This is the Celtics roster for the upcoming season barring any possible trades.
The starting lineup should look be:
PG- Isaiah Thomas
SG- Avery Bradley
SF- Jae Crowder
PF- Amir Johnson
C- Al Horford
This starting lineup is skilled in many areas but is also lacking multiple assets as well. The ability to drive the basket with this lineup is unbelievable.
Isaiah is going to run the point again this season as one of the most underrated players in the game. The 27 year old point guard average 22.2 PPG last season while dishing out 6.2 AST per game. These numbers are similar to the all-star point guard Kyrie Irving. So why is Isaiah not getting enough credit? Because his team hasn't made it past the first round? I can assure you that if the Celtics had Irving instead of Isaiah at the point, they would have had worse or similar outcomes. Isaiah is a top 10 point guard in the game without a doubt.
Avery Bradley will be back from injury he suffered in the playoffs last year to put together another year of stellar defense, defense good enough to win Defensive Player of the Year. Avery is one of the only players on the Celtics that has the catch and shoot ability and this will be a weakness of the Celtics. Bradley WILL play stellar defense, that is a given. Bradley has consistently become a better shooter year after year and I am excited for Avery to try and best his 36.1% 3P%. The catch and shoot mid-range jumper from the top of the key that Avery has perfected is a huge reason why the Celtics could get the #2 seed this year.
Jae Crowder the most well rounded, all round player the Celtics have. He has the potential to average 17.5 PPG, 8.5 REB and 7 AST. This is one skill that is hard to come by in the league. He is the 3-4 stretch player that everyone is looking or the in the league. He can match up against the best player on your team and play solid, consistent hustle defense. He might not be as fundamentally sound as AB on the defensive end but he ain't too shabby himself. Not to mention the electric dreds that Crowder rocks.
Amir Johnson and the PF position is where the Celtics start to lack something, rebounding. They partially fixed the problem with the big free agent aquisition of Al Horford. But rebounding other than Horford is limited and hard to come by. Amir is better suited as an energy guy of the bench in my opinion. But because of the lack of other options Amir will probably begin the year in the starting lineup. Amir should average about 12 PPG and 8 REB per game with consistent playing time.
Al Horford is the big name free agent aquisition that the Celtics have desperately desired for a while. The pitch of having both youth, money, draft picks and one of the best coaches in the league is the reason why Horford signed. Horford is the other All-Star player along side Isaiah Thomas that the Celtics have been looking for. Horford and Thomas will probably play the most minutes on the team this year and hopefully put up better/ similar number to last year.
Bench:
The projected bench should include
Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jonas Jerebko, Tyler Zeller, Kelly Olynk, Gerald Green and Terry Rozier
This bench features a potential 3 PF/C and 4 PG/SG/SF. This is a stacked bench, a bench that includes everything needed except.... Shooting.
Marcus Smart will win the sixth man of the year this year and will be a game changing player off the bench or in the starting lineup. He has elite defensive ball skills, great passing ability and great rebounding skills for a guard. The issue for Smart is, he is a pitiful shooter. He has become better and better at shooting through his years in the NBA but he still is not a good, consistent shooter.
Jaylen Brown the #3 pick in the draft is the most athletic person out of this years draft and has the potential to be one of the top players in the game in years to come. Like Smart, Brown's flaw is his shooting. He shot awfully this past year at Cal but has the ability to drive to the basket and play exceptional defense because of his length and quickness. His performance in the Summer League this year was beyond impressive and the Celtics fans are excited to watch him blossom this year and in the upcoming years.
Terry Rozier has fully grabbed my attention and I am 1000% on the Terry Rozier hype train. His play this summer was similar to that of Devin Booker. Meaning they are both players that are obviously way too talented and far and way better than the competition in the Summer League. With a mix of Smart, Brown and Rozier the Celtics is easily replace the loss of Evan Turner and more. Rozier grabbed the Celtics fan bases attention in last seasons playoffs where he played meaningful, successful minutes after AB got hurt. Can't wait to see what young Terry can do. And hopefully he can be that shooting touch off of the bench that the Celtics desperately need.
Kelly Olynk and Jonas Jerebko in my opinion are both PF/C who can stretch the floor with their shooting ability but have a lack of defensive/ rebound ability. Jerebko can play SF or PF while Kelly can play PF/C. Kelly has been an overall dissapointment in my opinion since being drafted. He can't seem to keep himself from getting hurt and playing consistent minutes. For Jerebko, I really don't know what to think. One minute he will splash 4 three pointers in your face, while everyone on Twitter calls him the Swedish Larry Bird. And the next minute he will be playing soft defense and missing wide open shots and having me scream SERENITY NOW!! SERENITY NOW! In my opinion he is one of the most polarizing players in the NBA. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO THINK!?!?
For Tyler Zeller, he is one of my personal favorite for being that clunky, unathletic looking white guy who hustles his ass off but he will most likely see a good amount of DNP's this year. But his electrity off the bench when he's on, is unbelievable.
Gerald Green, have you ever seen this guy jump? Well get ready to. Green is making his return back to the Celtics after being on the Sun and Heat. Green has the ability to his threes and soar through the air. But these are only on occasion. Besides those moments, Green is a liability on defensive and is overly similar to RJ Hunter. But if one person can get the career of Gerald Green back to the man who soars through the air and hits daggers, it's Brad Stevens.
The biggest factor of all for the Celtics is Brad Stevens. He is a top 3 coach in the league and it's not even arguable. He draws up amazing plays off the inbound and creates psychotic looking lineups that work like a charm. This man is a WIZARD. What he can do as a coach is uncanny and rarely found. This is a rare breed right here.
Looking forward to the Celtics season and the downs will make the ups so much better.
