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Tim BontempsESPN
THERE ARE TWO versions of the Boston Celtics.
The one is led by two All-Stars under 25 and carries the expectation that it would be the final round of the conference in three of the past four seasons. The other one has eight players in their first or second year in the NBA, most of whom could not earn a constant place in the team’s rotation.
The separation between the two realities indicates why the Celtics tonight clashed with the LA Clippers, who sit at 0.500, in a morose group of teams fighting for the position in the back half of the Eastern playoffs.
“It’s shocking,” an Eastern Conference scout said at the weekend of Boston’s record. “They have more talent than their record would indicate.”
Despite the development of two All-Stars in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the momentum of Boston has become crater. A series of free agency shutdowns, misappropriation of drafts and payroll cuts have led to a team far removed from the goal of hanging an 18th championship banner on the TD Garden beams. Their weaknesses have been exposed, and they do not have good options to correct them.
So, with two games left before the All-Star Break and less than four weeks to the deadline, the Celtics are still searching for their identity.
“I feel our group is pretty much together,” Celtics GM Danny Ainge told ESPN. “Guys are still working hard, and I feel like we still don’t really know who this team is.”
TATUM AND BROWN goes to Atlanta this weekend not only as All-Stars but also as the first Celtics duo for every average 25 points per game since Larry Bird and Kevin McHale in 1986-87.
Add to that Kemba Walker, an All-Star a season ago, and Marcus Smart, a two-time All-Defensive Team pick, and Boston should have a chance to be a championship candidate, not a team that is in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference does not scratch. feature film.
“We have a lot of work to do to separate ourselves as better than where we are,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “And that’s the reality of it.”
An exodus of veteran contributors over the past two years has left Boston dangerously thin behind the four major backdrops. And thanks to a series of injuries to each of the players, the group has started just two games together this season and shared the court for 28 minutes.
“I think the injuries and all the others definitely worked against it,” a manager of the Eastern Conference said, “and especially if Kemba is not Kemba.”
Scouts and managers in the league had the same opinion about the Celtics: if Walker could not return to an All-Star level, Boston’s hopes of being a threat in the East would disappear.
“He can still offer value,” said a manager of the Western Conference. “But is he worth $ 35 million? Is he worth the number? It’s hard [to build around] if he is not. ‘
Walker was named an All-Star last season, averaging 21.8 points per game before halftime, shooting nearly 39% of the three-point series. Then his knee started acting and causing him to miss all but ten games in the second half of the season.
And while there have been recent signs that Walker is back in shape – he dropped 32 points on the Pacers last week, part of a stretch that has seen him averaging 23.2 PPG over the past five games, he shoots still 38.5% and 35.7% of depth, figures that look more like his early Charlotte Bobcats days than his All-Star qualifications with the Hornets.
“You would have thought after the play-off game he would have come out and had a good start to the year,” the chief executive said. “That [he hasn’t] surprised me. ‘
Walker’s inconsistent contribution also exposed the lack of depth behind him. Jeff Teague, one of the few veteran reserves on Boston’s rankings, is shooting a worst career run of 34.2% off the field. The Celtics’ other point guard options are mostly untested rookies and second-year players.
This is a problem that exists in almost every position for Boston, stemming from decisions made over the past two seasons. Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Marcus Morris Sr. and Terry Rozier were all released in 2019, with only Rozier’s departure bringing back some help (as part of a sign-and-trade deal for Walker). Gordon Hayward followed suit last summer, when the Celtics decided that the solid offer he received from the Hornets (four years, $ 120 million) was out of their price range.
Boston had earlier rejected overtures from the Indiana Pacers that Myles Turner and Doug McDermott could deliver in a sign from Hayward. After the former All-Star reached its agreement with Charlotte, Boston was able to negotiate with the Hornets a sign-and-trade deal that created a $ 28.6 million trade exception, the largest in NBA history.
That exception could end up being a useful asset, helping Boston improve before the deadline or this season. But up to this point, the inability to replace Hayward has hurt the Celtics on the field.
The two veterans Boston signed this season, Teague and center Tristan Thompson, struggled and put a better spotlight on Boston’s decision to rely on the crowd of young players they have lined up over the past three years, from rookie Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard to second-year guard Romeo Langford and Carsen Edwards and send Grant Williams to third-year center Robert Williams III.
“They all had a chance to play, and they all had great moments,” Ainge said. “What’s difficult this year is just the roles we were meant to fulfill, especially as young players, not to be a primary scorer. If you lose [starters], everyone needs to move up and play a bigger role. It was then that we had contradictions this year. ‘
Pritchard, the no. 26 from Oregon, established himself strongly in the rotation, averaging 7.4 PPG and shooting 38% from deep. In his third year, Robert Williams became a trusted member of Stevens’ three-headed monster in the middle. But the rest of Boston’s newcomer and sophomore brigades cared very little; Langford has not even played this season yet.
This led to Boston getting stuck about .500, despite the fact that Tatum was an All-Star and Brown joined him at that level.
‘If you were to tell me Brown and Tatum it’s going to be all right, I’m going to be surprised [at their record]’, said a manager of the Western Conference.’ I could see if they struggled, but not as well as the guys played. This is amazing. ‘
FOR THE PAST a few years ago, the Celtics tried to strike the hardest balance an NBA team can do: win today, while being well-positioned to win tomorrow. It almost worked. The Celtics reached the final of the Eastern Conference in 2017, 2018 and 2020. They have won 35 playoffs in the last four years. Only the Golden State Warriors (46) won more.
But the Warriors hung two championship banners in the team, something Boston has not done since 2008.
The Celtics’ record so far this season indicates that the drought is likely to continue, but Ainge does not see the title window closing for Tatum and Brown, and the names of players like LeBron James and Michael Jordan, who have struggled to win titles conquer, call. early in their careers.
“You have to keep things in perspective,” he said. “These guys are now 22 and 24 years old. If you put all the guys I just mentioned at the same ages, many of them were not who they became. [at that age]. All the great players, it just takes time for them to play their best. ‘
Yet the league insiders do not believe the Celtics can hold a raid, possibly wasting a year of the primes of their two young building blocks playing at an elite level.
“There comes a time when you have to do something to keep your stars and show that you are trying, especially when they are young and early in their first year,” the Eastern executive said. “You have to make that connection with them.”
This is something Ainge used to be reluctant to do. The last time Boston acquired a player in a season-long deal was six years ago when the team fired Isaiah Thomas from Phoenix. Only the San Antonio Spurs have a longer drought.
“They will only do something,” the Western executive said, “if they think they are going to bury you.”
The Celtics no longer have the deep closet of draft assets from other teams to possibly include in a deal. They still have their own future first-round pick, as well as the big trading exception, which puts them in a better trading position than most other competitive teams. Competitive managers believe they are looking for a player who can play one of the two forwards and give a good point – exactly the kind of player they lost when Hayward left.
And while the team’s salary is currently low, ownership has spent the luxury tax in the past, and Ainge has shown he is willing to do it this season.
“If there are players we can get who can keep us on top and keep us under control, we will make a deal that falls into that category,” he said. “But we’re not going to do it for a patch, or someone who might help us play a game or two.”