Unpopular Opinion: We are better than last year

[dreamgreen]

Without predicting a final outcome in the playoffs, I definitely think the C's will have a better regular season record this coming year.

They will also be highly enjoyable to watch...no doubt of that.

I agree. Also predicting playoffs right now is to hard for many reasons.

[bopna]

We are.

You can quote me on this...

The 2019-20 Celtics team will have a better regular season record than the 2019 team. Book it.

[Rosco917]

I worry about interior defense being the place of attack. The loss of Horford and Baynes will be missed. Kanter doesn't have a reputation for being a poor defender for nothing, it's a place we need to strengthen.

I feel positive about Walker, just the character issue alone will allow this team to hopefully relax and grow together. Maybe some ball movement will return who knows. For Brown and Tatum, now is the time, the ego-monster is gone. Both will get all the minutes they can stand. Hayward will take the place of Horford as point big guy, and continue to get back to pre-injury Hayward. Kanter should provide what he does the best on offense, rebound and score a little on the interior.

The bench will be young and inexperienced, except for Smart. No more 8 or 9 deep. I'd like to see this team actually like each other.       

[gouki88]

This is not an unpopular opinion.  National media experts (e.g., on ESPN) have been saying this for the past few days.

Yeah, this is definitely more of the poorly thought out, herd mentality, media-driven type of opinion, if anything.

Care to enlighten us with a well thought out opinion?

[mctyson]

The NBA is not a simple game of the sum of each individual part equals the whole. Unfortunately, one player can be special, but his addition to the team is negligible depending on the makeup of the team (Irving). It is also true that players that are doing too much can be replaced by other players more effectively (Horford). It is also also true that players that are not given the opportunity to perform well can be overshadowed by more experienced players (Morris), even if they are better.

It is also also also true that basketball is a team game that requires players playing together at a high level of synergy.

I think Walker is not as talented as a player Irving, but I think he will be a better player for the Celtics.

I think Horford is a good player but was asked to do too much last year, and that Kanter, Williams, the Frenchman, and Theis will be better fits.

I think that Tatum and Brown stepping out of the shadows on offense will lead to a better offensive team.

And I think that the Celtics as a whole will learn to play together better than was possible last year.

I agree!!

[Vox_Populi]

Last year's team was nowhere near as good as their talent, so if Brad maximizes the current group's and the young guys improve, I can buy that.

[SparzWizard]

Last year I had the Celtics being very scary good with the return of Irving and Hayward on top of that unprecedented ECF run.

and boy was I greatly disappointed.

I'll hold my expectations back this year.

[Evantime34]

We could be better than next year. This team is going to need to space the floor, move the ball, hit a lot of threes and score at a high rate.

With the loss of Horford the Celtics should take a step back defensively, but if Hayward, Brown, Kemba and Tatum play up to their potential the offense could be top five. There is a chance this team will be near the top of the league in made 3's and assists.

[W8ting2McHale]

We certainly will be a different team, but the incoming talent has the ability to offset what went out and the young players will get opportunities that they didn’t last year to prove themselves.

Kanter will give up some interior shots that Baynes would have stopped, but he should be able to offset that by just not being injured and his ability to grab rebounds will stop a lot of the 2nd and 3rd shot attempts that we gave up last year. Hopefully one or both of his backups will do enough of the same to get fast breaks going for us.

If that three man rotation works, the Theis can play some power forward as a back up to either Tatum or Hayward. He won’t jack up as many 3s as Morris, but he is still capable of making them. G-Williams should be able to get 10 minutes a night there too so Tatum and Hayward don’t get too beat up by bigger PFs.

Brown and Tatum should get more transition opportunities and Hayward should get the ball on those back door cuts now that Rozier won’t be around to ignore him.

In the half court game Kemba, along with Hayward  should be able to execute pick and rolls and pick and pops as well or better than last year. That should open up the offense for Brown and Tatum to get plenty of shots in their sweet spots. I think shooting percentages for everyone will go up just from that alone.

