Tonight, the Boston Celtics will raise Banner 18 into the rafters.  Let’s take a look at this year’s team and see how things will go for the Green Team in their quest for Banner 19. 

The big story going into this season is that the Celtics brought everyone back from last season except for Oshea Brissett.  Not exactly a big loss.  It is pretty unprecedented in this day and age of free agency and luxury taxes for a team to return half of it’s roster never mind all of it.  Now, to some this might seem like a bad thing.  All the other top teams in the league improved but the Celtics did not.  Philla made big moves.  The Knicks made huge moves.  But the Celtics stood pat.  Well, here’s the thing.  The Celtics didn’t need to get better.  Not just because they were the champs last season.  They didn’t need to improve because they were so much better than everyone else.  Last year’s team had statistically the best offense in the history of the NBA and were the second-best defensive team in the league.  They had more 30-point leads than 10-point deficits.  They won multiple games by 50 points and who knows how many more they could have had if they didn’t empty their bench in blowouts.  They had one of the greatest seasons of all time last year.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 

Just because the Celtics retained all the same players, does not mean they have not improved since last season.  The first thing that is going to improve is their chemistry.  I have always said that one of the reasons the ’86 team was the greatest starting 5 of all time was not just because of the individual talent that fit together perfectly, but because of the chemistry they had together.  They had been playing together since ’84 (though not all starters until ’86) and played together like they shared one mind.  One excellent basketball mind.  Well, this team has been together for two seasons now and most of the guys have been together for 3 to 4 seasons.  The chemistry on both sides of the court in the preseason made the team look like they were in mid-season form.  Not only do the players fit together skill wise but they all know their roles and everyone else’s.  And they play them perfectly.  They have now been running the same system for two years and know it inside and out.  They are also all focused on wining and making the right play at the right time.  They are the proverbial well-oiled machine.  In that facet alone they will be an improved team. 

The other way the team has and will improve is through individual improvement.  Players getting better.  And that includes the two guys at the top.  You want the Jays to keep playing team ball and not go out there and try to prove how good they are or to try to win MVP awards or anything like that.  I don’t feel they are in that mind set.  But that doesn’t mean they can’t play better.  Playing better doesn’t mean doing more, it means doing what you do better.  For Jayson Tatum, that improvement is hopefully going to come via his jump shot.  He has changed the mechanics of his jumper making it smoother and a seemingly softer shot.  Last year Tatum led the team with 26 points per game on 19.3 shots per game.  Do the Celtics want him shooting more?  Not really.  However, they would love him (and everybody else) to make a higher percentage of his shots.  He shot 37.6% from three last season and only 28.3% in the playoffs.  If he can get that number to say 42%, which is where Horford, Holiday, and Houser all shot, he would be a more efficient scorer.   And hopefully more effective at the end of games.  This would improve the team without upsetting the apple cart. 

For Jaylen Brown, the improvement looks like it will come in his court awareness and passing.  If the preseason is any indication, his vison and play making should be improved this year.  He averaged 2.4 turnovers and only 3.6 assists last season.  Both of those numbers could improve this season.  Honestly, if you can go by the preseason, Brown looks like he is going to have a massive year this season.  He spent the offseason working on his game and his body and looks like he is poised to have his best season yet.  

I know there are people out there who think the only players in basketball that matter are the stars but that is simply not true.  Other guys like Prichard and Houser can improve this season as well.  Pritchard can become more of a playmaker for others.  Houser can expand his game from just being a spot up shooter to doing more off the dribble.  Attack the basket more and create his own shot more often.  Stuff like this will make them even harder to defend. 

One player whom I expect to see a big improvement from is the 25-year-old (though he looks 45) Xavier Tillman.  Tillman should see a lot of time this season.  Porzingis is out to start the year, Horford doesn’t play in back to backs, and Kornet doesn’t match up well against certain adversaries.  There are minutes to be had and I think Tillman will be the guy to get most of them.  Xavier was acquired on February 7^th and he only played 20 regular season games for the Cs.  He was thrown onto a championship caliber team with established stars and role players.  Even a player as good as Derrick White struggled a bit in that situation.  Much like White, but not to the extent, I expect Tillman to improve simply by being much more comfortable with the team and in his role this season.  I also expect him to shoot better from three-point range which is a big part of his role.  He only shot 28.6% from long range as a Celtics last season.  If he gets that to a respectable 35% it will be a big improvement, especially if his minutes go up as I expect them to.  In the preseason he shot over 50% from three.  I’m not expecting that, but he clearly worked on his shot and should improve and have a lot more confidence in it.  Speaking of the preseason, when the Celtics had back-to-back games, they sat the starters on the second night.  Tillman sat as well.  I think that says something about what the Celtics think of him going into this season.     

