The Boston Celtics have been far and away the best and most dominant team in the NBA this season. The team has chemistry comparable to the 2008 Celtics, the last time they won the NBA championship. From Jayson Tatum as the Paul Pierce figure, Porzingis as the Garnett and Holiday as the Rondo, there are several comparisons to the last Cs team to go the distance.
With a dominant offense, defense, and a home court advantage that can’t be matched, many believe that the Celtics have everything they need to storm to the playoffs and win their 18th NBA title.
However, that is not going to happen. No matter how you scratch it up, the team still has several question marks as they enter the home stretch of the regular season. This first and foremost biggest concern is Jayson Tatum. Never have I seen a player get so hot one game and then absolutely stink it up the next. This Jekyll and Hyde phenomena is especially glaring in the postseason. For example, during the playoffs last season against the 76ers, Jayson Tatum was bad… REAL bad… for the majority of the series he was a non factor until the very last second where he remembered how to shoot a basketball on the 76ers.
Tatum also has a tendency when the Celtics are down by 10+ points to play hero ball and try to do it all himself which always leads to deepening the deficit. While he has had several moments in the playoffs where he is great, there are as many moments where he is awful whether it is defensively or offensively. If the Celtics want to bring home the gold, Tatum is going to have to limit the mistakes as well as put his ego aside.
While the Celts star is a glaring question mark, another resides with Head Coach Joe Mazulla. The second year coach has proved to be one of the best young minds in professional basketball. However, his achilles heel is the lack of awareness of game speed and when to call timeouts.
Tatum isn’t the only Celtics star who is a major playoff concern. His counterpart Jaylen Brown has glaring troubles of his own. While Brown is an elite scorer, his ball handling skills is an inevitable concern entering the postseason. His ball handling was a factor as to the Celtics failing to reach the NBA finals last season. Like Tatum, Brown also has a tendency to try to be the hero when the team is down double digits. This form of basketball can not be maintained in the NBA postseason.
There have been moments throughout his first two seasons where the Celts will be against a 13-0 run or any run of the sort and Mazulla will not take the timeout and make necessary adjustments. His lack of game speed should scare fans especially with the high chance of playing teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers. Mazulla, while a smart coach, could be the biggest roadblock for the Celtics in their pursuit of banner 18.
Another alarming issue with the Celtics is the potential factor of injuries. Looking at the team, while most are not injury prone, centerpiece Kristaps Porzingis is as prone as there is in the league. With his 7 foot stature, he is naturally delicate. As seen on other teams he has been on, not having the unicorn on the court hinders the team’s full potential. Being in the eastern conference with teams like the 6ers and Bucks, with notable big men, the Celtics need Kristaps healthy if they want to make a run.
The Celtics have everything, but their road to the Finals looks even more difficult than many think. Looking at the potential matchups, the Celtics, barring the play-in tournament, will be starting their run against either the 76ers or the Miami Heat. The Heat have the best coach in the league in Eric Spolstra and have one of the best playoff performers in Jimmy Butler. If history has shown us anything, it is that the Heat are never to take lightly in the playoffs.
If the Cs beat the Heat. They will then have to go on against potentially the Indiana Pacers, the only team better than the Celtics offensively, or the New York Knicks which have potentially the best chemistry in the league. Both potential options serve for a potential exit for the men in green.
If they make the East finals, they could take on the Bucks, who are the most dangerous team in the league outside of the Knicks in my opinion entering the postseason. It will be a dog fight to the end for the Celtics. In terms of the NBA Finals, the Celtics could take on any of the Thunder, Clippers, Kings, Mavericks, or even the defending champions the Denver Nuggets.
The Celtics have no shot against the Nuggets in a 7 game series, with how Nuggets stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray play in the postseason, there may be no duo better than these two. But, if the Cs stars can put their egos aside and learn from their mistakes, they may stand a fighting chance. That’s the take.