2022 is here and January doesn’t figure to be nearly as tough on the Boston Celtics as December just was.
The schedule is opening up with the Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, and Indiana Pacers. All teams lower in the standings, as opposed to December, which featured two tilts against the Phoenix Suns, and matchups against the Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, and Milwaukee Bucks.
The Cs may just climb back up to .500. And you know what? That’s still nowhere near good enough relative to where this team should be.
Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens gave it the ol’ college try…well actually, I suppose he did quite the opposite considering he turned down college offers…either way, what the Houdini is trying to say is that Brad gave it a go, but that go didn’t go far.
New additions have put this team exactly where it was a year ago: in contention for an NBA Play-in game before having to win extra games to qualify for the postseason.
So, expect the Cs to be sellers at the deadline, much as they were last season when they downgraded from Daniel Theis to Luke Kornet and Moritz Wagner.
And in turn, expect these 3 Celtics to be dealt by February 10th NBA trade deadline:
Boston Celtics PF/C Al Horford
If we’re being frank, the Cs frontcourt is not defending well enough to undo the pace and scoring potential lineups with Jayson Tatum at the 4 would unleash. Al Horford and Robert Williams isn’t working just as Theis and Tristan Thompson didn’t work when Boston tried going big last season.
With Horford’s 2022-23 salary not guaranteed, he is a nice salary-matching trade candidate. He also still holds value to hopeful contenders like the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, or even Minnesota Timberwolves as a tough veteran frontcourt leader.
For whatever reason, his second stint with the Celtics hasn’t brought out the best in either party so far.