More points on fewer shots for us and more rebounds that keep the other team from scoring will offset some of the slow rotation or out of position plays on defense that I expect we’ll see this year.

[gpap]

Last year I had the Celtics being very scary good with the return of Irving and Hayward on top of that unprecedented ECF run.

and boy was I greatly disappointed.

I'll hold my expectations back this year.

Same here. Guarded optimism.

Things I am feeling good about.
-Improved play from Hayward and Tatum.
-Kemba being a far better fit than Kyrie on and off the court.
-Continued improvement from Jaylen
-Kanter being a very good under the radar addition
-Carsen Edwards being one of the steals of the draft at 33


Things I feel we are lacking
-More size

Things I question
-Ainge drafting Langford. Not sure why he drafted him if he's not able to participate in summer league due to injury. He could've simply drafted another big (Goga) or drafted a healthier shooting guard (Alexander Walker, Kevin Porter, etc.)

-Vincent Poirer: I wouldn't mind Ainge getting another experienced NBA center as a back-up. Not sure what his fascination is with these un-drafted players from the Euro league.

[SHAQATTACK]

Horford is going to sorely missed ...DA may have screwed up here.....we ll see.

Celtics will not be better but worse if Hayward doesn 't play like he is being paid  , he needs to step up and give  us something like ..middleton , or at least brogdon level ball game.

otherwise he is drag on the team.

[Muzzy66]

Being better than last years team doesn’t mean all that much

I disagree considering:
- Milwaukee lost Brogdon and Mirotic
- Toronto lost Kawhi
- Philadelphia lost Butler and Reddick, who were both critical pieces for that team in ways that went beyond just stats

Consider this. 

* Last year there were four teams in the East who consistently held a stronger record then Boston - Toronto, Milwaukee, Indiana and Philly
* This year I truly believe that at least three of those four teams (Bucks, Raptors, 76ers) have taken significant steps backwards
* The fourth Indiana has gotten better on paper, however a LOT rides on how well Brogdon and Oladipo recover from their injuries

If you honestly believe Boston has gotten better then last year, then I think means a HELL of a lot given they are playing in an Eastern Conference that I would consider to be significantly weaker then it was last season.

[Roy H.]

Chemistry should be improved just by a couple of malcontents leaving.  But, I worry about the loss of size, toughness and veteran voices. These were already issues, and they got worse.

[philr13]

I'm expecting the first half of the season to have some serious ups and downs.

I'm very happy about the changes that have taken place. Certainly an example of taking one step back in order to take two steps forward, but there are going to be some ugly moments at first.

Not sure that our record will be better than last season, but I expect to make the playoffs again. What I'm really hoping to see is consistent play in the second half of the season. If that happens it will be clear to the coaches and management what areas need improvement.

[obnoxiousmime]

Is no one picking up on the irony that the OP's username is "DEFENSEWINSCHAMP"? 

Kanter is a talented offensive player but he's horrible on defense. There's a reason he keeps bouncing around from team to team. Rob Williams, frankly is not ready and if he plays large minutes there will be growing pains.

"Better" is a vague term, and from the responses I've seen there are different interpretations of what that means.

I am less concerned about record because every year is different, especially the level of competition in the Eastern Conference. With the departure of Kawhi and a potential teardown in Toronto, it looks to be a lot weaker except at the top with Philly and Milwaukee. Brooklyn will be OK, but Durant being out means they are in a odd transitional year. The Pacers, Heat, and Hawks should be better though they won't be contenders.

Your W-L record also depends on how hard the team is playing and how seriously they take the regular season. Last year it was clear Kyrie wanted to take it easy during the regular season, a big philosophical difference between him and Stevens. I would expect the team to return to playing hard in the regular season, but if that means more wins it doesn't necessarily mean the team is better in a 7-game series, or better overall if the Conference is weak. This is where the imbalance in the Conferences continues to be a big flaw in how the playoffs and draft are set up.

Finally, even though Kemba has been relatively durable I wouldn't be surprised if he is on a load management schedule due to his age. That might affect the record a little.