For our Boston brethren:
The Celtics kind of kicked off the off-season moves by ditching Kemba Walker in a trade that netted them Moses Brown and Al Horford from the Thunder (and trading away their first round pick in the process). Because they underachieved this season and the front office game of musical chairs that has happened since the offseason began, there has been talk that they need to trade Jaylen Brown as well. However, that would be a mistake. The Celtics have a scary good, young duo in Brown and Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart is an absolute nuisance on the defensive end who routinely gets in the heads of his opponents. That is not a bad start to a dangerous team. However, the problem with this team that hurts them is that Tatum is asked to do entirely too much. He had four games of 40+ points last season, including a 60 point outburst in a win against San Antonio. However, he doesn’t get enough easy looks and often times Celtics possessions amount to Tatum or Brown simply looking to break their man down and score on their own. Kemba was supposed to take some of that pressure off, but was never truly able to be the difference maker for Boston. Now Boston is in a situation where it’s difficult to fix that glaring roster need. Smart is capable of playing the point guard position, but he’s not able to play it the way Boston needs somebody to play it: as a pass-first guard that looks to get teammates the ball in position to get easy scores. As long as the Celtics have to manufacture their points by running “give the ball to Tatum/Brown and get out of the way” they are going to struggle in the post season. Unfortunately, being over the salary cap and not having a first round pick, it’s going to be tough for the Celtics to remedy the issues on their roster. They still have enough talent to be good, but with the Bucks, Nets, and even the Sixers in the conference, it could be an uphill battle for the Celtics and their young talent to capitalize on their potential. Unless their new coach, Ime Udoka, can scheme easy looks for them, the Celtics may have a cap on just how good they can be right now.
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