The Boston Celtics have had a busy offseason, positioning themselves to bounce back from their disappointing 2020-21 season while also putting themselves in prime position to cash in on any available players next summer.
Brad Stevens’ vision for the team is clear, and his execution has been spot on so far. There’s no way of knowing for sure how well Stevens’ roster will perform, but we do know that this team will be better than the one that came before it.
Their offseason aside, the Boston Celtics will have an uphill battle to a top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Brooklyn Nets have stacked the deck, adding more depth to their top-heavy roster to ensure they can still compete if one of their stars goes down. The Miami Heat have stepped up in the wake of their first-round exit, adding veteran talent besides their two All-Stars in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. With all their shooting, defense, and passing with Eric Spoelstra at the head, they’ll be hard to stop.
And those two are just the tip of the iceberg.
This upcoming season won’t be like the ones in years past. The 7th seed will be a highly touted group instead of a lottery team happy to be there. The top three teams won’t be in a tier of their own. There will be multiple teams right behind them, ready to take their spot if they slip.
The Boston Celtics could be on either side of that equation depending on how the pieces they’ve assembled fit. Today, we’ll look at three of the most significant tests for the Cs as they look to get back into the upper echelon in their conference.