@Belsner133
The starting lineup should look be:
PG- Isaiah Thomas
SG- Avery Bradley
SF- Jae Crowder
PF- Amir Johnson
C- Al Horford
This starting lineup is skilled in many areas but is also lacking multiple assets as well. The ability to drive the basket with this lineup is unbelievable.
Isaiah is going to run the point again this season as one of the most underrated players in the game. The 27 year old point guard average 22.2 PPG last season while dishing out 6.2 AST per game. These numbers are similar to the all-star point guard Kyrie Irving. So why is Isaiah not getting enough credit? Because his team hasn't made it past the first round? I can assure you that if the Celtics had Irving instead of Isaiah at the point, they would have had worse or similar outcomes. Isaiah is a top 10 point guard in the game without a doubt.
Avery Bradley will be back from injury he suffered in the playoffs last year to put together another year of stellar defense, defense good enough to win Defensive Player of the Year. Avery is one of the only players on the Celtics that has the catch and shoot ability and this will be a weakness of the Celtics. Bradley WILL play stellar defense, that is a given. Bradley has consistently become a better shooter year after year and I am excited for Avery to try and best his 36.1% 3P%. The catch and shoot mid-range jumper from the top of the key that Avery has perfected is a huge reason why the Celtics could get the #2 seed this year.
Jae Crowder the most well rounded, all round player the Celtics have. He has the potential to average 17.5 PPG, 8.5 REB and 7 AST. This is one skill that is hard to come by in the league. He is the 3-4 stretch player that everyone is looking or the in the league. He can match up against the best player on your team and play solid, consistent hustle defense. He might not be as fundamentally sound as AB on the defensive end but he ain't too shabby himself. Not to mention the electric dreds that Crowder rocks.
Amir Johnson and the PF position is where the Celtics start to lack something, rebounding. They partially fixed the problem with the big free agent aquisition of Al Horford. But rebounding other than Horford is limited and hard to come by. Amir is better suited as an energy guy of the bench in my opinion. But because of the lack of other options Amir will probably begin the year in the starting lineup. Amir should average about 12 PPG and 8 REB per game with consistent playing time.
Al Horford is the big name free agent aquisition that the Celtics have desperately desired for a while. The pitch of having both youth, money, draft picks and one of the best coaches in the league is the reason why Horford signed. Horford is the other All-Star player along side Isaiah Thomas that the Celtics have been looking for. Horford and Thomas will probably play the most minutes on the team this year and hopefully put up better/ similar number to last year.
Bench:
The projected bench should include
Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jonas Jerebko, Tyler Zeller, Kelly Olynk, Gerald Green and Terry Rozier
This bench features a potential 3 PF/C and 4 PG/SG/SF. This is a stacked bench, a bench that includes everything needed except.... Shooting.
Marcus Smart will win the sixth man of the year this year and will be a game changing player off the bench or in the starting lineup. He has elite defensive ball skills, great passing ability and great rebounding skills for a guard. The issue for Smart is, he is a pitiful shooter. He has become better and better at shooting through his years in the NBA but he still is not a good, consistent shooter.
Jaylen Brown the #3 pick in the draft is the most athletic person out of this years draft and has the potential to be one of the top players in the game in years to come. Like Smart, Brown's flaw is his shooting. He shot awfully this past year at Cal but has the ability to drive to the basket and play exceptional defense because of his length and quickness. His performance in the Summer League this year was beyond impressive and the Celtics fans are excited to watch him blossom this year and in the upcoming years.
Terry Rozier has fully grabbed my attention and I am 1000% on the Terry Rozier hype train. His play this summer was similar to that of Devin Booker. Meaning they are both players that are obviously way too talented and far and way better than the competition in the Summer League. With a mix of Smart, Brown and Rozier the Celtics is easily replace the loss of Evan Turner and more. Rozier grabbed the Celtics fan bases attention in last seasons playoffs where he played meaningful, successful minutes after AB got hurt. Can't wait to see what young Terry can do. And hopefully he can be that shooting touch off of the bench that the Celtics desperately need.
Kelly Olynk and Jonas Jerebko in my opinion are both PF/C who can stretch the floor with their shooting ability but have a lack of defensive/ rebound ability. Jerebko can play SF or PF while Kelly can play PF/C. Kelly has been an overall dissapointment in my opinion since being drafted. He can't seem to keep himself from getting hurt and playing consistent minutes. For Jerebko, I really don't know what to think. One minute he will splash 4 three pointers in your face, while everyone on Twitter calls him the Swedish Larry Bird. And the next minute he will be playing soft defense and missing wide open shots and having me scream SERENITY NOW!! SERENITY NOW! In my opinion he is one of the most polarizing players in the NBA. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO THINK!?!?
For Tyler Zeller, he is one of my personal favorite for being that clunky, unathletic looking white guy who hustles his ass off but he will most likely see a good amount of DNP's this year. But his electrity off the bench when he's on, is unbelievable.
Gerald Green, have you ever seen this guy jump? Well get ready to. Green is making his return back to the Celtics after being on the Sun and Heat. Green has the ability to his threes and soar through the air. But these are only on occasion. Besides those moments, Green is a liability on defensive and is overly similar to RJ Hunter. But if one person can get the career of Gerald Green back to the man who soars through the air and hits daggers, it's Brad Stevens.
The biggest factor of all for the Celtics is Brad Stevens. He is a top 3 coach in the league and it's not even arguable. He draws up amazing plays off the inbound and creates psychotic looking lineups that work like a charm. This man is a WIZARD. What he can do as a coach is uncanny and rarely found. This is a rare breed right here.
Looking forward to the Celtics season and the downs will make the ups so much better.
@Belsner133