The Boston Celtics must decide who they are as a team. This question runs deeper than personnel. It will require Brad Stevens and his squad to move beyond the gut-check that was the 2018-2019 campaign and into an improved style of play.
Over the last decade, the NBA has been dominated by two kinds of teams.
The first is constructed around a high-usage, generational superstar, or superstars, in order to maximize the impact they have on the court while surrounding them with the kind of team that suits them best (i.e. Lebron’s Cavaliers or Kawhi’s Raptors).
The second style is one that features balanced scoring, excellent ball movement, astute shot selection, and shrewd lineup construction to mask weaknesses and favor strengths. Both styles can be successful, but unless Danny Ainge has a Kawhi, Giannis, or LeBron clone in somewhere in his laboratory, only the second option makes sense.
There are a few obstacles to this team-basketball oriented path. The Boston Celtics were in the bottom half of the league in terms of team passing according to NBA.com.The only championship-caliber team (Milwaukee) that had worse ball movement featured an offense predicated on a high-usage, top five talent in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Kyrie Irving never met a shot he didn’t like, Marcus Morris was a notorious ball-stopper, and Terry Rozier became even less efficient when his heat-check from the 2017-2018 season didn’t carry over. But they’re all gone now, and the team needs to take steps to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.
These improvements will start with a few players in particular.
New addition Kemba Walker is a high-usage player, but that’s largely a product of his background on several Charlotte teams in which he needed to score 25 a night to give the team a puncher’s chance. It’s imperative that Brad Stevens does not use Kemba as a Kyrie-lite and simply resign the team to a second round playoff exit. He should encourage Walker to operate as more of a facilitator in order to allow this team to reach its full potential.
However, it is not all on Kemba’s plate. Other players have a responsibility as well. Jayson Tatum will need to stop summoning his inner Kobe and forcing mid-range jumpers. He drew less fouls last season than in his rookie season while taking more shots, that’s not a winning equation. He’s going to have trouble getting to the next level if he doesn’t revise these inefficient tendencies.
With all this being said, Tatum is still a hyper-talented –*checks notes and raises eyebrows*– 21 year old with excellent shooting abilities and an uncanny knack for scoring the basketball. This is not a question of potential, and the addition of Kemba is sure to aid Tatum’s development tremendously. To become an All-Star and help the Celtics undertake a deep playoff run, he will need to pair his undeniable skills with better habits.
Lastly, Gordon Hayward needs to adjust his game in order to benefit the team. Hayward is better off letting his game come to him naturally in order to favor his strengths, which will also help the Celtics. Much like Tatum, he struggled to get to the line last season. He also settled for a baffling amount of three point attempts compared to the rest of his shot selection.The decision to shoot more is natural, not many players are crazy about driving to the hoop the season after suffering a broken ankle.
The bigger issue with Hayward is that his mid-range attempts were way down. Being an incredibly skilled mid-range shooter, Hayward will be better served to accept a role as a cog in a balanced scoring machine while playing to his strengths as he continues to head to full health.
When taking a look over the Boston Celtics roster, it’s clear which kind of championship mold this team is capable of filling. It will require sacrifice, intelligent play, and the ability to learn from past mistakes if the team hopes to reach toward the Larry O’Brien trophy.