Boston Celtics: B/R pessimistic about Cs in 2021-22

Because of their disappointing 2020-21 campaign that saw them muster together a mere .500 record of 36-36 and saw a first-round exit via gentleman’s sweep against divisional rival, the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics made a stern effort to shake things up this offseason both from a roster and a front office perspective to better position themselves for success in 2021-22.

As far as we at the Houdini are concerned, it would appear their mission was accomplished.

From trading away Kemba Walker and his albatross of a contract in exchange for Al Horford and the free agency signing of Dennis Schroder to their decision to move Brad Stevens up into a front office role and replace him on the sidelines with former NBA player and seasoned assistant, Ime Udoka, the moves in which the Cs took part in have them set up nicely for a more competitive year.

However, the magnitude in which they’ve improved varies depending on whom you ask. To some, the Boston Celtics have thrust themselves back into the conversation of being an elite squad in the Eastern Conference standings.

To others, they’ve only improved slightly.

And, of course, there are those Debby Downer types who believe that the moves in which they’ve made this summer are more noise than necessities and, in turn, they have remained exactly where they were during last year’s run: middle of the pack.

For the folks at Bleacher Report, it would appear that they’re more aligned with the latter belief, as they predict that the Cs will once again finish as a ‘middle echelon’ team.

"To win, they come at you like Floyd Mayweather Jr. with a series of body blows and jabs, which is different from the top-tier teams such as defending NBA champion Milwaukee, or Brooklyn or Philadelphia, as each has a collection of basketball knockout artists.But as the Celtics are constructed, they won’t be serious contenders for an NBA title; not this year, anyway.That has more to do with their lack of top-shelf talent than it does moves opponents made."

The article would continue on to state that though Boston has the likes of Jayson Tatum (a borderline top-10 talent in their eyes) and Jaylen Brown (an All-Star selection in 2021 looking to nab his second straight in 2022), overall the team does not possess “the kind of high-impact guys” that can legitimately guide them far into the postseason.

In fact, they claimed that this team as currently constructed may not even be able to advance much farther than the first round of the playoffs.

While at the moment it’s hard to say how well this team will perform this year, for they have yet to play any regular-season games, we at HH are rather confident that, at the very least, the Boston Celtics will be a better unit than they were in 2020-21.

Wednesday we’ll be able to get our first glimpse of this new-look squad and begin to get a sense of how well they can potentially produce, as they face off against the New York Knicks for their regular-season tip-off.