Stop Sleeping on the Boston Celtics…

Stop Sleeping on the Boston Celtics…

Stop sleeping on the Boston Celtics. Now, yes, this is a team that is clearly in a retool year. Without Jason Tatum, they’re all world forward, who is out for the year with an Achilles tear. But this team still has a ton of talent. I mean, Jaylen Brown, the 2023 Finals MVP, is still on the roster. Their top four guys can all go for 20 or even 30 on any given night. They’ve signed a couple of players like Josh Minot and Luca Garza to prove it deals. And also, I mean, there’s still just a ton of talent overall on this roster. Guys like Peyton Pritchard, Sam Hows are still coming off the bench. They draft Hugo Gonzalez. The only problem right now is the big man situation. If they can address that, they’re easily a playoff team in a weakened Eastern Conference. And some people are saying they’re not even going to make the playin. Now, obviously, they’re not going to be the same without Jason Tatum. And like I said in the intro, this is going to be a retool. I mean, we’re talking about a guy that is a top 10 player in the league easily. maybe some days a top five player in the league. One of the best Americanb born players in the league right now. They still have their big three, right, of Tatum Brown and Derek White. And once Tatum comes back, they’re going to be right back into championship contention because they have the best wing duo in the league to the day. Now, Tatum averaged almost 27 points a game last year, 8.7 rebounds, six assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 45% from the field and 34% from three on 10.2 attempts. But I don’t even think he had his best season last year. This is one of his worst shooting seasons. And I think it’s because Joe Missoula is wanting him to shoot too many threes, right? Tatum needs to get downhill. That’s what he does best. He is 6’8 and 215 lbs. When he gets downhill, he is tough to stop. I mean, 78 threes a game would be cool. Uh, preferably like 67. Whoa. But 10.2 attempts a game is is too much from three for Jason Tatum. Now, next year they will still have Jaylen Brown. Like we said, Jaylen Brown is probably gonna have the best season of his career next year just because he’s not gonna be under the shadow of Jason Tatum. It’s going to be his team for the first time ever and maybe the last time ever as well if he stays with Jason Tatum for the rest of his career. But 22 points a game, six rebounds, four and a half assist as a second option while shooting 46% from the field is fantastic. I know he only shoots 32% from three, which is not great. and he didn’t have a great playoff run, but he had pretty bad knee problems like a partially torniscus that needed to be addressed in the off seasonason. But this is still the 2023 NBA Finals MVP. He still has a ton of talent and is without a doubt the most talented player on this team. He could be in the running for MVP this year. And don’t think that’s too hot of a take right there because he he could be really that good if he is fully healthy and he plays a full season unless they are tanking. Now Derek White, he’s also back. Expect him to go way up. He averaged 16.4 points a game, 4.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals as the fourth option, which is ridiculous. 44% shooting from the field, 38% from three on nine attempts a game. Like I said, as the fourth option, he’s going to get a ton of more shot attempts. Last year, he only shot 12.6 six field goal attempts per game, which is insane to me because of the efficiency. But he was the fourth option behind Tatum Brown and Porzingis. So now with a bigger load, with a bigger spotlight, it’s going to be the Derrick White show from time to time. And I think he’s going to show out next year, unless like I said, they just try and tank. Now Anthony Simons is a Boston Celtic next year, at least as of now. I don’t know what Brad Stevens still has up his sleeve because they still are going to owe about $90 million in the luxury tax. But Simon’s on a one-year deal for $27.5 million. And I kind of like this because they can see how well he plays with their core of current guys that they have. And then if they don’t like him, then they can do a signing trade in the offseason to get some value back. If they do, they can bring him back. 19.3 points a game, 4.8 assists last year while shooting 43% from the field, 36% from three. He will probably be the second option next year, a little bit ahead of Derek White, but the back court of White and Simons will be fun to watch. He will be just 26 next year. So, he fits the timeline of Tatum and Brown, who are 29 and 27 next year, respectively. And I really like Simons. I like that addition, right? Getting off of Drew Holidayiday’s four-year contract in exchange for a one-year expiring deal. Then Sam Hower here, who is on not the best contract in the world either, but he’s going to be back next year. Pton Pritchard. I hope they just give him the green light and let him cook because that would be a ton of fun to watch an unleashed Peyton Pritchard. There’s, like I said, there’s still a ton of talent on this Celtics team. They’re definitely not the juggernaut that they once were, but there’s still a ton of talent, and they’re also going to have some room for development this year. Baylor Shyman is a guy that I hope can develop. However, he has had a wretched summer league. He has not been able to hit a shot in the summer league. His efficiency has been rough. He averaged 3.