2018-19 NBA Preview: Areas of improvement for each Celtics youngster
If there was one lesson to be taken from the 2017-18 playoffs that we hadn't already learned before in the fascinating league that is the NBA, it is that the Celtics have arguably the best core of young players on their roster, and are only slated to add more in the 2019 NBA draft when they own the Clippers', Grizzlies' and the Kings' first-round picks.
These young guns have battled the odds unlike any other core in its infancy in the league as of today. Without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, these Celtics played 19 games in the playoffs, won 11 of them and could conceivably have ended up in the NBA Finals but for some Game 7 yips that caused Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart to all but shoot them out of the championship hunt.
But with LeBron's move to LA, the Eastern Conference is there for the taking. The Celtics made short work of the 76ers in the Conference Semifinals, exploiting Embiid's and Simmons' weaknesses to finish the series off in 5 games.
With that being said, championships do not fall into the laps of the worthy, and there is a ton of work each player on the roster needs to do before they can call themselves a true championship threat. We list the most obvious changes each of these 5 youngsters needs to make this season in order to maximize the potential they've already displayed:
#1 Jaylen Brown - Drive more often
Jaylen Brown is already one of the most athletic players in the league. His compilation of posterizing dunks contains prize scalps of the caliber of Kristaps Porzingis and Pau Gasol, and the 21-year-old has a fair way to go before he even reaches his athletic ceiling. One might even hazard as far as to already place him alongside the Russell Westbrooks and LeBron James' of the world, though The King in his youth is possibly the most explosive player in the history of the league.
Brown legitimately has the caliber to be an even more explosive Paul George at his best, but right now, the difference between the perennial All-Star he's projected to be and the above-average player he is today has much to do with experience.
Brown is a really great straight-line driver of the basketball. Better understanding of plays, a more well-developed hesi pull-up jimbo and a mentality to put the ball on the floor hard every time he drives in a Westbrook-esque manner will take his offense to the next level.