The superteam era is over in the NBA. It's all about depth, chemistry, and just playing good team basketball. This is why the New York Knicks are the reigning champions.. and why the Oklahoma City Thunder won it the year before... and the Boston Celtics the year before that... and then the Denver Nuggets (I think you catch my drift).
It's obviously important to have a top-tier player in the NBA leading your squad, but it won't matter much if you don't have the depth to complement your star(s).
The Celtics had it when they won it all in 2024. And as they face a lot of uncertainty in the post-Jaylen Brown era, we're about to find out if they still have it.
The Celtics' depth will be crucial to their success going forward
As it stands, Boston's starting lineup for next season is probably close to set: Derrick White - Hugo Gonzalez (this is interchangeable and depends on whether the Celtics want to start Payton Pritchard or go big and start Sam Hauser at one of their forward spots... maybe it's even Baylor Scheierman) - Paul George - Jayson Tatum - Neemias Queta (another debatable one, but he was their starting center last year, and he should be again next season).
It's not the same dominant lineup it was during their latest championship season, but that's a solid lineup. They each complement each other very well (good mix of scoring, playmaking, defense, rebounding, etc., and given that Tatum is going to be Boston's undisputed No. 1 option, this is a fantastic supporting cast for him).
There are reasons to think Boston will be successful next season with this starting lineup (or something close to it), but the second unit is going to be the ultimate needle-mover.
The Celtics can't expect Tatum to carry the load for 48 minutes across 82 games. This is where they are especially going to miss Brown and his ability to take over as a shot-creator and go-to guy.
A lot more pressure is going to be on players like Pritchard, Gonzalez, Hauser, Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Ron Harper Jr., etc., to step up. If they can, then great; Boston will be in a good spot to actually compete for a title next season. But if not, then they might as well just punt next season, hand the Larry O'Brien Trophy to someone else, and try again in 2027-28.
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