As the Boston Celtics season came to a close Tuesday night in a series-ending loss to the Brooklyn Nets, it’s time to recollect on Boston’s arduous 2020-21 season. To put it simply, this was not the team we were expecting after only falling a couple of games short of the NBA Finals at the conclusion of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Boston was supposed to take that final leap this year into the last series of the NBA season, finally breaking through for the first time in over a decade. It appeared as though they might be on that path as the year kicked off. The Celtics started off 8-3, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had clearly assumed their roles as the leaders of this squad, and Boston wasn’t even firing at 100% yet with Kemba Walker recovering from his knee injury.
Boston was not truly challenged in those first 11 games, however. There was the season-opening buzzer-beater by Tatum over the Bucks, and a stomping by Brooklyn over the C’s that gave an early glimpse of how they matched up against the perceived best teams in the East. But for the rest of the season, they hovered in mediocracy, only once getting back to five games over .500 back in April, when they achieved their season-high sixth straight win over Golden State. At this point, some Celtics fans thought Boston had finally turned a corner. They sat tied for fourth in the conference, and with 15 games left on the schedule, the idea of a favorable first-round matchup and avoidance of the play-in tournament seemed realistic.
As we know, however, the Celtics faltered down the stretch, staying true to the brand of basketball they demonstrated most of the season. Boston went 5-10 to end the year, including losses to bottom feeders like Chicago and Cleveland, to finish dead-even at 36-36.
Explaining This Season
There was a perfect storm of problems for Boston throughout the year. Kemba Walker missed the early part of the year and did not find his footing until the last 25 games or so. Even with his return to resembling mostly the Kemba of old, the injury bug still plagued him, resulting in a horrible performance in his three games in the Nets series before he was ultimately shut down. The Walker Boston had for his first 40 games in green (when he averaged 22.4 PPG, 5.0 APG on 44% shooting, 39% from 3-point land, and a 5.3 plus-minus) has not shown up enough for the Celtics to have sustained success.
Injuries of course hit more than just Walker, with Marcus Smart, Rob Williams, Romeo Langford, and Jaylen Brown all missing significant time this year. The lack of practice due to the short turnaround of the season and COVID restrictions only served to inhibit the continuty of the team.
Of the final four teams from last year’s bubble, three were first rounded in playoffs, including Boston. The Miami Heat, who had their fair share of injury problems themselves, were slightly better than Boston all year and were easily swept in the first round. The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Phoenix Suns after being unable to sustain the health of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Denver Nuggets have persevered thus far and play Phoenix on Monday, but they lost their starting point guard for the season in Jamal Murray back in April. Early on this season, the excuse of the short off-season for teams underperforming didn’t hold much weight. But as the year dragged on, and the finalists from the bubble faced more and more injuries, it’s hard to ignore that only two months of rest hindered the teams who had the most success last year.
Looked at another way, the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns didn’t make it to last season’s playoffs and look where they stand. The Philadelphia 76ers only played four postseason games and now sit atop the East. There is more to it for all of these squads, but having virtually no offseason for the best of last year’s teams may have played more of a role than people realize.
Beyond injuries, the virus itself played its role in the Celtics locker room. Tatum contracted COVID, forcing him to miss valuable mid-season games and which, according to him, affected him long after he was cleared to play again. Evan Fournier was hit with the virus as well, not to mention all the protocols and restrictions that were placed on the team due to the pandemic.
The loss of Gordon Hayward was downplayed until it became apparent over the course of the season that Boston needed more offense. A big reason for the Celtic’s success in the bubble was due to their big four of Tatum, Brown, Walker, and Hayward, all of whom could get you 20+ a night. Even as the Jays’ stepped up this year, Walker stepped back, and Marcus Smart had to be the main scoring option behind them, until Fournier arrived, which didn’t go quite as planned.
The Celtics also did not have key bench contributors like they used to. Gone are players like Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, and Daniel Theis. Not to mention the current starting lineup still had not played a lot of time together, something that can hopefully be remedied during offseason practice and early in next year’s schedule. Boston never put it all together this year. Individual moments can be highlighted for a handful of players, but there weren’t many times when you watched and saw the team click for a full 48 minutes, night after night.
A final thing to note on Boston’s grueling season; though the expectations have been sky high for the C’s with Tatum at the helm, we should remember most 22-year-olds are not leading their teams to championships. The few exceptions out there over the last 40+ years of basketball are Magic Johnson in 1980 (who was playing with league MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), and two instances with the Spurs dynasty. Tim Duncan’s first championship was won when he was 22, and Kawhi Leonard’s 2014 performance came when he was 22 as well. All of those teams had established veterans, an ingrained, winning culture, or arguably superior players, a luxury Tatum did not have this season.
Quick Note on the Net’s Series
Things went about as expected in this series, the Celt’s stole one thanks to a huge performance from Tatum and the supporting cast. In the end, however, without Brown or a healthy Williams and Walker, Boston never really had a chance against the Brooklyn juggernaut. For a moment there though, in the third quarter of game 3, the optimistic Celtic fan thought to themselves, “if JB were out here, maybe we had a chance to beat these guys.” After all, the Net’s big 3 had only played 8 games with each other all year. Maybe there was a chance Brooklyn couldn’t get it together and the Celtics could take advantage. That ignores the larger woes of the season of course, but still, you thought.
What We Learned Development-wise This Season
1. Tatum is the real deal and could thrust himself into All-NBA First-Team conversations next year, if not MVP discussions depending on how Boston performs.
