Even before the Celtics finally completed their acquisition of Kyrie Irving late on Wednesday night, it had been an eventful offseason for Danny Ainge and the C’s, who traded the first overall pick in June and then signed one of the summer’s top free agents in July. A year after finishing atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 53-29 record, Boston appears to have an even more talented roster, but the club will be lacking continuity after a busy summer.
Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Jayson Tatum are the big-name acquisitions in Boston, but there are changes up and down the roster, with only four returning players (Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier). Head coach Brad Stevens will have his work cut out for him as he looks to incorporate 11 new players into the mix to start the 2017/18 season.
In addition to Irving, Hayward, and Tatum, the Celtics’ notable additions include Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, and a slew of rookies, including Guerschon Yabusele, Semi Ojeleye, and Abdel Nader. While that’s a solid group, Boston’s departing players shouldn’t be overlooked. The club lost two of its best defenders in Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, and sacrificed some size and rebounding by parting with Kelly Olynyk, Amir Johnson, and Tyler Zeller. Gerald Green and Jonas Jerebko are gone too.
Despite all the turnover on the roster, offshore betting site Bovada.lv is bullish on the Celtics’ chances to once again claim the No. 1 seed in the East in 2017/18. Bovada has placed Boston’s over/under at 55.5 wins, the top projection in the Eastern Conference.
What do you think? Can the Celtics win 56 games or more, or will the team experience some growing pains as all the new players adjust to Stevens’ system and to one another? Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
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Previous over/under voting results:
- Golden State Warriors: Over 67.5 (53.57%)
With IT possibly out until the ASG break, Boston should have no issue getting first place
D-Rose should be able to manage at PG. Plenty of talent in Cleveland still.
55 is like literally the perfect total, but I’ll vote over. People are focusing on Kyrie and Hayward, but let’s not forget Al Horford who is extremely underrated. Al Horford, according to NBA Math, was far and away the Celtics best player in the postseason. He’s going to be huge. Then, you will have either an improved Jaylen Brown at the 2 or Marcus Smart, a defensive specialist. The biggest question will be the 4 with Marcus Morris, but he should be an upgrade over Amir Johnson.
So basically, your core is looking like this:
1. Kyrie
2. Brown
3. Hayward
4. Morris
5. Horford
6. Smart
7. Tatum
8. Rozier
9. Baynes
10. Yabusele
11. Larkin
Then there are a few question marks at the end of the rotation.
It is such a phenomenal time to be a Boston Celtics fan. Do they have the potential to take out Cleveland and Golden State? I won’t say it’s impossible, but it may take a year to get there. I think the Celtics are definitely on the upswing though and I think this team is a true contender now.
Lol you’re not contending KKKCelts. Cavs and warriors are still at least 4 levels above Boston and they’ve actually screwed themselves because instead of waiting for the perfect time to cash in their assets they panicked and now their prime years are gona start when Philly and bucks enter theirs (bucks and Philly actually have trancendent stars and Boston has none) Boston going to turn the best opportunity of all the time (the nets pick) to a conference finals appearance at best LOL
Interesting KKK reference. Pretty political for a discussion board. Is that really necessary?
Yeah because everyone from Boston in racist
I think Baynes will prob replace Johnson in starting line-up with Horford playing the 4 and Morris coming off the bench.
Also, don’t underestimate rookie Semi Ojeleye. He’s got first round talent who already has an NBA body and unlike Yabusele, he played and played well in the Summer League. He may also have been one of the reasons why the Celts were willing to part with Crowder.
MYAMI, you sound like a true hater. For starters what exactly is “4 levels above”? Then you said they screwed themselves because they panicked. Are you referring to the Brooklyn pick? So what about the Laker pick in next years draft that might end up being better than the Brooklyn pick? So you think Danny Ainge is worried about Philly and the Bucks? As for transcendent stars that would be 27 year old Gordon Hayward and 25 year old Kyrie Irving. Established all stars. As for the the future, Jaylen Brown is 20 and Jason Tatum is 19. Smart trade by Ainge to get a player like Irving at 25. As I said you must be a hater.
Hater for sure.
Hayward and Irving are not transcendent they’re all stars.
All-Stars who will lead Boston to the Finals
You showed your ignorance by using KKK. You carry zero merit into this conversation
Lol who the **** are you? I’m am the merit
Imam does have merit, I keep saying that
Or you a salty bostoner?
Ohio’s shorelines are fresh!
Around 57 to 63
Three top starters, then ?s. Brown will disappoint at the 2. It will take a while to get a rotation in place. Last year’s amazing teamwork will need a rework. Celts should do better in the playoffs, not the 82.
“Sacrificed some size and rebounding by parting with Kelly Olynyk, Amir Johnson, and Tyler Zeller”. Size maybe by definition, but Kelly and Amir couldn’t crash. Zeller was a non-factor come gametime. For those replacing minutes of the departed, they sneakily got a couple inches taller and maintained athleticism. Bradley and crowder were excellent defenders, but 6’2″ and 6’6″. From a pure rebounding/size-matchup perspective, I like that Brown (6’7), Hayward & Tatum (6’8), Morris (6’9″), and Baynes (6’10) will be mixed and matched on the floor. Morris and Baynes are physical, and Morris can knock down the 3 like Kelly. Amir was a great dude but often had cement shoes and struggled to check true bigs. I think we’ll see improved rebounding this year, but patching up the D with Bradley and Jae gone is the true challenge. Would love to see a Tony Allen reunion or bogut signing to add to D or size.
I think Boston will do better now and Cavs actually got the worse end as for the big name players swap. As for all the extras in the trade Cavs where way to greedy and got more then needed that’s where Boston lost on the deal. But really those players are not stars so it’s just filler space. Future picks could work out or not have to wait and see. Thomas is gonna have is issues with the biggest bully of all time ( yet he’s really good) just don’t think those 2 will get along as good as Irving and LeBron did. Plus with LeBron already saying he’s leaving in a year that gonna bring more tension to the team this year that was a bad mistake to say.
I would say your information on James is bad but I doubt you make use of information. Just random neural firings
Where’s kyries goatee? Oh lets go Celts, we da best. I think that they’re a championship contender. I say warriors v.s. Celtics. Next year Lebron is probably gonna go to the Lakers to END his career, and that’s all gonna happen next summer, so the Celtics, Raptors, or Wizards can be that eastern conference team