The Boston Celtics haven’t been in this bad of a situation in a long time. Without Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, there will be a new set of stars next season.
Well here we are. It looks like the Boston Celtics are back to mediocrity. Without Al Horford and Kyrie Irving this team won’t be the same.
As much as Celtics fans hate Kyrie, he is a great basketball player. Irving is a top 20 player in the NBA today. He is an amazing scorer who can take over games.
Now the Celtics look like they will have to rely on Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart. That’s not exactly an ideal situation.
Boston also lost Al Horford which is a bigger blow than some may expect. Horford is a great facilitator and a leader. That is something that the Celtics definitely need after a troubling 2018-19 season on and off the court.
The Celtics have always had a set of stars that have led the team. Basically everyone in the NBA has their own big 3. It’s just how teams are being built.
Next season will be a changing of the guard. It will be time for some players that were on the back burner last season to step up.
Even though things might be looking bleak, the Boston Celtics have some great players. These guys will enjoy the extra minutes and be the new big 3 for the team.
1. Jayson Tatum
The 2018-19 season was a step back for Jayson Tatum, but that wasn’t completely his fault.
Boston played a very individual-focused game. Kyrie Irving had the ball in his hands a lot. This took a lot of opportunities away from Tatum and interrupted the flow of the Celtics game.
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Now I think we will see a lot of ball movement again and this should help Jayson Tatum out. With a more free-flowing offense there should be plenty of open shots to go around.
I expect this to be the season that Jayson Tatum finally makes the leap we were looking for. Hopefully Tatum will average at least 20 points and establish himself as one of the best young players in the NBA.
This is a great opportunity for Tatum. He will get to prove how great of a scorer he is. Hopefully he will not let the Boston Celtics down.
2. Jaylen Brown
It appears that Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown didn’t have the greatest relationship while the point guard was in Boston. When Irving called out the young players, Brown believed that there shouldn’t be any finger pointing.
Also Brown has had some interesting Instagram posts that make it really seem like he is happy that Kyrie is gone.
So now Brown will have to step up. He is an explosive player that knows how to get to the rim, but the Celtics will need him to increase his scoring output.
The key for Brown will be improving his perimeter shooting. If he can shoot close to 40 percent from 3 point range that would help the Celtics out a lot.
This will be a sink or swim season for Brown. It’s time for him to step up and be a major factor. The Celtics drafted him 3rd overall. Let’s see if he can live up to those expectations.
3. Gordon Hayward
The 2018-19 season was a wash for Gordon Hayward. It was clear that he was still dealing with lingering issues from his season ending injury he suffered in 2017.
It took a while for Hayward to truly find his groove. When he was in the zone he looked great, but he didn’t perform like Celtics fans were expecting.
Now that Irving is gone there is a ton of pressure on Hayward. The Kyrie Irving trade was a failure so if Hayward struggles it will be a stain on Danny Ainge’s rather pristine resume. Boston will have whiffed on 2 major trades.
Without Irving on the team I think we will see Hayward have the ball in his hands a lot more. Hopefully he will start to look like the guy that Boston traded for and be dominant.
It isn’t the big 3 that Boston Celtics fans were expecting, but there’s a chance that this group can make the C’s a top team in the Eastern Conference.