5 reasons why the Celtics can win the title
LeBron James left for the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, the Eastern Conference was wide open for the taking. James-led teams have represented the Conference for the past eight years in the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics are the best team to take over the King’s crown. After all, they were one win away from the Finals without their two best players last playoffs. Sure, the Celtics still have to get over the Golden State Warriors who are the literally gold standard of basketball but they are the best equipped to do so. Here is why:
– In the upcoming season, the Celtics’ stars namely Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving are returning to the line-up. Hayward missed the season due to a gruesome ankle injury while Irving missed the last part of the season and the playoffs due to an infected knee. With the Celtics back at full strength, including the continuing development of their young stars, they with anyone in the league.
– The Celtics are fully loaded and have no holes on their bench. The Celtics have a starting line-up composed of Irving, Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford. All starters can create their own shots and shoot from long range. Backing them up are defensive ace and two-way forward Marcus Morris. These three bench players can start on any team and can spell starters for extended minutes. They also have two young and athletic wings namely Semi Ojeleye and Guerschon Yabusele.
– The Celtics had the best defense in the league last sea- son and that allowed them to go deep into the playoffs. With their current roster, they can basically switch on every screen and have several players versatile enough to guard 3-4 positions. We can only expect their defensive prowess to get better as their starters have more chemistry and experience playing with one another. Plus, they have the best defensive player in the league in Smart.
– The Celtics arguably have the best coach in professional basketball in Brad Stevens. He has built a great culture in Boston which doesn’t only include analytics and statistics but rather an atmosphere of positivity and true caring for each player. A staple outcome of Stevens’ coaching is his ability to put any player His offense also encourages shooting more frequently, thereby creating lots of offensive rebounds and easy put backs. Another trademark is ball movement forcing defenses to always react.
– Tatum and Brown, 20 and 21 respectively, almost led the Celtics to the NBA Finals and have shown exceptional develop meanwhile, are just 24. Hayward and Irving are about to enter their peak. The Celtics have a lot of youthful energy and spring in their legs which can carry them all the way to the NBA Finals.