The Celts seem to be figuring out a main unit that gives them the best chance to compete with opposing starters, which is big and should help them get going.
I think the team is as good as we thought -- they will look good some nights when their depth is a major weapon, and they'll look totally overmatched other nights when their lack of dangerous scorers, aside from a guy shorter than me, means they just can't score enough points to win.
Defensively, the Celtics are far better than the sum of their parts. Brad Stevens deserves so much credit for that, while the addition of Amir Johnson and Jae Crowder to the starting lineup in place of Evan Turner and Tyler Zeller, and the continued defensive maturation of Sullinger and Olynyk, cannot be overlooked. If the Celts remain a top 10 defensive team, their ceiling will be closer to 50 wins than 40.
I think the defense may look a little worse once the Celts face a larger number of quality offensive teams, but it's also possible Brad is just making chicken salad out of you know what, again. The Celts were solid defensively last year, after all, and arguably they improved their personnel on that end to a modest extent.
Call me a pessimist, but my opinion remains that the Celts won't be truly dangerous until they get another top scoring option or two ... perhaps the continued growth of Marcus Smart, plus the addition of Jaylen Brown or Ben Simmons with the 2016 Nets pick, will provide those scoring options.
My guess is still 40-45 wins for this team, but if they get hot late in the season they could get to the 50 wins that some people predicted for them. Then again, a bad run of injuries, or just bad luck in close games, could see them finish at or below the 40 wins they had last year.
It's still super early.
