Can the Boston Celtics Win the East?

Have all the offseason roster changes put Boston in a better position to win the conference this season?

We’re coming up on two months since the 2016-17 Boston Celtics season ended. In those two months, the roster has undergone plenty of significant changes.

The biggest move so far has been signing Gordon Hayward to a max contract. Boston had two glaring weaknesses to fix coming into this off-season and they fixed one with this signing. After not having a reliable second scoring option last season, Isaiah Thomas now has Hayward to help him shoulder the scoring load.

To financially be able to make the Hayward signing happen, a couple of fan favorites had to leave town. First, Boston rescinded its qualifying offer to Kelly Olynyk, thus making him an unrestricted free agent. After losing out on Hayward, it didn’t take long for the Miami Heat to swoop in and sign Olynyk to a four year, 50-million-dollar contract.

That one was an obvious decision and most of us assumed Olynyk wouldn’t be re-signed anyway. So, when you really think about it, it’s not too major of a loss.

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The move that stings the most was trading Avery Bradley and a 2019 2^nd round pick to the Detroit Pistons for Marcus Morris. Losing that 2^nd round pick is really going to derail Danny Ainge’s master plan. Obviously, the part that stings is losing the player that had been a Celtic longer than any other player on the roster. It was tough but Boston needed to clear more cap space to sign Hayward.

Hopefully, emerging young stars Jaylen Brown and #3 overall pick Jayson Tatum can soften the blow some. The talent is there for both to be major contributors this season but we can’t forget that they both aren’t even old enough to legally consume alcohol yet.

With all the roster shuffling, the question that is on most Boston fans minds needs to be looked into. Can Boston dethrone the Cleveland Cavaliers and win the Eastern Conference?

Even with the losses of Olynyk and Bradley, Boston is still a better team after signing Hayward. Like I previously mentioned, Boston had one consistent scorer last season and that was Thomas. Nobody else on the roster could step up on a regular basis, which killed Boston at times last season. If Thomas was getting double teamed or having an off game, it was going to be a long night for the green and white.

That weakness was put on full display in the Eastern Conference Finals when Boston would go cold for a stretch and quickly find themselves on the wrong end of a long unanswered scoring run by Cleveland. As much as we all love Thomas, he can’t do it himself. With Hayward in the mix, Boston has become a much more balanced and dangerous offensive unit.

Hayward can score in bunches and do so in a number of different ways. Last season was his best yet offensively. He averaged a career high 21.9 points per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from downtown. That type of production just wasn’t there for Boston behind Thomas last season.

While Hayward is a solid defender in his own right, he’s taller than Bradley by four inches and would have difficulties against some of the better guards in the conference. That is where Bradley was so valuable. Thomas is almost non-existent on the defensive end but was able to hide that behind the defensive prowess of Bradley.

Luckily, Boston still has their other backcourt defensive stalwart, Marcus Smart, on the roster. Whether he steps into the starting lineup or remains a big-minute bench piece, Smart is going to have to fill that defensive void when Boston has to try and slow down the likes of John Wall, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry, etc.

The area Boston appears to be still lacking in is rebounding. With Amir Johnson, Bradley, and Olynyk gone, so are three of Boston’s top five rebounders from last season. Hayward is an adequate rebounder and should help some, but many expected Boston to go get a big rebounder this off-season and that hasn’t been the case just yet.

However, there have been some minor rebounding upgrades that could benefit the bench at the very least. Forget about Morris. He might be 6’9 but Bradley was a better rebounder than he was last season. His presence on the roster isn’t going to fix the Celtics rebounding woes.

Three additions that could make an impact on the glass are Aron Baynes, Ante Zizic, and Guerschon Yabusele. The question with all three is how much will they play? Baynes figures to get the most minutes out of this trio and could be a big help as the first big man off the bench.

Last season with the Pistons, Baynes averaged 4.4 rebounds in just 15.5 minutes per game. That might not seem like much but when you extrapolate that out to a 36-minute basis, he would have averaged 10.2 rebounds per game.

It remains to be seen how Zizic and Yabusele will be used early in the season. There’s a chance they could both be ticketed for Maine in the G-League. They both could benefit to get more experience before becoming factors in Boston. Both have a chance to be solid rebounders for the Celtics at some point this season.

The last part of this team that could really help the Celtics reach that next step is their pair of #3 draft picks from 2016 and 2017, Brown and Tatum. Celtics fans should definitely be excited about these two, but how much of an impact will they have this season in a crowded Boston roster?

During his rookie season, Brown averaged less than 20 minutes per game. That number figures to rise some this season especially if Boston decides to go small with Jae Crowder at the four, Hayward at the three, and Brown as the other guard.

Both Brown and Tatum have already flashed star potential in their young careers. The energy and athleticism they bring should be a major boost to Boston’s second unit. A unit that lacked reliable scoring options last year now has two that can score consistently.

Tatum’s offensive capabilities were one reason Danny Ainge was so enamored with the former Duke star. He can shoot from the perimeter, drive to the paint, and dare I say has a mid-range game that reminds me of a young Paul Pierce.

So, back to my original question. Are the Celtics now good enough to win the East? After looking at the strengths and weaknesses on this roster I believe they are very close. The conference has gotten weaker as a whole. There are a clear-cut top four teams again with Boston, Cleveland, Washington, and Toronto. The Wizards and Raptors shouldn’t be taken lightly but the talent on the Celtics and Cavaliers should once again have them squaring off in the conference finals.

It’s a long season. As it stands today, I wouldn’t bet money on Boston beating Cleveland in a seven-game series. However, I do believe it would be a much closer series than the one played back in May. The continued development of Brown and Tatum could put the Celtics in a much better position when the playoffs roll around next spring.

Next: Breaking Down Boston Celtics Bench

This Celtics team is extremely talented. It also helps that they have a great coach at the helm to get this team to the next step. Don’t forget either, Boston’s arrow is pointing up and better seasons are on the horizon. I mean, LeBron can’t play forever.