Boston Celtics: 3 reasons to be excited for this upcoming season

The Boston Celtics are one of the most perplexing teams over the last four seasons. Two of those seasons held very high expectations but instead ended disastrously, while the other two held mild expectations but ended with trips to the Eastern Conference Finals.

This inconsistency has left fans puzzled on where the team goes from here. Luckily, fans of the Boston Celtics have reasons to be optimistic about this upcoming season. Here are a few of the biggest reasons.

Ime Udoka takes the reigns as Boston Celtics head coach

Ime Udoka replaced Brad Stevens as head coach for the Boston Celtics this summer. Stevens coached the team for eight seasons. Stevens was the unifying voice for the team during his tenure and that came with both positives and negatives.

It can be good to have some consistency with coaching from a player’s perspective but eventually hearing the same thing each season from the same person will get redundant.

That is where Ime Udoka comes in to play. He is a new voice and has a unique opportunity to reinvigorate the young Celtics core and provide a new style of play for them to adopt.

Udoka wants the ball to move with purpose and for his team to be balanced on both sides of the ball. He wants to get away from iso 1-on-1 play and focus on a team brand of basketball.

Boston Celtics fans should love the new approach and spin that Udoka will put on this team as it forms a new identity.

The supporting cast and the balance they bring

The C’s supporting cast this season has the potential to be the best they’ve had in years. They’ve struggled to find consistent production outside of their key guys but the moves they made this offseason were clear on fixing that issue.

The two biggest additions were PG depth with Dennis Schröder, and the return of Al Horford for center depth.

Schröder is a playmaking point guard who can share the ball and can score if the offense needs him to do so. Having a real playmaking point guard could be the key to unlocking Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum’s next level of development.

It will be the first time in their careers to play alongside a point guard that doesn’t have a score first mentality. Although that never necessarily hurt them, they will certainly develop more with the extra touches and offensive depth.

The return of Al Horford changes everything for this team. He gives Boston some added playmaking at center and much needed floor spacing. He also brings veteran leadership that the team has been lacking since he left for Philly in free agency.

He has the ability to help mold the Jay’s into bigger leadership roles while also helping young center, Robert Williams, develop and expand his game.

The continued development of Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard this summer should also keep C’s fans on notice and they should expect larger contributions this season.

The Celtics didn’t place all their eggs in one basket

The C’s offseason moves accomplished two things, they added bench depth and financial flexibility. If this current team doesn’t work out, their future isn’t in jeopardy. Their new signings are all on short contracts and some of them aren’t even fully guaranteed which leaves them with plenty of cap space to make more moves next offseason.

The most likely big move they could make would be to sign Jayson Tatum’s good friend and fellow all-star, Bradley Beal. Beal is linked to a departure from Washington either via trade or in next season’s free agency and the Boston Celtics have found their way into those rumors.

Although next season’s future is still uncertain, Celtics fans should find comfort in the fact that this current season isn’t a championship or bust and that the future is still bright.