Celtics Season Preview & Bold Predictions

Jimmy Toscano: Malcolm Brogdon plays 82 games – He’s only cracked 70 once, his rookie year. Brogdon is due for a healthy season and is out to prove he’s not damaged goods, but one of the best guards in the NBA. Fine, he leads the league in ast/turnover ratio too.

Josue Pavon: Jaylen Brown will make an All-NBA Team – Brown proved he belonged on the same grand stage as Steph Curry and teammate Jayson Tatum in last year’s NBA Finals. Outshining the latter in statistical categories such as points per game, field goal percentage, and rebounding, Brown’s been playing at a higher level ever since.  He’s more confident than ever and will be a crucial catalyst as one-half of Boston’s superstar tandem. Tatum and Brown will reach All-NBA status by the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

Bobby Manning: Joe Mazzulla becomes a coach of the year candidate –  Mazzulla has as much talent as any coach in the NBA, and that’s what matters as he acclimates to a larger role. He can carry forward the formula that worked last year on defense while making key adjustments to the offense already paying dividends in preseason. The Ime Udoka suspension and Mazzulla stepping into his role and maintaining stability would give him a narrative boost over other contenders. Joe can win it.

John Zannis: The Celtics bring in a veteran “assistant” to help Joe Mazulla –  I mean, what are we doing here Bobby? Can Mazzulla be a competent NBA coach in his first year and maintain the Celtics as title contenders? Yes. Is it asking a lot of a 34-year old with only 2 years of Division II college coaching experience under his belt? F–k yeah it is! Mazulla and fellow former Celtics assistant Will Hardy are the 2 youngest coaches in the NBA. Hardy had the benefit of a normal hiring process as the hand picked successor in Utah to Quinn Snyder PLUS an entire offseason to prepare for the job. Mazulla learned he was ‘probably’ replacing Ime Udoka on Twitter three days before training camp began. It’s a lot and there will be bumps along the way. A steady hand like Frank Vogel or Terry Stotts can only help.

Blakely: Jaylen Brown will lead the team in scoring – Jayson Tatum’s improved passing game will benefit many, but none more than Brown. He has shown the ability to score in a multitude of ways. And with Tatum’s continued improvement as a playmaker, the rise in Brown’s scoring will surpass Tatum’s daily scoring output.

Toscano: Noah Vonleh becomes the new fan favorite – Noah’s ARC, folks. I think this guy still has plenty left in the tank. With Throb Williams once again on the mend, the local guy Vonleh gets his shot. Could he average a double-double? If the C’s let him play, bet the house on it.

Manning: This will be a lost season for Robert Williams III –  Nothing sounds good about Robert Williams going back to surgery on the same knee he had a meniscus tear removed from in March. Initial reports on the time he would miss doubled after the procedure, and the sense at media day was for him to get away and get right, no matter how long that takes. It’s hard to imagine Williams playing before Christmas, and it could be a slow ramp up from there. That hurts in a year where he could’ve taken a step in key areas of his game to go from the perfect complimentary player to a real star. Williams’ availability in the postseason helps, but the recovery and ramp-up process might render this regular season a loss for the young big man.

Toscano: Grant Williams will lead the team in 3pt attempts/makes/percentage – Grant may as well pull up a chair to that corner three spot. He’s going to get a ton of open looks with the defenses focusing on Tatum and Brown, and I expect Smart and Brogdon to find him. He’ll also win the NBA 3-point contest… ok maybe that’s a little too bold.

Zannis: Celtics trade Grant Williams during the season – Many Celtics fans and some Garden Report hosts will tell you that Williams is invaluable to the Celtics success. I tend to agree, but not because Grant is special. He’s the best option they have in his role due to a relatively thin roster. The Celtics seem to feel the same way after opting not to sign Williams to a big money long term extension before Monday’s deadline. He has value but he is way too expensive a depth piece on a roster that has almost all of its core locked up long term. That means the Celtics options are to hang on to Grant this year and risk losing him as an RFA after the season OR, package the versatile forward and a pick or two to try and level up for another Championship run. And that’s what Boston will do. Payton Pritchard also gets shipped in this deal.

Manning: Derrick White makes a bigger impact than Malcolm Brogdon – I loved Joe Mazzulla’s first major decision as head coach, inserting Derrick White into the starting lineup for Robert Williams. The Celtics praised Mazzulla’s game plans in the east finals and that’s when White played his best basketball, carrying that momentum into the preseason (18/29, 62.1% FG, 10/18, 55.6% 3PT, 14.5 PPG, 3.0 APG). He screens effectively, rolls, flashed an improved shot and sounds more comfortable in Boston than he did in the spring. For all the excitement about Malcolm Brogdon’s arrival, he still needs to prove he can stay healthy. White’s defense, playmaking and ability to score off the starters all still intrigue me and a breakout is in play.

Zannis: Jayson Tatum gets ejected multiple times during the season – Though its seems from some of my twitter mentions that Celtics fans are pro-petulance, NBA referees are clearly all set with Jayson Tatum’s tantrums. Tatum’s arm flailing, ball slamming, shoulder slumping sulkiness was put on notice when the 1st team All-NBA forward got T’d up twice and tossed in the Celtics’ preseason finale. That was Tatum’s first ever ejection but it won’t be his last. Tatum gets hit with several early game quick trigger techs and then loses his cool late and gets tossed in the 4th quarter of a tight game on more than one occasion. Fans blame anti-Celtics league bias that exists because the NBA just hates when big market teams with young marketable stars have success. The good news, Deuce might get to bed on time a couple extra times this season.

