With the Boston Celtics having played a road and an away game — both wins, thank you very much — we can finally begin to get an informed opinion on the moves Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens made over the summer. And in just such an analysis of all the teams in the NBA, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey weighed in on Boston’s offseason with an “A+” grade for the team.
“Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown just appeared in their fourth conference finals together,” writes Bailey. “The Boston Celtics could have easily justified running it back with most of the roster that got them there in 2023.”
“Instead, they completely overhauled the supporting cast and now might have the league’s best top six.”
New YouTube @CelticsLab via @CelticsCLNS
Reax to Cs' win vs NYK w/@YossiGozlan & @Ronnie2K on 2K's offish sim for '23-24 (Spoiler: Boston does WELL).
📺: https://t.co/4eDdniwHNU
🍎: https://t.co/jxgLJXvUSn
✳️: https://t.co/68RSfw9Ddc⚡️by @FDSportsbook: https://t.co/sTvAwUOX0J pic.twitter.com/2GgsF7rSH5
— Dr. Justin Quinn (@justinquinnn) October 27, 2023
“After those two, Boston’s rotation includes Kristaps Porzingis coming off what was likely his best offensive season, Jrue Holiday as an almost certain upgrade over Marcus Smart and holdovers Derrick White and Al Horford,” adds the B/R analyst.
“There are some legitimate questions about the depth. The Celtics may need Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser to be better. But deep playoff runs are about the top of the roster, and Boston’s is as good as any.”
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