Monday, October 23, 2017

What to take away from the Celtics opening week of the regular season


The Celtics are 1-2 after their opening week (same as the Warriors, if anyone is keeping track) and with the loss of Gordon Hayward to a gruesome leg injury just five minutes into the season, it's been a challenging week for Brad Stevens to say the least.

With 79 games remaining of the 2017-18 season, here are a few of my takeaways from the Celtics through three games of the regular season:
  • Hayward’s injury is going to effect the Celtics...a lot. He enabled Kyrie Irving's swag and without him Al Horford isn’t a 'star.' Big Al is a great role player but his best days are behind him and it’s going to hurt Boston going forward.
  • Jaylen Brown is MUCH better than most of us thought. His game is still developing and it’s impressive. He has All-Star potential very soon.
  • Jayson Tatum is also very good. Still needs more physical development, but the skill set is fantastic. He'll also become an All-Star in the future.
  • Marcus Smart is what he is at this point. Great energy/basketball smart player but this is as good as he’s getting in his fourth season with the Celtics.
  • Terry Rozier is a legit NBA player, who still has holes in his game but if Smart walks at the end of the year, he’s getting those minutes.
  • We need more Daniel Theis in our lives. He makes Stevens' lineup bigger and has potential to really help on both ends of the floor.
  • Brad Stevens is still my pick as the best coach for getting the most out of the least talent (see Jordan Crawford, Jae Crowder & Evan Turner).  Expect this Celtics bench to thrive all year long.
The way I see it, let's not fret over three games. It’s a BRAND NEW team that needs time to learn and gel. So with that being said, let's talk after Thanksgiving... by then we should all have a better sense of the Celtics as they begin to form their identity.


Zach Peloquin



Picture used courtesy of the Associated Press

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