1. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
This team should go as far as the stars take them. Both Tatum and Brown showed out last season, having career years although the team did not acquire a high playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. Some of that is due to the injuries and limited play of Kemba Walker and others, but the team underachieved plain and simple. A lot can be attributed to the lack of defense and that starts with the example that Tatum and Brown set for their squad. Potentially a new coach, a new voice in the locker room helps inspires them.
2. New President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens
Speaking of coaches, the Celtic’s Steven’s is going to be a rookie in the executive he’ll be in this upcoming season. He’s made his offseason moves and will likely make some more before the trade deadline. Interesting to see how he fits in because he only has coaching experience and has never been a part of an NBA front office on official terms.
3. Are the 2nd year guys ready to contribute
I’m looking at Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard. They had impressive summer leagues and if they can maintain the level of competitiveness in bench lineups, that will help a lot for the Celtics. Pritchard is going to have even more pressure on him because after Marcus Smart (who plays both guard positions) and the new guy Dennis Schroder, the point guard play will be paramount throughout the regular season.
4. Josh Richardson and Dennis Schroder fitting into a role
Speaking of Schroder, he and Richardson just need to fit in and not worry about their stats. They need to make jumpshots, try hard on defense (especially in the case of Richardson) and don’t take away too many shots from Tatum and Brown. They are vets so hopefully, that isn’t a challenge for them.
5. How the center position plays out
The Celtics have Robert Williams III, Al Horford, Enes Kenter and Luke Kornet. Horford returns for his second stint with the Celtics may do similar things that he did in his first stretch. He didn’t have a ton of pressure to play for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he didn’t seem washed at all. But Williams is on the rise and just got paid a new deal and has to prove that his injury-prone tendencies settle down so he can ball out. Kenter and Kornet are backup plans as the offense only bigs that will keep the bench warm in case of emergency
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