State of the Celtics

Sixty games into the NBA season, the Celtics sit at 35-25, holding the third best record in the Eastern Conference. They are poised to have home-court advantage in their first round playoff series and things are only looking up for the Celtics. But where do they really stand in the grand scheme of things? Are they in a good position? Bad position? Let’s break it down.

The best thing the Celtics have going for them is their young core. The two oldest players on the roster are Forwards Jonas Jerebko and Amir Johnson at a pretty youthful age of 28. Players like Marcus Smart (21), Avery Bradley (25), Isaiah Thomas (27), Jae Crowder (25), and Jared Sullinger (23) all look like part of the future for this team and the only guys really guaranteed to be here for the long haul. With that being said, the Celtics definitely need to make some moves with all the assets they have.

Unfortunately, if you don’t have a true superstar in the NBA, it’s near impossible to win a championship. Also, most of the time you need two or three superstars, not just one fringe all star like Boston has in Isaiah Thomas. The Celtics have a perfect supporting cast built around youth but they need to make a trade to get to a championship level. They have 17 draft picks over the next 3 years and some of those need to be used alongside players to get bonafide talent. Drafting impact talent in the NBA is next to impossible. In most drafts, outside of the top 3-5 draft picks it’s like throwing darts blindfolded to find a real impact player. If the Green are lucky, they’ll find a trade partner that over values the picks and gives them established talent.

You may be wondering why the Celtics can’t just sign free agents this offseason seeing they have enough room for two Max Contract players after this season. It’s simple: Star free agents do not want to come to Boston. They have not signed a marquee free agent in the last 10 years and just to give an example, Milwaukee Bucks Center Greg Monroe wouldn’t answer the Celtics calls last off season to negotiate a possible contract. Take a moment to think about the fact that he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin over Boston. Nothing against Milwaukee but it does not have the attractive market players want to go to. Now, if the Celtics find a trade partner for all those assets and can bring in a player like Blake Griffin or Kevin Love, that’s a different story. A player like that may be able to draw a free agent to Boston to play alongside him.

When it comes to this season, the Celtics have a ceiling of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. They have the ability to beat every team in the East besides the Cavaliers and the Raptors who are starting to look like they have a chance to challenge Lebron and the Cavs. So, if the Celtics matchup against one of those teams, expect that to be the end of Boston’s playoff run, but with the right matchups, they could win two series.

Overall, the Celtics have themselves in a good position but don’t get too excited. A large portion of their success is because of great chemistry between the guys on the team. They are an overachieving team that needs to make some big moves to reach that next level and reestablish themselves as one of the top teams in the NBA.