Blakely: Brogdon will have a 50/40/90 season, again – It’s not like Malcolm Brogdon would be doing something new, having shot at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line, back in 2019. But with more talent around him, scoring opportunities will be even easier for the veteran wing.

Toscano: Derrick White gets traded – I don’t know for what or who, but at some point in the season a need will arise for the C’s – possibly for a big – and White is expendable. Double Down Prediction: It happens after White gets left behind on the road. I don’t know what city it’ll be in – maybe one of those flyover states – but the Celtics will accidentally board the flight and leave White behind. It’ll come after one of those 0-3 from the field performances where you just kind of forget he’s on the team. Very embarrassing for all involved and they’re forced to trade him shortly thereafter.

Zannis: Luke Kornet logs more DNP-CDs than games played – Honestly, this isn’t really that bold practically speaking. But someone has to stop the Luke Kornet Lunatic Express from careening into Causeway Street to start the season. It’s LUKE KORNET PEOPLE!!! He legitimately has one fan in North America. If Al Horford goes down the equation changes, but otherwise, it’s hold your breath till Rob Williams returns and play relatively small for as many games as possible.

Manning: Danny Ainge will bail out the Celtics with a trade – A group including Blake Griffin, Luke Kornet, Mfiondu Kabengele and Noah Vonleh won’t suffice at spelling Al Horford and filling in for Robert Williams. The Celtics will land athletic big forward Jarred Vanderbilt from Utah with the trade exception. And it may cost less than a first round pick.

Pavon: Danillo Galinari returns to play in time for the postseason – Sure this seems like a long shot but I’m betting on the Italian Stallion beating predictions and getting himself right just in time to log a few regular season games and contribute to the Celtics postseason chances.

Toscano: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are seen hanging out together at least once during the regular season. Team activity doesn’t count. Come on!

Zannis: Ime Udoka finishes the season as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets: The Celtics and Udoka eventually finalize their divorce papers setting Ime free. Kyrie Irving informs current Nets head coach Steve Nash that he’s been fired in a long rambling Instagram Live post.

Jimmy Toscano: Celtics (53 wins) 3rd seed in East, Second Round Exit – I’ve got the Bucks over the Sixers in the Eastern conference finals. That’s right, that means the Celtics don’t get there this year. I have Celtics losing to either of those teams in the round before. I just think there are a few things working against the Celtics this season. The first that stands out is the coaching situation. I know coaching isn’t the most important part of basketball, but you can’t tell me that it wasn’t a huge part of the Celtics success last year. Are the players mature enough to withstand the coaching change, and can the coaches handle being thrust into this unique situation? I also think the rob Williams injury creates a glaring hole in the Celtics front court. It’s asking a lot to rely on Al Horford for even more, and I just don’t see much depth at all behind him. You basically need no injuries, and Williams to return at near full strength. I’m just not sure that’s in the cards.

As for choosing the Bucks, I just think they are a more complete team with an all-time great player in Giannis. They kind of remind me a little bit of the Duncan era spurs in that they play fundamentally sound basketball, they’re a bit boring perhaps, but they stick to business and know how to win. Middleton should return in a couple weeks and let’s not forget the Celtics probably lose that series last year if Middleton played in it. The Celtics had a real chance of winning a championship last season. They let it slip away. I think they will find out once again this year how difficult it is to go where you want to go. But hey, what the hell do I know?

Zannis: 47 wins, 4th in East, Lose in 2nd round to Bucks. I have to agree with Jimmy. When the Celtics made all their offseason moves I hopped right on board the Banner 18 Bandwagon. But pretending all that bad offseason stuff didn’t happen – as many fans have – won’t make it go away. Boston starts the year with a completely untested 1st year coach, an aging Center in Al Horford with no front court depth behind him, and lack of proven wing scoring and defense off the bench. Injuries to any core players could sink this ship quickly or place too heavy a burden on Tatum and Brown. There is a world in which everything falls the Celtics way, Rob returns early and looks phenomenal, Mazzulla proves to be an upgrade over Ime and Boston cruises to the NBA Finals. But I need to see it first. Repeating success is hard. It’s much harder when you have as many things go wrong as the Celtics have before the ball is tipped on opening night.

Pavon: 48 wins, 4th in East, Conference Finals OR Finals? – The O’Brien trophy is headed east this year. For the Celtics, it will be a dogfight at the top of the conference as teams such as the Bucks and Heat return with reinforcements and at full strength. Unfortunately, that’s somewhat, but not the case for the Celtics. Playing without Rob Williams for the first couple of months will hurt Boston’s chances of claiming the top spot. Still, the Celtics’ high-powered offense, led by Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, which two-way standout Malcolm Brogdon reinforces, will keep Boston in the hunt.

Rebounding is still a legitimate concern without Williams. However, Mazzulla’s emphasis on team-oriented defense will be the key to seeing the Celtics close out narrow victories between now and Rob’s return from left knee surgery.