Boston Celtics 2019-2020 Season Outlook
July 21, 2019
As the NBA offseason rolls on so does our team by team offseason analysis here at Tailgate Sports. This time we’re back breaking down the offseason to date for one of the more intriguing teams in the NBA, the Boston Celtics.
Key Additions: Kemba Walker, Enes Kanter, Vincent Poirier
Key Subtractions: Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Aron Baynes, Marcus Morris, Terry Rozier
Draft: Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards, Tremont Waters
The Boston Celtics are coming off of what was arguably one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. Boston had title expectations heading into the season with both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returning from injuries. However the team fell well short of these expectations with an unceremonious exit in the second round to Milwaukee. Now with Irving and Al Horford gone the Celtics must turn their attention towards the future, which starts with the 2019-2020 season.
Despite losing Kyrie the Celtics were able to land on their feet by signing former Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker. Walker is considered by many to be almost a carbon copy of Irving, so his fit on the court should be the same. Where Walker differentiates himself is behind the scenes. Throughout his career he has been heralded as an excellent leader and teammate, something Kyrie clearly was and is not. Although Irving is more gifted on the court, losing him for Walker could be addition by subtraction. In addition to this the Celtics also added former Trailblazers big man Enes Kanter. Kanter gives Boston something they haven’t had in quite some time, which is an elite rebounder. His 9.8 rebounds per game last season will be a welcome addition to the Boston front court who is looking to cope with the loss of Al Horford and Aron Baynes. Where Kanter lacks is on defense. He is one of if not the worst pick and roll defender in the entire NBA and I’m not exaggerating. The Celtics will need to rely heavily on the likes of Daniel Theis and Robert Williams as well as new addition Vincent Poirier from France for some defensive presence in the paint.
The Celtics best offseason performance undoubtedly came on draft night. The Celtics went into the night with four picks and came out with four really promising young talents. They selected Indiana guard Romeo Langford with the 14th pick. They went on to select Grant Williams at 20th overall before trading down to 33rd to draft Purdue guard Carsen Edwards. They rounded out their draft by taking LSU point guard Tremont Waters with the 51st pick. All four of these players are solid picks, particularly Grant Williams, who looks as though he could eventually fill the role that Al Horford played for the past three seasons.
Final Outlook on the Boston Celtics
Celtics fans should definitely be optimistic about the team heading into this season. In what is a wide open NBA, the Celtics still have a very strong team. They have seemingly addressed the issues in the locker room with the departure of Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier, and have replaced them with high character players. While they may have lost some talent at the top of the roster, the replacement players aren’t much of a step down. The Celtics biggest question marks lie with the rookies and the impact they will have off the bench, and with the depth, or lack thereof, in the front court. At this point in time the Celtics appear to be a top three seed in the Eastern Conference, and I wouldn’t rule out a deep playoff run. As for the regular season I’d say the Celtics record will be similar to where it was a season ago as far as wins and losses go. A regular season record of 51-31 is where I think the Boston Celtics will finish their 2019-2020 regular season.
