The Celtics almost pulled off the impossible, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to the 8 seeded Miami Heat, but came up short. This left many asking questions unanswered: such should the Celtics should keep Jaylen Brown, who wasn’t very productive when the team needed him to be? Should Joe Mazzulla be fired? Was Brad Stevens going to make any trades?
When free agency opened up, the Celtics were relatively quiet, not signing any big names–people started wondering if something bigger was going to happen. A couple of days before the NBA Draft trade, rumors started going around linking the Celtics to teams around the league. Then, it happened.
Jayson Tatum is taking the league by storm, and the team doesn’t want to waste this opportunity. This meant that they needed to make moves to improve the team to get them over the hump and win the finals.
It was late at night when the news broke–news that hurt a lot of Celtics fans. The team traded away a couple of picks and players, but the most notable player was Marcus Smart. The Celtics are entering a win now mode since they’ve made the ECF the last three out of four years.
This trade resulted in the Memphis Grizzlies getting Smart while the Celtics get Kristaps Porzingis who was playing well in D.C. last year. Now, the Celtics showed everyone that this is their time to win, but losing Smart does knock the defense and playmaking down. Who would the Celtics turn to for that playmaking and defensive style?
This is where Jrue Holiday comes in. When Milwaukee traded for Portland’s star point guard Damian Lillard, they traded away Jrue Holiday who not even three days later joined the Celtics. The Celtics gave up Rob Williams, Malcolm Brogdon and picks for Holiday.
The Celtics found their star defender and playmaker, who has looked really good so far in the season. Even though the season just started, the Celtics picked up right where they left off.
The Celtics beat the Knicks 108-104 with Tatum and Porzingis combined for 64 points in the opener. The second game was the home opener at TD Garden, which, as always, was rocking with noise. The Celtics also came out with a win by beating their somewhat rivals, the Heat, 119-111.
Derrick White led the charge with 27 points and some exceptional defense, but another player that stood out was Jrue Holiday. He seems to have gotten better ever since he came to Boston, tallying up a couple of blocks and was hustling up and down the court. He was also playmaking by getting seven assists–if he got three more he would’ve had a triple-double. It’s only been two games, but the team is looking like the best one the Celtics have had in a while.