Boston Celtics
The majority of the Boston Celtics will begin the new season embarrassed and motivated.
The 2019 Team USA that finished in 7th place at the FIBA World Cup — the worst finish ever by a U.S. Men’s team — featured Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart. It was a major let down. The Celtics FIBA Four will surely be looking to get that bad taste out of their mouths.
The good news is that they are already familiar with newly acquired Kemba and they have actual game reps against (mostly) legit international competition. The bad news is that the extra game mileage wasn’t exactly stellar and Tatum dealt with an ankle injury.
Team USA’s disappointment aside, hope springs eternal in Boston, the land of Championship parade after Championship parade. And the darkness that was the 2018-19 season is behind them. Kyrie is in Brooklyn and Kemba has taken his place.
He’s not Uncle Drew, but Kemba has tremendous handles that are quite underrated, and the world will see a lot more of the KW Show now that he’s in Boston rather than Charlotte. Kemba’s fast AF and can stop on a dime. He’s a pick-and-roll master and loves the in-and-out dribble, leaving defenders in the dust as he glides into the trees for up-and-under lay ups with high kisses off the glass. Cardiac Kemba embraces the big shots and he’s improved his 3-point shooting considerably.
Jayson Tatum had a ridiculously good rookie season in 2017-18. By most accounts, he crashed back to earth last season, however, if you look at his numbers, they aren’t that far off. Expectations are everything and teams were ready for him. Tatum says that he focused this summer on being efficient, more close-range two’s and threes instead of all that Mamba midrange.
Jaylen Brown can do a little bit of everything and will be head coach Brad Steven’s version of a Swiss army knife. We expect Brown to reap the most benefits of Kyrie’s exit. He’s quiet, but he’s tough. Brown can defend and play multiple positions, opening up lineup flexibility.
Gordon Hayward has had more time to recover from his shocking and brutal broken foot on opening night of the 2017-18 season. It’s Hayward who will likely be Boston’s 33-million-dollar X-factor. For most of last season, he was a shell of his former self, but there was a stretch where he really seemed to be trending in the right direction.
The Celtics glaring weakness is the thin front line: Enes Kanter, Robert Williams, Daniel Theius and Tacko Fall.
This is quite the quandary with GIANT Philly looming and the reigning unicorn MVP in Giannis. Straight up, it’s hard to imagine the C’s being able to hang in a 7-game series with either of those two. (The same can be said about the entire rest of the East.) Not only did Al Horford not re-sign with the Celtics this summer, but he jumped ship for the division rival 76ers. That stings. And it’s going to be a big problem for Boston.
Perhaps GM Danny Ainge will have something up his sleeve. It’s been a little while since he has pulled one. It looked like Boston was going to be a formative power in the East for years to come, but they were a Kemba Walker signing away from practically starting over from scratch with Tatum and Brown.
Still, Kemba’s arrival in place of Kyrie is and will be a grand breath of fresh air for Boston.
Sometimes that’s all you need to unlock the secret.
League Pass Notes
Kemba surrounded by actual talent for the first time is quite enticing.
The J-Team (Jayson and Jaylen) is a power-dunking duo.
Flame thrower heat checks by Carsen Edwards! Last night in the preseason, the dude hit eight 3s in five minutes!?
7-foot-6 Tacko Fall is, of course, already a fan favorite.
The Final Questions / The Final Take
Will Tatum or Brown take a leap?
Will we get a definitive answer to Kemba > or < Kyrie ?
Overall, the loss of Al Horford and thin front line is just too concerning for us. UNDER 49.5 wins.