Post-Mortem: 2021-22 Boston Celtics

[Parataxis]

Except for one loss more than they wanted in the Finals, this was pretty much a perfect season. Did what they needed to do, and still have a future in front of them.

Run it back.

[ropjhk]

Learning experience for Tatum, Brown and Smart. Make sure Robert Williams gets healthy. Use the offseason to address some needs but run it back with essentially the same crew and try again next season.

[dc]

Big blow for the Celtics, didnt expect that, they run out of juice.

As a Warrior fan, I'll be the first to say they had a much tougher path to the Finals and it wore them out. They were out of gas.

I think if they had some more depth at the wing and could reduce Tatum/Brown's minutes, it would make a difference.

[FNQ]

Frankly I have the Celtics as the top team going into next season... they have more talent than us. What they didnt have was cohesiveness that we did, but they're well on their way. Too often on defense I saw miscommunications and bad scrambling from the Cs, and that should go away as they learn to play with each other more. Individually, so much talent. White, Smart, Tatum, Grant, TimeLord, Horford... to a lesser extent JB and even Pritchard. That's an insanely talented defensive team. The only roster need I see for them is a PG that can break down a defense and kick out more, to take pressure off JB and Tatum. I suggested Rubio earlier, but he's more of a bargain option. TJ McConnell could also work

Bottom line is that the Celtics dont look to be going anywhere anytime soon, I think currently they are the most talented team in the East and are young enough for that to be scary for the rest of the EC. I dont think MIL or MIA are better than them and I dont think they have the youth or draft capital to leapfrog them. I'd be more worried about Toronto and Cleveland in the coming years tbh

But most of this falls to Ime, and what he can do to gel the team better defensively. If they start moving as a unit, they really do have all time great potential

[dc]

Frankly I have the Celtics as the top team going into next season... they have more talent than us. What they didnt have was cohesiveness that we did, but they're well on their way. Too often on defense I saw miscommunications and bad scrambling from the Cs, and that should go away as they learn to play with each other more. Individually, so much talent. White, Smart, Tatum, Grant, TimeLord, Horford... to a lesser extent JB and even Pritchard. That's an insanely talented defensive team. The only roster need I see for them is a PG that can break down a defense and kick out more, to take pressure off JB and Tatum. I suggested Rubio earlier, but he's more of a bargain option. TJ McConnell could also work

Bottom line is that the Celtics dont look to be going anywhere anytime soon, I think currently they are the most talented team in the East and are young enough for that to be scary for the rest of the EC. I dont think MIL or MIA are better than them and I dont think they have the youth or draft capital to leapfrog them. I'd be more worried about Toronto and Cleveland in the coming years tbh

But most of this falls to Ime, and what he can do to gel the team better defensively. If they start moving as a unit, they really do have all time great potential

I agree. I know people like to clown on the Celts, but get it in now. They're definitely not going anywhere anytime soon and they'll be right back in the mix. They're still plenty young. I don't think they really need to add much or overturn their roster. Maybe some more playmaking and/or better depth at the wings so they can play Tatum/Brown less minutes over the season and reduce their workload.

[Duke4life831]

Ive been saying it all year, they desperately need a PG that can run an offense. He doesnt need to be a starter, but he needs to be a guy that can count on giving them 20+ mpg though. A Tyus Jones, Ricky Rubio, Tj McConnell kind of player is exactly what they need.

Because right now they dont have anyone that can run an offense. Brown doesnt have the handle or the awareness to do it. Smart is a solid passer, but he doesnt run sets well and is far from consistent on the offensive side. Then with Tatum, his assists numbers have been getting better and he has gotten better with kicking to open guys. But he still isnt good at running an offense. His assists come more from him having the ball in his hands more and having a higher usage. He isnt a guy that is running a clean set and getting guys open looks.

And this team desperately needs it. They go through crazy amount of stretches where they cant get anything going on the offensive end. Their elite defense saved them the majority of the time. But ya they really need someone that can come in and run an offense.

[ILOVEIT]

Boston needs a smart high IQ vet. This year's run was smash and crash sloppy bully ball. Watching them flop and crash into Warriors showed that it's what they got....and when forced to actually execute and play intelligent ball...eh.

I don't see them back in the championship unless they add a legit closer like a younger CP3 etc...

