Celtics lineup
PG Marcus Smart
SG Jaylen Brown
SF Jayson Tatum
PF Al Horford
C Robert Williams
Celtics bench
PG Malcolm Brogdon
SG Derrick White
SF Danilo Galinari
PF Grant Williams
C Dwight Howard
Other depth pieces
Payton Pritchard
JD Davison (two-way)
Sam Hauser
Matt Ryan
Luke Kornet
Projection
59-23, 1st in East, NBA Champs
Team breakdown
Last season, the Celtics had one of the greatest in-season turnarounds in NBA history. The Celtics started 18-21, coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Knicks on January 6th, in MSG, with RJ Barrett hitting the buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pt bank shot to give the Celtics the loss. The Celtics also blew a 25-point lead that game, which was a repeating pattern throughout the whole season up to that point. The Celtics were a mess in the beginning of last season- they had little to no ball movement, their offense was stagnant, they turned the ball over way too much, and there were legitimate concerns whether Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum could coexist together. The Celtics were in a deep hole and were on the outside looking in the playoff picture, which was severely underwhelming. But, this was the turning point in their season. The Celtics would reel off 7 out of their next 11 games to get back to .500 at 25-25. Then, the real turnaround began. The Celtics reeled off 9 straight wins right before the all-star break, improving to 34-25 at that point, and 16-4 since the Knicks loss. In the midst of that winning streak, the Celtics made some big trades at the trade deadline. The trade deadline saw the Celtics make two trades to drastically improve the bench, trading Enes Kanter, Bruno Fernando, and Dennis Schroder to the Houston Rockets in exchange for old friend Daniel Theis. Also, the Celtics traded Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first round pick and a 2028 swap best first to San Antonio for playmaking guard Derrick White. These moves proved to be key for the Celtics, who finished the regular season 51-31 and 2nd in the Eastern Conference, a remarkable turnaround from their 18-21 record on January 6th. The Celtics finished the regular season on an unprecedented 33-10 run, finishing with the best defense in the league by far, but the Celtics weren't done yet. The Celtics pulled off a remarkable playoff run, sweeping the KD and Kyrie led Nets in round 1, beating Giannis and the Bucks in the Conf Semis in 7 games, and beating the Jimmy Butler led Heat in 7 games to advance to the NBA Finals. However, they did lose to the more experienced Golden State Warriors in 6 games, having a 2-1 lead in the series before losing the last 3 games, which was disappointing, but there was great optimism with this team. The Celtics went into the offseason coming off an incredible finals run, and they improved their roster even more. They pulled off a trade with the Indiana Pacers acquiring PG Malcolm Brogdon in exchange for chunk change, Aaron Nesmith, Daniel Theis, salary filler, and a 2023 first round pick that will be in the 20s. This was a remarkable trade done by Brad Stevens. Then, in free agency, the Celtics picked up Danilo Galinari on a 2-yr deal to give them a shooting wing off the bench. Also, I would have the Celtics signing Dwight Howard to a 1-yr, vet minimum contract to fill out the roster, giving the Celtics another big. This Celtics team has a great chance to pull off another special run, potentially winning banner #18, and I predict them to win the championship. As a diehard Boston Celtics fan, I am ecstatic about the direction of this team and where we are heading, and we have a great future. Let's just get Jaylen Brown extended ASAP though, then the Celtics will really be set up for years to come!