Unpopular Opinion: We are better than last year

[DefenseWinsChamps]

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.

[wiley]

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. 

[Birdman]

Kyrie is top 15 player but he didnt fit on this team plus we dont know what happens off the court so Walker will be a better fit

Al going be miss but that contract was not worth it at his age

Rozier and Morris off the bench going to hurt cause we have no scorer to replace them

Katner was a great signing but we need another proven C or PF to help esp if Katner gets hurt

Alot depends how the rookies play this season will depend how far we go

[NKY fan]

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

[saltlover]

I think we will be better than the 2017-2018 team.

[chiken]

A year older for the Jays will be huge.. Especially now that the can play free without worry... This will be huge for us.

Hayward will be a million times better than last year... Another huge thing for us... He doesn't have to be UTAH Hayward, just not 1 game on 3 games off Hayward.

Kemba is a huge get... An Allstar who wants to be apart of a winning environment... A guy who wants to make the guys around him better (not just expect them to be) A guy who wants to be apart of a winner is a lot different than a guy who told us he and he alone was the key to winning...

Chemistry is a huge thing and We have a chance to have that in spades this year.

Mook and Rozier were awesome at times but they never wanted the roles they were stuck in... Which is understandable...
The kids, however, will be happy in those roles...  They are not better than Mook and Scary as players but they can totally be better than them in the roles we have for them... (specifically Williams and Edwards)

The offense that we ran through Horford will be run through Hayward...

We will miss Al's Defense against Embiid and the Freak yes, but we don't play those guys 82 times.

Oh and Brad is a year older and a season wiser. That is huge.

[rondofan1255]

Agreed, expecting them to surprise some people next year. The lack of more proven bigs is still a little unnerving though, but Kanter was definitely serviceable in the playoffs outside of the GSW series.

[Moranis]

Size was a problem last year and will be more of one this year.  And Boston may have a better record, but I wouldn't be overly surprised if it ends up in the 4/5 match-up and loses in the 1st round (depends on the match-up). 

[slamtheking]

it's an unpopular opinion. it's the one everyone would like to be able to agree on.  thing is, with the loss of depth and talent, I don't see this as a better team in terms of able to contend but I'm hoping for one that's more enjoyable to watch and functions as more of a team than "Kyrie and the support staff".

[Neurotic Guy]

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

Yes.  Unfortunately, the real question should probably be, are we as good as what we expected (or hoped) to be? 
I think the C's will be thoroughly more watchable/entertaining and yes, better than last season.  They won't be the contending team that I thought they were going to be much of last season when I believed Kyrie, AD and Al would be teammates in green in 2019-20.  But... like most here I've adjusted and am excited for the possibilities.

[jambr380]

I agree that we should have a better regular season record. I also think we will bring in another vet or two at the deadline via trade/buy-out and that will make the roster look more complete.

I wanted to believe in the talent we had and I wanted to get behind Kyrie, but this group just seems to have more synergy. We need improvement from Hayward, Tatum, and Brown, but that seems more expected than hopeful. The additions of Kanter and Poirier were more than adequate and both should fit into a role rather than feeling like they are settling for less.

I am excited to watch this team moving forward, it's just too bad a guy like Al couldn't be a part of it.

[cman88]

to be honest i think its addition by subtraction. Last year we had too many mouths to feed and no defined roles. So you had 7 guys cannibalizing shots all trying to get "theirs" and no one buying in to just be a role-player. Hayward was recovering and Tatum/Brown had trouble adjusting....now, danny has jettisoned Morris/Rozier....and hasn't replaced them with anyone

by that, he basically is saying Kemba/tatum/Brown/Hayward...you are are go to guys. and everyone else is a role-player. There should be plenty of shots to go around. Kanter will get his too...I also expect hayward to be much better, and he will excel in the Horford role as a point forward. And Kemba walker not being a passive agressive headcase should have a better effect on the locker-room. Here is a guy who hasnt known winning his whole career..I expect him to fully buy into brads system. something Kyrie seemed to not do this year.

[Surferdad]

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

[donawalt]

If we had a proven big man I would say this team has a shot at the finals. Team chemistry will be way better, I think as others have said Kemba is a better fit, we have a very good chance Tatum, Jaylen, Hayward are better. They have talent in the bigs, this will take some serious coaching up and scheming by Brad and the staff to neutralize the truly dominant bigs in the league. Maybe they learned some things from watching how Toronto took care of Giannis, but don't think he won't get better too. I 100% believe this team will be all on the same page though, which will be fun.

[KGs Knee]

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.