After coming within two games of making their first NBA Finals appearance in over a decade, the Boston Celtics have underwhelmed so far in their 2020-21 follow-up campaign.
Through 26 games, the team is boasting a .500 record of 13-13 and have lost seven of their last ten outings.
Coming into the season, Boston was penciled in as one of the top contenders to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy come year’s end. Now, with their sub-par performance coupled with the likes of the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Brooklyn Nets getting even stronger than they were last season, it appears this uphill battle to the top has become even steeper.
The Boston Celtics need to make adjustments if they wish to truly contend
Though it may be tough to see at this current moment in time, the season is not yet a lost cause. With 46 games remaining on the schedule, there is still time to save this sinking ship.
Be it via trade, on the free agency market, or internally there are things the Cs can do to get back on track.
Today, we at the Houdini pinpoint 3 ways in which the Boston Celtics can save their season:
Way for Boston Celtics to save season No. 1) Consistency from Kemba Walker
The Boston Celtics have not played well for the majority of the season, and All-Star point guard Kemba Walker has been no exception.
While at first many (including myself) gave him a pass for his poor production, as he spent the entire offseason and first month of action this year rehabilitating from a knee procedure, now with 12 games under his belt it’s getting harder to find excuses for his inconsistent play.
At an average salary of $35 million a year, you expect a guy like Walker to be a major catalyst in a team’s winning ways but, instead, he has struggled to stay on the floor and, on some occasions, he’s simply killed the C’s chances at a victory when playing.
After the 2019-20 campaign that the 30-year-old star had, it’s obvious he’s got what it takes to guide Boston to a win, and, even this season — though in sporadic fashion — he’s shown glimpses of his pre-injury self.
However, if the Celtics want to recapture the success they saw last year, Kemba Walker needs to tap back into his All-NBA form.
Way for Boston Celtics to save season No. 2) Use TPE wisely
This past offseason was a bit underwhelming for the Boston Celtics.
Not only did they not land anyone of much impact via free agency but they also traded away key starter from the 2019-20 campaign in Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets.
Perhaps one of the only good things to come out of the offseason was what they got back in return for Hayward, which was the league’s largest Traded Player Exception which is worth up to $28.5 million.
With this, the front office can go about trading for a player (or players) whose contract is worth up to the aforementioned price without having the Celtics be penalized for going over the luxury tax.
Since acquiring the historic TPE, we at HH have been constantly pushing out our opinions on how the team could best use the available cap space and have gone about listing players that could be prime targets to trade for.
Many other sites, publications, and fans have shared their thoughts on who they wish to be acquired by such means as well and, while there have been a bevy of different players that could fit the bill, at the end of the day so long as Ainge uses it wisely, an impact player is likely to be had.
One of our ideal targets is Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker — and Bleacher Report would agree — but there are many others that have been rumored suitors such as Aaron Gordon and Thaddeus Young, just to name a few.
Who they decide to pursue with their TPE will have a massive influence on how the team finishes out the season.
Way for Boston Celtics to save season No. 3) Trade for a big
So, in theory, this could have been grouped in with the last slide as there are a few bigs that could be had with using the TPE alone.
However, an optimal scenario in our eyes would be using the exception on one trade, and perhaps then make another. Be it they land a frontcourt talent with the TPE or not, one thing is for certain: they must address their big man rotation.
One player that has been linked as a possible suitor for the shamrocks recently has been Orlando Magic All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, who has been having himself a career year this season.
Viewed as a perfect fit for the Boston Celtics by Bleacher Report, writer Greg Swartz believes the veteran would be a tremendous target for a multitude of reasons:
"Assuming the Celtics aren’t ready to hit the panic button on Kemba Walker (although maybe they should be), Boston’s focus should be on the frontcourt. Vucevic would be an upgrade over Tristan Thompson, giving the Celtics a center who can shoot threes and create for others. He’s having a career year (23.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 41.7 percent shooting from three) for a sinking Magic team, and Vucevic’s $26 million salary fits into Boston’s massive trade exception from the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade."
Listing in a 7-0, 260 pounds, he would easily be the most physically dominant center the team has had in some time and would be an ideal combatant to the likes of Bam Adebayo, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo once the postseason comes about.
Other targets we simply love to talk about are the likes of Myles Turner — who we should have gotten this offseason –, John Collins, and Vucevic’s teammate, Aaron Gordon.
There are many players out there on the trade market that could be had, and the Boston Celtics must land one of them if they wish to save their season