Boston Celtics
The 2020-21 Boston Celtics season can be defined by the fact that after 18 years, Danny Ainge is gone.
What did we learn?
The Kemba Walker deal which was originally thought to save the Celtics and Ainge after the Kyrie debacle was actually the deal that ultimately did Ainge in.
With Ainge out, the Celtics “promoted” Brad Stevens whose first order of business was trading Kemba to the Thunder to bring back old boy Al Horford and Moses Brown. (Moses Brown did have a 20-point, 20-rebound game against the Celtics on a random Saturday night in late March.) Kemba’s ongoing knee issues derailed the momentum the Celtics managed to build in the bubble to make the Eastern Conference Finals and push the Heat to 6 games. The protocols at the beginning of the season and Tatum testing positive also played a substantial part in another rocky regular season in Boston.
Jaylen Brown played fantastic ball in Tatum’s absence. Brown has continued to get better every year he’s been in the league. Ainge was laughed at for taking Brown #3 overall, but that pick was a definite home run. The issue is getting Brown and Tatum to play their best with each other. Both seem to play their top games when the other one is out.
For as good as Brown has climbed, Tatum is the #1 guy and it should be without question. Tatum is the one with true superstar potential, even if Brown’s stats really aren’t that far off. Tatum still has a little ways to go, but he’s still one of the premier rising shining stars in this league.
There was turmoil with Marcus Smart, the longest tenured Celtic player and self-proclaimed voice and leader of the team despite not being close to the best player. But his defense and toughness are vital. The toughness of this team was put into question. They were even called “soft” by Simmons and Russillo which is difficult to argue against. It did feel like they lacked a certain oomph or pep in their step. It was too easy to knock them down.
Payton Pritchard had some bright spots off the bench as a rookie, but he never got consistent minutes because he didn’t play consistently well either. The #14 overall pick Aaron Nesmith finally came onto the scene late in the year after receiving a shit ton of DNP-CD’s that left us questioning why he was drafted at all. But as always, better late than never.
There was the return of Romeo Langford! It was nice just to see him actually out on the court. But asking him to guard James Harden and Kevin Durant in the playoffs was just mean.
The Celtics simply had no depth. Surprise: Trade deadline acquisitions Evan Fournier and Luke Kornet did not save them.
This tumultuous underachieving season in Boston took an even darker turn when Jaylen Brown tore a ligament in wrist just before the playoffs began. The Celtics were gone fishing before they even showed up to that first-round series against Brooklyn, but hats off to the C’s for taking a game.
The 2020-21 Boston Celtics will always have Tatum’s 50-piece in their one first round win against the Nets, Tatum’s 50-piece the week before in the play-in game against the Wizards, and there was also of course the iconic franchise-record tying 60 points Tatum dropped on the Spurs.
And Danny Ainge will always have 2008.
Banners fly forever.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
Under 45.5 wins. We believe in the J-Team, but the Kemba knee injury is quite worrisome.
Celtics 2020-21 Record: (36-36)
Yes, our preseason Over/Under prediction hit. Kemba’s knee was problematic.
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What’s Next?
New head coach Ime Udoka, welcome aboard! Udoka is about as highly well respected and well regarded as it gets.
Uh, who is the point guard?
The Celtics lone pick in the draft right now is a second rounder at #45.
Will anything ever become of the $11 million and $6.9 million trade exceptions?
The Tristan Thompson Experiment did not work out to say the least. And so, Al Horford is back in Boston. Yet we will never stop hoping for more minutes for Time Lord.
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Favorite Celtics Highlight from the 2020-21 Season:
Tied with Larry Legend.
