This Boston Celtics team showed some encouraging signs this season.
After losing 135-102 in game five to Cleveland, the Boston Celtics 2016-17 season has come to a close. What a season it was. Expectations were reasonably high coming off a 48 win season. However, I think it’s safe to say not many expected Boston to be in the Eastern Conference finals, let alone have home court advantage.
After watching this team for the last seven months, I’ve noticed some things. Most of which have me encouraged that this team is heading in the right direction.
Isaiah Thomas is just One Man
You got to give props and respect what Isaiah Thomas accomplished this season. I hate to always bring his size into every discussion, but it puts his greatness in perspective. It’s remarkable that a 5’9 point guard was able to score 28.9 PPG (3rd in NBA) and lead a rebuilding team to a #1 seed and a conference finals appearance.
The problem is, and we’ve said this many times, he can’t do it alone. We saw good defensive teams make him their focus in attempts to shut him down. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn’t. When teams were able to shut Thomas down, usually the Celtics had a bad night on offense. No other Boston player would be able to step up on offense consistently and take some of the weight off Isaiah’s shoulders. Whether that hole is addressed via trade, free agency, or the draft, it needs to be fixed.
Jae Crowder is just a Role Player
Don’t get me wrong, Jae Crowder has been a valuable piece of this team since his arrival in Boston. The problem is that I think we all expected him to be more than what he really is. Crowder is a role player. A great role player, but still just a role player. He’s a plus defender and can provide steady offense and rebounding most nights.
Every good team needs solid role players, but these types of guys are usually better suited being the first or second player off the bench. Crowder would probably be a solid starter for 15-20 NBA teams, but if the Celtics want to take that next step, Crowder needs to transition to a key bench role instead of starting.
Who would take over that starting small forward position would remain to be seen. It could be a free agent signing like Gordon Hayward. Boston could also let Jaylen Brown step into the starting lineup.
Jaylen Brown has Star Potential
Rewind back to 2016 draft night. I think a lot of fans, myself included, were scratching their heads at the Jaylen Brown selection. Brown projected to be a top-10 pick but #3 overall seemed a little high. Sure, this year’s rookie class has been underwhelming. A 3rd-year “rookie” that played in only 31 games is likely going to be the rookie of the year.
The statistics might not have been there for Brown, but he did show flashes of brilliance that creates hope of his future potential as a star player. His athleticism is through the roof and his offensive game came along quite nicely as the season progressed.
SPLIT | VALUE | G | FG % | 3PT % |
ALL-STAR | PRE | 52 | 0.427 | 0.304 |
POST | 25 | 0.494 | 0.379 |
That type of progression is exactly what you want to see out of a 20-year-old rookie. All he needs now is more minutes. Over 78 games this season, Brown played 17.2 minutes per game. If the Celtics want him to continue to progress, he’s going to need more minutes than that next season.
The Celtics are still Rebuilding
When the Celtics started rebuilding in the summer of 2013 I don’t believe anyone in the organization envisioned a conference finals trip in just the fourth year of the rebuilding process. A lot of that had to do with the addition of Al Horford and Isaiah Thomas’ emergence as a star player in this league. This series loss (more like beat down) to Cleveland should remind us all that we need to slow down and realize that this team isn’t championship caliber quite yet. Boston isn’t that far off though.
Even with all their deficiencies, Boston was still one of the best five teams in the NBA this year. Not too shabby for a rebuilding team. With all the assets, draft picks, and cap room this team has, Danny Ainge can either make a big shakeup to get this team to the next level or stay status quo with the rebuild plan.
Either way….
The Future is Bright
I know, getting demolished on your home court in all three series games sucks, but all in all, this was a fun season. It should only continue to get better for Boston too. In less than a month, the Celtics will be selecting #1 in the NBA draft. How many times can you say your team played in a conference final and then picked #1 in the draft less than a month later? Not very often.
Next: Celtics Offseason: Who Stays Who Goes?
The situation the Celtics are in is surely a unique one, but one that about 25 other teams would love to be in. Unless Ainge trades the pick, Boston is going to add a potential superstar guard to their roster in University of Washington point guard Markelle Fultz. The rich just keep getting richer. As much fun as this season was, next year could be even better. So strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.