3 weaknesses of the Boston Celtics that could be used against them in the 2021-22 NBA season
Youth, once again, has been prioritized by the Boston Celtics as they enter their 76th NBA season hoping to win their 18th championship. Fans are eager to see what lies in store for the storied franchise in the 2021-22 NBA season.
The Boston Celtics had an average run in the NBA last season, going 36-36 to finish seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. They had to go through the play-in tournament. There, they lost to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Since they last reached the NBA Finals in 2010, the Celtics have failed to get past the conference Finals for more than a decade now.
The 2021 offseason was an opportunity for the Boston Celtics to make some changes and try a different approach for the upcoming season. One can argue that they have done a decent job at that. They brought in rookie head coach Ime Udoka, and made a few changes to the roster while preserving their core.
Marcus Smart: “Ime is great. He’s really easy to get along with. He demands your effort every day, he demands 100 percent. But he also understands how to just allow us to be us.”
Although not much is expected from this relatively young team in terms of championship contention, they could upset the balance in the East. On that note, here are three weaknesses of the Boston Celtics that could be used against them in the upcoming season.
#1 The Boston Celtics do not have an All-Star-caliber point guard
The Boston Celtics have exceptional talents on the backcourt, including Marcus Smart, Josh Richardson and Dennis Schroder, but all are still average players. That does not take anything away from the abilities of these players. But with this crop, getting the better of guards like Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry could be very difficult.
Smart is an elite-level defensive-minded guard. But when it comes to orchestrating the offense or scoring at an incredible rate, he is not high up in the pecking order. Schroder, meanwhile, can score but is also not a leader. On occasion, Jayson Tatum will still have to bring the ball up the court because he is the go-to bucket-getter, and has decent ball-handling skills.
Dennis Schroder gives the Celtics a ton of looks in the paint, which is something they haven't had a ton of over the last few seasons. Lots of drive-and-kick through the first 14 minutes tonight.
While these players could undoubtedly do a decent job, their contributions might not be enough to carry the Celtics on a deep playoff run.