball-dominance led to an unceremonious exit from the playoffs this past May.

Now that he is gone, though, Boston is in territory they haven’t been in since the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett days: a team with multiple players who can conceivably be the top dog on any given night.

Kemba Walker is not looking to carry the burden he bared in Charlotte. He wants to be lifted up by his teammates the same way he wants to make Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown superstars.

Bringing him in was a way to accelerate the timeline of their youth. With a pass-first and egoless point guard now running the show, the Boston Celtics will now be a team that will be more selfless and less prone to hero-ball than they have been in a long time.

Ultimately, the Celtics will benefit. When a team is so heavily focused on one player, the rest of the players become de-facto role players. Tatum and Brown are no role-players. They will be All-Stars and ideally that will be in Boston for years.

As we approach the “roarin’ twenties”,it will be a couple of twenty-something-year-olds that will be leading the charge. With no face of the franchise, the team can feature several superstars all picking up the slack on any given night.

While that might not benefit fantasy basketball team owners, that will only be good for the Boston Celtics.

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