2023-24 NBA Season Preview: Boston Celtics
Banner 18 feels like a real possibility this year. The vibes are strong and after years of being so close, the Celtics may have put the finishing touches on what ends up being a season where Boston hoists the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Heading into the 2023-24 NBA Season, what should we expect from the Celtics? It’s time (insert Bruce Buffer voice) to preview the team.
2022-23 Season Recap
It was a frustrating Celtics season a year ago that felt doomed from the start. Ime Udoka was canned and the entire staff was basically raided that Summer prior to the scandal. Boston won 57 games but their defense slipped and lost in seven games to the Heat in the Conference Finals. The two offseason additions of Danilo Gallinari and Malcolm Brogdon both predictably got hurt at the worst time. Without that extra shot in the arm, the C’s fell short.
Offseason Overview
This franchise is all in. The C’s made more changes than you may think at first glance:
Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, Grant Williams, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and Blake Griffin are out.
Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Jordan Walsh, Oshae Brissett, Dalano Banton, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Lamar Stevens are in.
The top five in Boston is special. Al Horford is aging in dog years so I won’t count him but adding him makes this team possibly the best top 6 in the NBA. It’s a matter of if you can trust the 7-9 spots. Payton Pritchard will get more of an opportunity and has flashed in the past. The good news is the Celtics have assets remaining to add a wing or frontcourt player midseason if they want to.
Projected Starting Five
Point Guard: Derrick White
Shooting Guard: Jrue Holiday
Small Forward: Jaylen Brown
Power Forward: Jayson Tatum
Center: Kristaps Porzingis
This starting five may change throughout the year but this is probably the lineup the C’s should use to close games. Boston can go with the double bigs with Horford depending on the matchup.
The Holiday and White backcourt is scary defensively. Both guys were All-Defense and I can’t imagine there is a better combo out there. The fit is really interesting too because they can kinda pick and choose their spots offensively. The two will help out in the playmaking aspect while doing the dirty work to allow Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to thrive.
Offensively, the C’s get a huge boost in the frontcourt. If Horford wasn’t hitting his shots the C’s had zero offense outside of the occasional lob to Timelord. Porzingis averaged more than 18 points per game in every single season minus his rookie year. He can hit shots and is going to be lethal in the pick-and-pop game. Something the C’s haven’t really had.
X-Factor
I think there are three. I’ll spend a few seconds on each because realistically what’s going to matter here will be finding those trustworthy bench spots. Can Pritchard be the third guard and be a sparkplug off the bench? He definitely has a shot to be that.
Can Sam Hauser be the 3-point guy who knocks down shots off the bench? He’s been inconsistent but when the shot is falling, Hauser has helped.
Can Luke Kornet be a functional third big? The dude is tall and can hit the occasional shot from deep. His Kornet Kontest is hilarious too.
If those three guys prove trustworthy, this team can win the title. No question about it.
Season Projection
Does it really matter how many games the Celtics win during the regular season? We know Boston will make the playoffs and likely will have a top-three seed. It’s a matter of if they can beat Milwaukee to reach the Finals and then take out the champion of the West. This team has as much top-end talent as any team in the league. Just one problem… can they actually trust Joe Mazzulla? Maybe that’s the biggest question mark right there.
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