[Godymas]

I can't help but feel like the roster as constructed won't make the finals next season and will be worse next season

Horford overperformed this season and a big reason for his performance was because of the blessing of the season before in OKC where they hardly played him and ended his season early. He's 36 turning 37 next year. I don't believe for a minute that Al Horford will be able to replicate this season again for Boston.

Now for the real elephant in the room, Marcus Smart. Marcus Smart is a polarizing player, first of all he won DPOY but he isn't really the best defender on the Celtics. That would be Robert Williams. Second of all what he gives on defense he lacks heavily for on offense. This was the first year that the 2 Jays did not have an elite PG between them and it caused a ton of growing pains. Marcus Smart I do not believe is good enough to be a teams primary PG and facilitator on a championship team . I really do think that, as beloved as Smart is, they are going to have their "DeMar DeRozan" moment and have to put him in a trade to get the objectively better player to put them over the top.

Moving on, Tatum showed some real weakness in this finals. He had the most FTA and only shot 65% on FTs compared to a normal 85%. That isn't good enough. 33% or whatever from the field, not good enough. The Warriors took advantage of him in matchups, forced him to pass and it resulted in a record setting TO performance.

Jaylen Brown, clearly needs to be a better play maker, a streaky player, but good player, a very important guy for the future of Boston.

Robert Williams, I do wonder what the long term implications are for an injury prone guy being forced to play extra in the playoffs while being injured.

The East will be tougher next year, I don't see Boston getting back here without making a move for a swing star in the next 3 years to complement Tatum and Brown. The rest of the team just won't be good enough.

[Triple M]

Brad/Ime have done a lot in 1 year, and with a normal FA, I expect they can address the current flaws.

They also don't have ageing stars like Miami, Brooklyn or star in Philly(Harden). Nor do I think young upcoming teams are there yet like Toronto, Cleveland, Charlotte yet, because their stars are a year or 2 away from potentially cracking into the top 15/10 players.

Milwaukee should be there over the next few seasons as the favourite but I don't think Boston cant overcome them again.

[AussieCeltic]

Horford played amazing but he'll be 37 next season so perhaps they think about upgrading/replacing him.

As long as Milwaukee has Giannis, Boston needs Horford. I expect his minutes to be low next year to keep him fresh for the playoffs. But yeah, this Boston team can’t beat Milwaukee without Horford currently.

He’s there for Embiid as well.

Embiid struggles so much when Horford is playing.

[djsunyc]

the boston celtics tell me that the east has a ton of parity. they were the team that got through this year. you just keep trying to put together a good team and maybe you get a shot at a chip. there's no guarantee you get back there but it's also no reason to panic and make huge changes. they need to keep adding.

[Jerry Maine]

Put me in the Celts need an upgrade camp. Offensively they are just too limited, even with some growth from Tatum, Brown and Ime.

[wco81]

On paper they have a lot of talent, both Brown and Tatum are top 3 picks, Smart was #6, Horford was #3.

Brown and Tatum will have multiple all-star and all-NBA seasons before they hit 30.

But talent on paper doesn't always translate to performance. They've been to the ECF many times and one can argue that they're ahead of schedule making the Finals this year.

They certainly were playing well in January and February. They dominated the Warriors at Chase this season, as impressive an opponent as the Warriors faced during the regular season.

There's no reason they won't keep contending for the next few seasons. They do need one or two more players who can be on the playoff rotations.

True they don't have a top 3 player like Lebron but they were overall deeper than the Cavs teams the Warriors faced in the 4 Finals matchups.

Before the start of the series, I thought they'd be the most difficult matchup the Warriors faced in the Finals, the best defense which the league has seen in the past decade.

But that was based on the talent on paper. They can still develop and live up to the ceiling indicated on paper.

But funny thing about "on paper" is that Curry, Klay and Draymond don't look that impressive on paper, at least coming into the league, as far as athletic and physical measurable.

So you can't just go by "on paper," because it's up to the talent to live up to the potential high ceiling.

[al bondiga]

Keep everything intact

Celtics are a pretty good team as is...but smart is not starter unless he develops a killer mid-range jump shot from inside the ark and contributes at least 15 points a game

[ILOVEIT]

Warriors will take Horford please!

He was the one guy that scared me (Warriors fan) because I knew he would come up big. If Boston loses Horford I see them having a major gap of vet leadership.

[Phish Tank]

don't overreact and change too much.... just keep in mind that the Warriors are one of those rare teams that can literally expose the best of best defenses with all their off-ball movement. You won't see that with most of the other teams out West, even Phoenix to an extent.

