The Boston Celtics come into the 2021-22 season with one thing on their mind — redemption.
After enduring their worst regular-season record since 2014-15 (36-36) and their first Quarterfinals exit since 2015-16, the C’s front office took matters into their own hands this summer and aggressively made shakeups to the rotation.
Now, with a new-look squad, fans and media alike are rather excited to see what Boston can do this year in this revamped Eastern Conference.
Though it’s hard to predict just how well the Boston Celtics will play as a whole, there are 3 players that many expect to take big jumps this coming campaign:
Boston Celtics player No. 1) Dennis Schroder
2020-21 was a season to forget for Dennis Schroder for a multitude of reasons.
From his decision to turn down an $84 million contract extension back in March to his overall underwhelming play whilst serving as the starting point guard for the defending champion, Los Angeles Lakers, the eighth-year veteran disappointed mightily during his 61-game stint in La La Land and, as a result, was forced to settle on a mere one year, $5.9 million deal.
That said, despite his lackluster production last season, many believe that the Boston Celtics landed the steal of free agency with Schroder.
The consensus opinion is that Ime Udoka will use him as the team’s go-to offensive spark plug off the pine, a role that he proved to excel in whilst suiting up for the Oklahoma City Thunder back in 2019-20.
Through 65 games played during this aforementioned season, the guard went on to post stellar per-game averages of 18.9 points, four assists, and 3.6 boards on 47 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from deep.
Now seemingly heading back to this kind of role, likely accompanied by a personal drive to re-build his status within the league to earn a larger payday come the summer of 2022, expect a highly productive bounce-back season for Dennis Schroder.
Boston Celtics player No. 2) Aaron Nesmith
Over the past six years, the Boston Celtics have found themselves come into possession of four lottery selections and, with them, managed to snag franchise building blocks Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in two consecutive years.
However, despite the hot start to this timeline, the front office has struggled to duplicate this level of success with their other draft night decisions.
Last year’s 14th overall pick, Aaron Nesmith, proved to be no exception to this rule.
Coming in viewed as arguably the best shooter in his respective class, the Vanderbilt star was quite underwhelming during the vast majority of his 46-game rookie campaign, posting rather underwhelming averages for a lottery selection (posted 4.7 points and 2.8 boards per game).
That said, despite his inconsistencies, the back-end of the season saw glimpses of true potential for the wing for, through the final nine games of the year, he posted solid averages of 9.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game on 53.6 percent shooting from the floor and 45 percent shooting from deep while dropping 15 or more points on four separate occasions during this span.
Generally speaking, players who showed promise in year one tend to see an uptick in playtime during their sophomore campaigns and, due to the fact that the C’s bench could use as many offensive contributors as they can get their hands on — ranked 28th in points per game and 23rd in offensive rating last season — Nesmith should be in line for more minutes which, in turn, should lead to greater production.
Though we may not have as lofty of expectations as other media outlets do, we certainly are under the impression that year two should be a rather sizeable leap for the talented wing.
Boston Celtics player No. 3) Robert Williams III
Even before Robert Williams III signed his rather pricy contract extension this summer, many viewed the big man as a player to get excited about heading into next season.
Now $54 million richer, this belief has undoubtedly strengthened, and for good reason.
Playing in a career-best 52 games last year, Williams set career-highs seemingly all across the board. In 18.9 minutes a night, the center posted eight points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game.
During his 13 starts (another career-high) on the year, the 23-year-old only seemed to thrive with the increased role, posting averages of 9.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.7 blocks on 70.5 percent shooting while also registering a record of 10-3 during this timespan.
Then, to follow up his impressive regular season, Williams went on to have himself quite a solid postseason, especially on the defensive side of the ball as he became the first Boston Celtics player to record nine blocked shots in a playoff game.
Now that the front office has committed a significant amount of money to their fourth-year big, it’s only logical to believe that they’ll be relying on him to continue developing into a stellar rim-rattling/ shot-swatting five who, in time, could take over the starting pivot position on a full-time basis.
Many believe 2021-22 could be a breakout year for the Time Lord.
The Houdini couldn’t agree more!