For the third time in the last four seasons, the Boston Celtics found themselves a few wins away from the NBA Finals. Even though they have come up short in recent years, there is optimism this team is close to raising banner No. 18.
Coming into the 2019-2020 NBA season the expectations for the Boston Celtics were much lower than the previous year.
After the losses of Kyrie Irving & Al Horford in free agency, the failed attempt to trade for “superstar” Anthony Davis, and the additions of Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter, the shamrocks were considered by most to finish somewhere in the middle of the Eastern Conference standing.
Nick Wright of Fox Sports even went as far as to say the C’s 2019 offseason was a complete disaster.
"“The Boston Celtics plan was Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Al Horford. That has turned into Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Enes Kanter. That’s a disaster.” — @getnickwright"
What the “experts” didn’t account for, however, was how the addition of Kemba was going to allow guys such as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to flourish. JT and Kemba were both named All-Stars and, let’s be honest, Brown should have also been in that game as well.
Gordon Hayward, when healthy, showed flashes of why he got his max contract and as always Marcus Smart was making “winning plays” all over the court while earning a spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive First-Team.
As we know now all this led to Boston getting bounced in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four years. Some say they overachieved, while others say they should be competing against the Los Angeles Lakers to stop them from tying there all-time NBA Finals win record.
One thing I do know is that this team is close to where they ultimately want to be and banner 18 is not far away. Let’s take a look at 3 things the Boston Celtics need to do this offseason to vault them over the top to compete for an NBA title:
Boston Celtics offseason priorities No. 1) Add a veteran scorer to the bench
This past season the Boston Celtics averaged 113.7 points a game, good for ninth in the NBA. However, their bench averaged just 28.5 points, ranking them as the second-worst in said category in the entire NBA. On top of that, during the playoffs that number dropped to 18.5 points per game.
Enter the 31-year-old highly motivated Isaiah Thomas. This tough vet/scoring machine is exactly what the Cs need to bolster their bench. Let’s not forget before IT became an MVP candidate in Boston he was coming off the bench, giving teams a spark, and averaging 15.3 points per game with the Kings and Suns, respectively.
Heck, even when he first came to Beantown the man served as the team’s sixth-man and posted impressive averages of 19 points and 5.4 assists on 35 percent shooting from deep.
Boston Made Thomas an All-NBA talent in Brad Stevens’ system. Adding a player of his caliber who knows the system, has a chip on his shoulder, and can give you 15-20 points off the bench at any given time is something the Celtics are desperately missing.
Thomas has recently said that COVID-19 was a blessing in disguise for him in the sense that he was able to have a hip resurfacing procedure in May, and for the first time since 2017 he is feeling 100 percent healthy.
When recently asked by Alex Kennedy about a return to Boston, Thomas had this to say:
"“For sure, if the opportunity presented itself,” Thomas told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. “I hold no grudges, and they know that. I have genuine love for the city of Boston. If that were to happen, I’d love to be part of what they have going on. You never know. I’m always open for any opportunity to be in the NBA and play the game that I love at the highest level. If that opportunity presents itself, for sure. Time has passed.”"
Danny Ainge, let’s get “The Little Guy” back to the TD Garden so he can help finish what he started.
Boston Celtics offseason priorities No. 2) Move up in the draft
The Boston Celtics come into the 2020 NBA Draft with the 14th, 26th, and 30th picks in the first round. We know very well that the Cs can not keep all these picks as they will not have the available roster space to do so.
Sure, they could draft those picks and have them hone their skills in Maine with the Red Claws, but it is time to draft a game-changer and someone who can make a strong impact right away.
In order to do this, they will likely need to move up into the lottery by packaging some of their picks and potentially a player. One prospect I believe the Celtics should target is Florida State sophomore guard Devin Vassell.
Just look at the scouting report on this guy. Defensively Vassell is your prototypical 3-and-D player that coach Stevens loves. He stands at 6-6 and has a 6-10 wingspan, which allows him to guard positions 1-4 on the basketball court.
Offensively, he shot 49 percent from the field and over 40 percent from deep in his most recent campaign, which, as you might have guessed, is another need for Beantown. They need shooters, guys who can knock down shots consistently instead of, frankly, the Semi Ojeleyes of the world.
This kid has the ability to be a game-changer on both ends of the court and can come in and contribute right away.
Time to pick up the phone, call those lottery teams, and make this happen!
Boston Celtics offseason priorities No. 3) Keep The Core Intact
One of the most talked about things I’ve seen about this Celtics team since their loss to the Miami Heat in the ECF was everyone wanted to blow them up.
Think about that for a second.
This team that wasn’t fully healthy, was two wins away from the NBA Finals, and people actually want this team split up and the coach fired.
When healthy this Boston Celtics squad with the core of Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Marcus Smart might very well be the best 1-5 unit in the league. And, let’s face it, with Hayward most likely picking up his $34M player option, this team is going to look very similar next year.
Listen, don’t panic Cs fans, for this is a good thing.
We saw when Hayward was healthy what he was capable of doing. We saw when Kemba was healthy he was named an All-Star starter.
Oh, and let’s not forget that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are just 22 and 23 years old, respectively. These two guys are not even close to hitting their ceilings yet and are only going to get better as time goes by.
All in all, it was disappointing how this season ended but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t successful. The Boston Celtics need to run it back with this main core and, if that happens, then banner No. 18 is soon to follow.