The Boston Celtics underwent major changes this year, losing seven players (Walker, Fournier, Thompson, Ojeleye, Edwards, Waters, Kornet), and brought in seven new ones via trade, free agency, and through the draft (Schroder, Richardson, Horford, Hernangomez, Kanter, Fernando, Hauser).
With the roster virtually complete — save a second two-way spot — the Cs look revamped and ready to roll into the 2021-22 season. The defense got better, they added more playmakers, more depth at all positions, and that’s before whatever internal development occurs.
However, it wasn’t just the Boston Celtics that Improved in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets bolstered their roster with solid veterans. The Heat added champion talent in Lowry and Tucker. The Bulls became the biggest free-agent spenders adding Lonzo Ball, and DeMar DeRozan on top of last year’s Vucevic addition.
The knicks added ex-Celtics Walker and Fournier.
These are just a few improvements of the now loaded east, and that could spell trouble for the shamrocks.
There is a good chance that the 10th seed in the east could have an above .500 record, which is something that has never happened in NBA history. The Celtics could have a great season and still find themselves in the play-in game, as they were last year.
The biggest addition for the Boston Celtics? Health.
It’s worth noting that while the Boston Celtics did improve upon the on-paper roster, a lot of improvements could come solely from health.
Last year the Cs led the NBA in player days in the health-and-safety protocols, with just under 160.
The next most? The Dallas Mavericks at 115.
The Celtics had three out of the top nine in individual player’s time missed due to H&S protocols, but the thing is, it’s not just those days they missed that affect them.
Jayson Tatum and Evan Fournier both had long-haul COVID-19 symptoms, Fournier’s being brain fog and Tatum’s being shortness of breath, that significantly impacted their play.
They both looked off for way longer than the period of days they missed.
Outside of the pandemic, the team saw injuries galore.
In terms of missed games:
Walker: 29
Smart: 24
Brown: 14
Robert Williams: 20
Jayson Tatum: 8
That alone is 95 missed games from your starters…not a winning recipe by any means.
Jayson Tatum looked like an MVP-caliber player when healthy last year and, according to Ime Udoka, as well as JT’s personal trainer, his two biggest areas of work are in drawing contact and playmaking.
This means we could very well see a jump in both points and assists-per-game — don’t be surprised to see Tatum get MVP mentions.
Jaylen Brown has hit his projected “peak” twice now, so who knows how much he improves going into year six coming off his injury.
Dennis Schroder by no means is a better player than Kemba Walker, however, he will be a positive addition over him for two reasons — defense and availability.
Walker had to be hidden on the defensive end while Schroder will actively hunt matchups.
Walker was good for basically half his games while Schroder has played at least 80 percent of every season outside of his rookie year.
So all of this has us questioning: Where do these offseason improvements land the Boston Celtics amongst the east’s elite?
Tier one:
Let’s start with the obvious and say the Boston Celtics don’t belong here. This first tier goes to the Brooklyn Nets. I know last year’s champs —the Bucks— beat the Nets, however that doesn’t necessarily make them a better team.
Brooklyn was down Irving and Harden for the majority of that series and it still took a Durant shoe size too big for the Bucks to scrape by in seven games. If that team is healthy — which isn’t guaranteed — they should probably run away with the east.
Tier 2:
Tier 2, is where the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat reside.
The Bucks arguably have the best player in the NBA alongside a super-solid supporting cast.
The Heat added Celtics-killer Kyle Lowry, as well as PJ Tucker who, last postseason, played some of the best defense on Kevin Durant that has ever been played. These two teams should be competing for the second and third seed for most of the year in my opinion.
Tier 3:
Then we have the third tier, and by far the biggest one — this is where the Boston Celtics will most likely fall.
The 76ers have the Ben Simmons debacle, and most likely don’t get better in said trade, as his value is at an all-time low.
The Hawks were in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, even with a banged-up roster. Young looks like a legit superstar, and with internal improvements, they should be even better than before.
The Bulls just missed out on the play-in last year, however, they made sure that won’t happen again this year. They were extremely active, bringing in DeRozan, Ball, Caruso, and Jones Jr.
All of this on top of All-Stars Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, and the Bulls should be a top 3-5 offensive team. The worry for them is defense, but if they can be at least average they should be a conference contender.
The Knicks were another active team, bringing in former Celtics Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier. They are adding this to All-Star Julius Randle, and budding stars in Barrett and Quickley. The Knicks were a four-seed, 10 games above .500, and got significantly better this summer.
They are going to be no joke this year.
And we have our beloved Boston Celtics in this tier as well. Too much happened this offseason all around the east to dub this team a higher tier.
The Celtics will have the ability to prove they are better than listed but, for now, this is where they will sit.
This alludes to the point earlier that Boston could be very good, go a solid 8-10 games over .500 and STILL be a play-in squad. The Eastern Conference, for the first time in a long time, is probably the superior conference in terms of depth and top-tier talent.
This will undoubtedly be a very exciting season, and the first one I have felt good about in a few years.