Another player who has shown improvement this preseason and could become a contributor to the Celtics efforts is Jordan Walsh.   In the Summer League, Walsh looked like the same out of control player he was last season.  However, in the preseason, Walsh looked a lot more comfortable and a lot more in control.  He looked pretty good.  He shot Ok from three at 37% but he was very good at getting to the rim and finishing.  Not something we saw a lot of previously from Walsh.  He also made plays on the defensive end, which is what was supposed to be his calling card coming out of college.  For him to improve as much as he did just between Summer League and the preseason is a good sign he is moving in the right direction.  There are not a lot of wing minutes to be had but it looks like Walsh may be in the running for any that become available.  I feel like unless the Cs have an open part of their schedule, Walsh won’t be seeing much time in Maine this season. 

Speaking of guys from Maine, JD Davison also looked much improved in the preseason.  He won’t have a regular role on the team with all the guards they have, however, he looks like he can be the emergency guard if they need one.  Much like Prichard was 2 years ago.  I wouldn’t have suggested that last year.  It is good for the Celtic to have depth at the point guard spot in case of injury.  With JD playing well, they would not have to worry about giving Pritchard or Holiday a game or two off for a non-major injury if they want.

You may think that improving role players isn’t a big deal or that they are not even worth talking about but it really is.  First off, any improvement is a good thing and will help the Celtics reach their goal or back to back championships.  But also, you have to remember the Celtics have played a lot of basketball over the past few years.  They keep making long playoff runs and (stupidly) keep playing international ball.  At some point this will start to add up (see 49ers, San Francisco).  If the role players play well, the Celtics will be able to give their top 6 guys more rest.  If they can put in bench guys and they increase the lead or at least don’t give it right back, the starters can rest longer in game.  The top guys can take their time nursing any injuries.  Or just take some rest when the schedule gets grueling.  All of this will add up to a healthier more rested team come playoff time, when it really matters.  Don’t take the Felger and Mazz you’re either a Hall of Famer or you’re not worth talking about approach.  It’s the role players that make it easier for the All Stars to do their thing and to do it night in and night out.  And the Celtics role players are going to be even better than they were last season. 

Speaking of International Ball.  As I mentioned at the time, I would like to thank USA Basketball, Nike, and Steve Kerr for solving one of the biggest problems the Celtics could have faced this season, motivation.  The Jays seemed to have taken the disrespect that they got from the Olympics and turned it into the motivation they needed to not mail in this regular season and just hope to flip the switch come playoff time.  I think we are going to see the best basketball from the Jays that we have seen.  They don’t seem to be looking to be the Man and take everything over.  They just want to play the best that they can.  I think this team’s motivation to prove that they didn’t just have an easy road or got lucky last season was put on display when they played Philla in the third preseason game.  The 76ers rested all their starters, it was the first game for the Cs after getting back from Abu Dhabi, and it was, you know, a preseason game.  It would have been a perfectly acceptable time for the Cs to mail it in.  Instead, they came out and dominated the game.  They didn’t care they were playing against guys who may or may not have even made the Philla roster, they played their game and they played hard.  That made me feel like this team is focused in on the regular season and it won’t just be killing time until the playoffs. 

One more thing I want to talk about is who should start at center while Porzingis is out.  I am going to start off by saying this really isn’t a big deal and really doesn’t matter but for argument’s sake, I would start Kornet and have Horford come off the bench.  The reason for this is mostly continuity.  One, Horford doesn’t play in back-to-backs so he clearly won’t be starting those games, and second, once Porzingis does return, he will be the starter.  So, to me, it makes a lot more sense to keep Kornet in the starting rotation so that it isn’t changing all the time.  Let there be continuity there.  Plus, it’s continuity for Horford.  When the team is healthy, he is going to come off the bench so why not just keep him in that role.  Why displace two players (Horford and Kornet) when you can just displace 1?  Kornet fits in perfectly with the starters and I feel he is the type of player who is more effective when he plays with top line players than when he plays with bench guys.  He’s better when the other team is focused on defending the other 4 guys and kind of ignore him.  He knows how to take advantage of that and he does it very well.  Kornet has become a very good basketball player, no matter how goofy looking he is or acts.  Playing him instead of Horford is no drop off.  Why not keep things as regular as possible? 

As with any team in any sports, everything comes down to health.  Again, see 49ers, San Francisco.  If this Celtics team can stay healthy all season and they are as motivated as they seemed to be in the preseason, we could be instore for a great regular season.  Like, maybe pushing 70 wins.  Could we see 74?  If they keep the killer instinct, they could be extremely dominant at home where their bench guys will shoot very well.  If they win opening night, which is usually hard with the Banner ceremony, they could possibly win every home game.  They are that good.  If they want to be.  Other teams may have improved this offseason but they had a long way to go to catch the Celtics.  We have to wait and see what these teams look like now, especially the Knicks, but heading into tonight, the Celtics are easily the best team in the league.  Barring injuries, I expect them to prove it in the regular season and the playoffs.        

With all that said, I will admit that Denver can still be a problem. Hopefully one they will not have to deal with in the Finals. 

P.S. If you are wondering why I use “Philla” instead of “Philly” it’s because that’s what they use on their uniforms. And they always have. I always thought it was ridiculous so I use it when I write about them.