2017-2018 Season preview of the Boston Celtics

[dweeks7]

This season is going to be exciting, so I am going to share my predictions of what I think is going to happen this year.

Some of these predictions are on limited information so obviously things can change. I see the Celtics finishing 3rd or 4th in the Eastern Conference this season.

Here are my reasons for the 3rd or 4th seed predictions. The Celtics upgraded the talent but it takes a team a while to build chemistry especially with only one starter back. I also think the defense will not be a top 10 defense until the players get used to playing with each other.

I think the defensive potential is very good but they still need a good rim protector to be elite. I also think Kyrie is weak defensively. Horford can be bullied by bigger and stronger players while Brown, Hayward, and Morris can be decent defensive players.

The rotation is taking shape from the preseason games with the 10 man rotation being:

Irving/Rozier
Brown,Smart or Smart/Brown
Hayward/Tatum
Morris/Theis
Horford/ Baynes

I see Baynes starting some nights when the Celtics face teams with Big starting centers like the 76s, Trailblazers, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Pistons, Etc. Yabu, Semi, Nader, Larkin. Etc. are deep bench players or inactives.

I expect Hayward and Irving to each average close to 25 points per game but Hayward may be closer to 22 or 23. I expect Smart to finally make the leap with his shooting, Tatum to be a good rotation player, Rozier to make a leap, Morris and Theis to prove they are good all around players, and Horford to be his usual self. I am having a hard time getting a read on Brown because his shooting still needs to make a leap. Next year may be his breakout year.

With all of that said the Celtics still need that big man defensive stopper and for the younger players to mature. If I was Danny Ainge I might be tempted to trade Rozier and the Kings/Lakers pick for a Marc Gasol or a Drummond.

I'm on the fence about doing a trade like that because nobody is winning a title over the warriors any time soon so it may be better to just keep working on player development while looking for big men in the next couple of drafts.

I just don't see the Celtics winning a championship until they make one more good trade or luck up on a good draft pick. They could potentially have 4 first round picks in the 2019 draft so I guess time will tell.

Fire away!