Boston Celtics: 3 explosive scorers Cs could explore adding this offseason
Down 3-1 in the postseason’s first round to one of the most potent offensive teams in the NBA, the Boston Celtics are clearly lacking in the firepower department to realistically contend with the elites of the Eastern Conference.
Kevin Durant is averaging the same figure in points as the numerical he wore on his jersey before coming to Brooklyn (35). Kyrie Irving has had two 29+ point performances so far in the series. James Harden has collected 43 assists in four games.
Without Jaylen Brown, overcoming that level of offensive explosiveness was always going to be a tall task. Even with Brown, though, most NBA pundits would have likely picked the Nets to take four games out of seven.
As long as Brooklyn exists, the need to get better is a pressing one…of course, assuming banner #18 is the immediate goal of the franchise. Even the Milwaukee Bucks adding Jrue Holiday to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton makes them a higher octane offense than the C’s as they are currently.
With two 24ppg scorers already in tow, Hardwood Houdini believes one more offensive dynamo is necessary to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown, and these 3 players should have the attention of Danny Ainge and the rest of the Boston Celtics front office:
Boston Celtics scoring option #1: Donovan Mitchell
If Donovan Mitchell is on the outs with the Jazz, Ainge must find a way to land him…even if it involves dealing Jaylen Brown as a primary return piece for Utah.
From the sounds of it, the damage caused by last year’s disagreements with Rudy Gobert was put to bed only for the Jazz to then screw things up and anger Mitchell even further by sitting him out in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals (per Bleacher Report’s transcript of the Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast):
"“I will tell you this, Donovan’s relationship with the organization was damaged this week. Is it damaged to the point where it can’t be repaired? I’m not saying that. Is it something that they’ll get past and he will just move on and it’ll be just a blip on the radar screen? Maybe. Maybe they’re in the Finals in two months and who cares? Maybe they win the next four games and it’s totally forgotten, OK. But right now, Donovan is hurting. He’s really hurting the way this happened.”"
Ainge need not hesitate to pounce on the 2x All-Star and leader of the #1 team in the NBA this past season. Mitchell racked up 26 points, five dimes, four boards, and a steal per game while slashing a 43/38/84 shooting slash on a team-high usage rate.
He and Tatum alone could be enough to outgun most of the NBA’s 29 other teams.