2. Jaylen Brown is right behind Tatum and the duo make for one of the most devastating pair of stars in the NBA today.
3. Rob Williams looks like he could slot himself into the #3 spot behind the Jays if he stays healthy for a full season. His explosiveness on the offensive and defensive end gave Boston much-needed energy at multiple points during the season. That is something this team will need going forward with their two leaders being more the quiet type and “lead-by-example” in their approach.
4. The rookies, Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith appear to be valuable contributors going forward for Boston. Pritchard with his ball-handling and floor general approach, Nesmith with his defensive intensity, and both of them with their deep ball shooting. Expect growth and extended minutes for these two come next season (as long as they’re not traded in the offseason).
5. Romeo Langford demonstrated the best play of his young, injury-prone Celtic career during the postseason. A plus-21 in the C’s lone playoff win in 27 minutes played (after a DNP in game 1), and dropping a career-high 17 points on 7-12 shooting in Boston’s final game of the season. His length helps tremendously on the defensive end, though he needs to improve his 3-point shooting if he wants starter minutes.
Remaining Unanswered Questions
1. Why such a dramatic fall in defense for Boston?
This of course can be chalked up to all the problems of the season, but it was still odd to see the Celtics fall from 4th in defensive rating last year, to 14th this year. Look to see if Boston hires a defensive-minded head coach to shore up what had been a strength for the Celtics throughout the Brad Stevens era.
2. Can Brad Stevens succeed in his new role?
Brad Stevens is now firmly in the captain’s chair after arguably his toughest season of coaching yet. With Danny Ainge retiring and Stevens taking over his role as President of Basketball Operations, he’ll be called on to righten the ship and take advantage of the prime careers of Boston’s two budding superstars while they’re still under contract. Stevens will first need to find the right coach for the team, and second, he’ll need to build a supporting cast via the trade market and the draft to get this team back to contender status.
What’s Next?
1. Kemba Walker: As for what comes next for the Celtics, Walker comes to mind first and foremost. Will he be back? Or will he be shipped off for whatever Boston can get back in return? It’s unfortunate how things have played out for Walker with the C’s. If we go back to when he first started for the team, October 2019, he was actually Boston’s best player. His October-December was great, he looked like a great pick-up and a better locker room presence than the previous point guard who had just left for Brooklyn. Tatum hadn’t come into his own yet, still months away from him and Brown truly taking over this team. But then, Kemba’s knee problems began to plague him and the team, and we’ve come to today’s current crossroads.
Kemba has 2 years, $73.7 million left on his deal, with the final year being a player option. He remains a great teammate and has helped the development of the Jays into stars. Trading him will be tricky with that big contract, likely requiring Boston to relinquish draft assets in any deal. I don’t think that’s the smartest move, but perhaps Stevens can bring something of value in return.
2. Headcoach: Rumors are circulating about assistant coaches Sam Cassell, Jacque Vaughn, Becky Hammon, David Vanterpool and Mike Brown among many other candidates. The Celtics will likely wait until the end of playoffs in order to interview all available personnel before making a call, so I doubt even Brad Stevens knows who he’d go with at this point.
3. Is Smart back or traded? If Boston keeps Walker, it means Smart might be out the door himself. The 6’4” guard showed regression earlier in the season, which contributed to his worst defensive season in years. However, he mostly rebounded by the end of the season and into the playoffs, stepping up as the second offensive weapon behind Tatum. Smart is set to enter the final year of his deal, paying him $14.3 million. What happens with Marcus depends on what Boston does with Walker basically. Smart is the longest-tenured Celtic and exhibits value in many ways, but Boston is short on trade assets, and he’d be a solid addition to any contender.
4. Can the Jays figure out leadership? Tatum is big time, and only going to get better next year. With JB back in the mix, expect another powerful, one, two punch out of Boston. But can the Jays figure out how to lead a team to the promised land? They are both quiet, with lead-by-example type demeanors. This style has worked before in the NBA, such as the Tim Duncan era with the Spurs, but next season will put their abilities to the test on if they can guide a team back to contention.
5. What happens to Fournier? I never understood the Fournier trade, it looked like a 40-game rental when it was executed that only ended up being a 21-game rental including the postseason. He wasn’t going to dramatically change the outcome of the season for the Celtics, that much was obvious before the deal. The bulk of the Hayward trade exception was used to make it happen, even though that could’ve still been utilized until the start of next season. Fournier is now an unrestricted free agent and could command $15-20 million a season depending on where he signs. The Knicks and Celtics appear to be the top suitors at the moment, but will Boston get into a bidding war for a player who at best will be their third option? Fournier’s short stint was of course impacted by his positive COVID diagnosis. When he did play, he added shooting to a team that badly needed it. I’m not sure how much of a priority the 6’7” guard is for Boston, but he does offer a familiar scoring option that likely won’t be replaced through other means. The Celtics also have the opportunity to do a sign-and-trade with Fournier, which would create another TPE for the team to use all over again.
Final Notes
While this season was not what Celtics fans were hoping for, it did reveal a lot of good. Without a doubt, Boston has two young, two-way stars that are both under contract for years to come.
The East is still tough, however. The Nets, 76ers, and Bucks all pose a serious threat to Boston with how they are currently constructed, not to mention a rising Knicks and Hawks team, and a Miami Heat team that still boasts a ton of scoring options.
If the Celtics are to be truly feared next year, Brown and Tatum need to not only show up statistically, but must find their footing as leaders of the franchise. Some additional help will of course be needed for the team to return to contender status, but in the end, Boston will only go as far as their two superstars can take them.
What do you think the Celtics should do this offseason to return to championship form? Let me know in the comments!