Boston Celtics: The 3 biggest roadblocks to winning Banner 18 post-free agency

At this point in the offseason, it’s fair to say that the Boston Celtics’ gamble of promoting front office novice Brad Stevens to the President of Basketball Operations role was a rousing success.

Dennis Schroder signing on for the taxpayer’s MLE was a product of the German floor general badly overestimating his own market and falling into the C’s lap considering the lack of teams with the capability of even having him start games.

Then again, if rumors of Boston getting Schroder’s commitment without the guarantee of a starting point guard spot are true, it seems as though the pitch from Stevens to be a part of a new era of Celtics basketball was still better than any of his other suitors.

Schroder joins Enes Kanter as part of the measly–by NBA free agency standards–$9 million> spent on free agency this offseason.

In the trade market, Stevens brought in five-plus year veterans like Al Horford, Kris Dunn, and Josh Richardson to supplement the second unit (assuming Time Lord gets the nod over Al). If the Summer League progress is true, Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith are due for sophomore steps forward.

There’s a lot to be positive about heading into next season if you’re a Boston Celtics fan. The Houdini doesn’t want to dull any of that shine but…

These 3 teams could be a roadblock to an 18th championship banner hanging from the TD Garden rafters in 2022:

Roadblock #1 to Banner 18 for the Boston Celtics: Milwaukee Bucks

Assuming P.J. Tucker’s departure isn’t the missing piece of the Jenga tower that makes the whole foundation collapse, the Milwaukee Bucks should be just as much of a threat to the C’s championship hopes as they were last season.

Sure, Boston got the better of the Bucks several times when they played in 2020-21, but give respect to the champs. They have not only proven they can win the 16 postseason games needed to win a ring, but they also were the team to pump the brakes on Boston’s ascension in Jayson Tatum’s second postseason.