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last year in 12 minutes a night while shooting 36% from the field and 32% from three. But there was a glimmer of hope over the last 16 games where he shot or excuse me, he averaged 6 and 12 points a game and three rebounds in 18 minutes. And the Celtics went 14-2 over that stretch and he shot 41% from the field and 37% from three. However, that’s still not exactly good, right? 6 and a half points a game. He was a first round pick. He will already be 25. So hopefully he can have a good year next year. He’s 6’8 with a 69 wingspan, so legit NBA wing size. And then Hugo Gonzalez who is 6’7 with uh 6’11 wingspan and had the largest hands in the draft. Second largest to only Taco Fall in NBA history which is crazy. Uh 5.2 points a game, 2.5 rebounds, one assist in 14 minutes a game. Played 25 games professionally over in Spain. And now he comes over to the NBA. He shot 44% from the field and 27% from three. But that three-point percentage hopefully will go up because his his jumper doesn’t look bad anymore. He can get into the paint off the pick and roll or just off the self creation. Watch him read this right here. All three defenders are there and then he just rides it out. Gives it a second. Uses patience to get to the rim with the left hand as all three defenders the C parts if you will. He’s an elite cutter. He has a fantastic motor as well. Crashing the glass on offensive rebounds as well as cutting to the rim, going up and getting that one. And then his jumper is a work in progress here. He’s running off a down screen and knocks it down. Really like that. Uh, so hopefully Hugh Gonzalez or Baylor Shyman, one of the two can be a long-term backup three option. And then they bring in Josh Minat and Luca Garza. And I like both of these deals. Both are prove it deals pretty much. And if they do prove it, then they can come back next year on a really cheap contract. May not’s 22, played 49 games last year for the Wolves, averaged 2.6 points a game, shot 49% from the field. And this is really just an upside swing right here. here. If you’re the Boston Celtics and Brad Stevens, we’re talking about a guy that’s 69 with a 7 foot wingspan that can come in and if he plays well, if he shows improvement in his added playing time, then he’s going to be back next year and part of the rotation. If not, then I mean, he’s gone because it’s a oneplus one deal. He proved he didn’t belong in the G-League, averaging 22 points a game, 6.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals on 51% shooting from the field, which is a really, really solid stat line. And then per 36, he wasn’t bad either in the NBA where he averaged 15 and a half points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, two steals, and 1.6 blocks. So being a two-way threat, gets his first real extension in the NBA, or not extension, but signing elsewhere. And he can be a defensive menace using that 7 foot wingspan. And really the upside here is he is still just 22 years old. And then Luca Garza, they’re going to bring him in and see if he can do something. He was a standout at Iowa. hasn’t really gotten a big-time chance yet in the NBA. Played 39 games last year, averaged three and a half points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game. So, that’s a pretty efficient statline for just 5.6 minutes a game. He’s 6’11 with a 72 wingspan. Not much of a shot blocker, but he has proven to be a pick and pop threat and can knock it down from beyond the arc at a respectable clip. In the G- League, he averaged 32 and 11 and a half in six games, proving he was just far too good to be down there. Shot 64% from the field and 41% from three on 4.7 attempts in the G-League. So yeah, I mean he’s he’s a little bit too good for the G-League, but not quite good enough for the NBA. So what do the Celtics do? They bring him in. They literally have no other centers on the roster other than like Namias Keta. So maybe this is the Luca Garza chance. Per 36. Last year he averaged close to 23 a game with nine rebounds. So maybe they can find a gym in the rough, a diamond in the rough, if you will. But yeah, that I love I love the two upside swings right there by Brad Stevens. With that being said, that’s going to be it for today’s video. Thanks so much for watching. Make sure to like button, leave me a comment down below, and hit that subscribe button if you did enjoy any point. And with all that being said, thanks so much for watching today’s video.

This video looks at the Boston Celtics and how they should still be a good team even without Jayson Tatum with guys like Jaylen Brown and Derrick White
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