Yes, Tatum & Brown gotta get better. Both need to shore up their ball handling, mid-range, and scoring around the paint. But don't trade guys like Smart & Horford. You need both of them. Horford does something few bigs in the East do -> hit 3s. And you need his passing. You need Smart's defense regardless of how he played.

Celtics gotta hope for internal improvement & depth. That includes Grant Williams & Derrick White -> both of whom had pretty damn good playoffs in the aggregate, but struggled mightily against the Warriors. That includes hoping Timelord can withstand a full season of basketball, especially since they'll be in playoff contention for a long while.

They don't have a FRP this draft (White trade), but try to get some upgrades where you can. Is Nesmith in your future? If not, trade him. Need versatility at any of the positions. Backup PG would be nice. Another wing would be nice. Someone who can grab long rebounds would be nice. All those things.

[Outside]

Tatum needs to get a lot stronger. Wiggins was like a brick wall whenever Tatum tried to dislodge him, and strength was an issue with finishing at the rim.

[robbie84]

I see a lot of comments about the need to replace Smart as the starting PG. It's not happening. He's too big, too versatile defensively. The foundation of their success is their defense- and Marcus Smart and Rob Williams are the two key pieces to that defense.
Their offense isn't perfect, but it's good enough. Their aim is to keep their opponents scoring less than they usually do. It worked vs Brooklyn, Milwaulkee and Miami. They played two 7 game series before the finals, through some real injury issues. They were exhausted against a team that had a great and relatively easy run to the finals. Tatum had something wrong with him in the finals. He shot 65% from the FT line and 33% from the field.- Wiggins had a bit to do with this, but Tatum has repeatedly taken the souls of the best defenders in the NBA- there's a reason he's first team All NBA.

The C's were agonizingly close to leading this series 3-1 and they came up against one of the greatest offensive players of all time, in flame thrower mode- carrying his team like top 10 all time players do.

Also, people are forgetting just how good the Warriors are- I was guilty of this too. I thought with Klay being a shell of his former self and Draymond Green appearing to regress, they'd struggle vs the Celtics size. But they took control with excellent coaching and ball movement. Their offense was excellent and Steph Curry literally took what the Celtics gave him and he torched them. I don't think anyone expected him to cook them from deep that badly. It was the Celtics strategy/gamble and ultimately they lost to an NBA great, doing NBA great things.
Their team as a whole played some dogged defense in the last 3 games and it won them a championship.

Wiggins was awesome, Looney was great. Klay wasn't like the old Klay but he provided enough spacing to give Steph all the room he needed to do his thing.

Put it this way: The Celtics All NBA first team player had arguably his worst playoff series of his career- and they still could have gone up 3-1 in this series in game 4. Could they have won from there? I don't know- but with a few tweaks and some experience under their belt they will be a force and should be able to get back there. Whoever gets to the finals in the future will do it tough.
Giannis, the Celtics and KD in the East. Luka, The Warriors and Suns/Lakers in the West.

[LewisnotMiller]

No major changes. This was Ime season 1.
There are a stack of obvious things to work on, including left hands for both Brown and Tatum. And they have a history of improvement.

Quite a few people have said there is no guarantees they return to the Finals next year, and I would think that's obviously true. I do expect them to be in the top tier in the East again.

I like the idea of at least checking in on Rubio. His brand of smart, selfless play is what we need more of, and he can fit well enough in our defensive scheme. I think we need to use the end of our bench more effectively in trying to find some help, particularly at the 4/5.

Horford and Theis earned their pay cheques but they're not young. Our interest in Chinanu Onuaku makes some sense to me. As an Aussie, I'd add guys like Duop Reath or Jo Luol-Acuil to our Summer League roster. Heck, I'd even throw a camp tryout to Luke Travers, much as I know it probably leads to nothing.

But I would be working on internal improvement both in terms of skills and offensive system to get us back to the Finals more than any drastic changes.

[MagicBagley18]

Add some depth to the roster and proven scoring off the bench....the bucks with Middleton are the best team in the east Imo but after them I have the Celtics as the 2nd best team of a closed knit bunch. Although I understand that’s very subject and it’s close

They need shooting and need another connector who handles the ball and can run an offense. He doesn’t need to start but just run the offense at times when they get in a funk or with the 2nd unit. Ownership should be aggressive this summer adding vets the best they can.