Why the Boston Celtics Won’t Make the 2016 Playoffs

Many Eastern Conference teams were very active during the offseason this year, and despite some valuable additions to the Boston Celtics roster, I don’t think it’s enough to get them in to the playoffs. Last year, the Celtics made it in as the 7th seed after winning the final six games of the regular season. In fact, the six game streak put them just one game away from overtaking the Milwaukee Bucks for the 6th seed.

Most Celtics fans will remember the weeks leading up to the playoffs were a race for the final two spots between the Celtics, the Miami Heat, the Charlotte Hornets, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately for Boston, at least two of the above teams have improved over the offseason, and other teams including the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic have made strides towards contending for a spot as well.

Let’s start with the Bucks, who the Celtics nearly overtook for the 6th seed and an opportunity to play the Chicago Bulls instead of the eventual Final contending Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bucks have an appallingly promising young core between the returning-from-injury Jabari Parker, recently re-signed Khris Middleton, freshly signed Greg Monroe, and the anchor Giannis Antetokounmpo. Add in a promising young coach in Jason Kidd, and you have a team that is not going anywhere but up for the next several years.

Apr 30, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center John Henson (31) helps guard Khris Middleton (22) while Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (13) helps guard Derrick Rose (1) during game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Chicago won 120-66. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Next is the Miami Heat, who’s playoff chances vanished when Chris Bosh was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs in the second half of the season. With Bosh’s return, the Heat will be entering this season with a starting lineup of Goran Dragic, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Hassan Whiteside, and Luol Deng. They also got a steal of a draft pick at number 10 when they got the Duke forward Justise Winslow. With the Heat’s starting lineup, they could easily overtake the Toronto Raptors, or the Paul Pierce-less Washington Wizards.

The Indiana Pacers are a team that many people argue will end up taking a step back. People of this opinion may be forgetting how dominant Paul George was in the 2013-14 NBA Season. He practically willed the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals, and ensured that the Pacers were a force throughout the regular season. With the addition of Myles Turner through the draft this year (a player coveted by many Celtics fans), the Pacers should not be taken lightly this year.

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The Orlando Magic didn’t have a particularly active offseason outside of re-signing Tobias Harris, but they didn’t need to. The Magic have one of the scariest young cores in the league, and another uneventful offseason for them is another year of developing those players and letting them become even better. The sophomore point guard Elfrid Payton (who beat out Marcus Smart for the NBA All-Rookie team spot) will lead Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris, and Nikola Vucevic, all of which have showed tremendous potential last season. Add in the 2015 draft pick of Mario Hezonja and you have another team who won’t be going away over the next several years.

Mar 27, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (5) drives to the basket as Detroit Pistons guard Spencer Dinwiddie (8) defends during the second half at Amway Center. Detroit Pistons defeated the Orlando Magic 111-97. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Lastly, the Detroit Pistons, who fell out of the race at least a week or two before the end of the season, could possibly contend for a 7th or 8th seed this year. Despite the departure of Greg Monroe, they still have young stars in Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond. Although Reggie Jackson is always a threat to shoot the Pistons right out of a game, he also showed flashes of brilliance throughout his post-trade deadline stint in Detroit. Only time will tell what kind of a team this will be in the 2015-16 NBA Season.

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As for the Boston Celtics, they did make two smart acquisitions in David Lee and Amir Johnson. With that said, this doesn’t have quite the same impact as the Bucks, their direct competitors, adding a player like Greg Monroe. With the addition of David Lee and Amir Johnson, who truthfully fill somewhat-similar roles, the Celtics roster in is in a state of turmoil. They have entirely too many bigs, but a reluctance or inability to part with any of them. Perhaps this is because they have little or no value, and the Celtics aren’t interested in getting draft picks in return. At least they shouldn’t be, after seeing how ineffective they were at this years 2015 NBA draft.

Apr 14, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) defends against Toronto Raptors guard Louis Williams (23) in the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

At the guard position, the Celtics aren’t in too much better shape. They have strong players in Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas, but neither has proven their effectiveness at starting in the point guard position. Smart looked largely lost during his time handling the ball last season, leaving most of the duty to Evan Turner (who may not even be with the team come October). Thomas, on the other hand, performed excellently and efficiently but it’s up for debate whether he will be able to repeat and maintain that level of play.

The Celtics don’t have a go-to scorer, but rather a plethora of inconsistent options. Unfortunately, the league has proven again and again that this system almost always falters next to a team with one, or two, or three all-stars. The Celtics depth is certainly an upside, along with the obvious smarts in the front office and coaching staff. The question is whether they can convert on the court, and not end up regressing after over-achieving last season.

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