NBA Swing: A Look at the Celtics and Nasser's Top 25 Players for 21-22

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“Guys came in good shape, more so a lot of teaching today implementing a new system new coverage new terminology but overall it was good. This isn’t the 90s anymore where you’re running two hours two and half hour practices twice a day so we get a progression and a build-up ..”. First-year Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka’s response on how the players got through the opening day of Celtics training camp. Last season, the Celtics pushed the Big 3 powered Brooklyn Nets to a competitive five-game series in last year’s NBA Eastern Conference first-round matchup. After a depleting wrist fracture to their All-Star guard Jaylen Brown (he was averaging career bests in points, assists, steals, FG%, 3P%, and FT%) with just a week left in the regular season, the Celtic’s knew their NBA Eastern Conference contention hopes would soon vanish. Superstar wing Jayson Tatum did go toe to toe against the juggernaut trio of Durant-Harden-Kyrie where he posted averages of 30 points, six rebounds, and five assists on 42/39/92 shooting splits. Tatum’s god-level ability to score the basketball from anywhere on the court with effortless flair and grace has been something we’ve adored since he was a freshman at Duke. As a basketball fan, we’ve always wondered, from a production standpoint, what Tatum’s numbers would look like given the volume and limitless touches. We saw it all on display in that first round vs the Nets and it carried over into this year’s Olympics where Ime Udoka was also a part of the USA National Team staff as an assistant coach.

Despite the major shifting in the organization’s hierarchy, where former head coach Brad Stevens became the team’s president of basketball operations, which opened up the vacancy for Udoka, the Celtics are re-inventing themselves while also not particularly changing their whole identity. The Celtics acquired SG/F Josh Richardson from the Dallas Mavericks and signed an extension that added a year on top of the lone NBA season remaining on his deal which will pay him $24 million over the next two. Richardson, who’s one of the most tenacious defensive guards the league has to offer, will fit right in alongside fellow pest Marcus Smart. The biggest splash the Celtics made was bringing back Al Horford in the deal to ship former All-Star point guard Kemba Walker. Kemba Walker earned All-NBA third-team honors in 2018-19 never was able to quite stay healthy or perform worthy of the $141 million dollar contract he signed. Horford, who’s been through one of the consistent spots throughout all the ups and downs the Celtics have endured since the beginning of Tatum/Brown era is still a serviceable vet/rotation glue guy that still will be able to stretch, run the floor and defend multiple positions.

The Celtics signed center Enes Kanter to a one-year deal worth $2.7 million. A rebounding savant and inside-out offensive technician, Kanter brings his familiar vet locker room presence back to Boston that ranked 11th in the NBA in total rebounds and fifth in total blocks amongst every team’s frontcourt. 24-year-old Celtics center Robert Williams showed a variety of flashes defensively and as a rim protector in that first-round matchup vs the Nets. His impact on the court validated himself as a vital piece of this Celtics core. Ultimately, his performance and promise shown throughout the season garnered him a four-year/$54 million deal. 6th man specialist Dennis Schroder also reached a contract agreement with the Celtics (one-year/ $5.9 million) and will be a huge boost to the regulars with his ability to fill the stat sheet off the bench and change the pace of the game whenever he pleases with his speed and quickness.

Defensive-minded guard Marcus Smart is finally getting the keys to the offense as a floor general. Though his shot selection sometimes has left viewers scratching their heads, he’s never been asked to be the team’s quarterback. Remember this is the same guy that has played off-guard pretty much his whole career next to the likes of Isaiah Thomas, Terry Rozier, Kyrie Irving, and Kemba Walker. Here were Udoka’s thoughts on Smart as the team’s primary decision maker going forward; “We told him what role we envision him playing having the ball in his hands more. He’s a natural playmaker that can do some things, we obviously want to find him help, get guys’ shots. He understands the personnel of this team and he’s been here for all these years he knows what Jayson [Tatum], Jaylen [Brown] some of those guys bring to the table and it’s his job to do more facilitating than he’s done in the past”. The Celtics will get their max value out of the Schroder deal when Smart, for example, needs to exert most of his energy on the defensive end on a night where he’s assigned to guard someone like Damian Lillard for 37 minutes. Schroder has at least played starter-level minutes in a playoff series at the point guard position and his quick first step makes him more dynamic as a playmaker on offense.

Second-year guard Payton Pritchard had a great NBA Summer League in Vegas where he showed the strides he’s made as an offensive creator. Pritchard made the All-Summer league first-team averaging 16.8 points, six boards, and eight dimes while shooting 46.9% from the three-point arc. He’ll look to round out the point guard depth chart. We know the Celtics won’t have any problem scoring the basketball especially when you have two of the NBA’s top 20 leading scorers from a year ago on your team bolstering the load but quietly they should be just as dangerous defensively.

Regardless of the starters, the crunch time Celtics should most likely be made up of some sort of combination of Marcus Smart, Dennis Schroder, Josh Richardson, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Robert Williams. Smart and Richardson are both big physical guards that can guard the one through the three and lock up on the perimeter. Both ball hawks can dodge and get through picks while constantly clogging up passing lanes. They’ll make it extremely difficult for opposing ball handlers to penetrate into the paint and generate offense. A nightmare sounds like spending 15-20 seconds of the shot clock attempting to get Smart/Richardson switched off just to draw Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum next. Brown has always been a great defender since entering the league. Brown has a strong enough core to make wings work in the post like Lebron and agile enough to stay in front of a shifty guard like Ja Morant.

A combination of Jayson Tatum’s stature, freakish wingspan, and athleticism has always made him a promising defensive player when his focus is sharp on that side of the floor. Tatum and Brown became the second pair of teammates in NBA history to average 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal all while shooting at least 38% from the three-point land. (Paul George & Kawhi Leonard). Two 2-way scoring wings with All-Defensive ceilings is what Boston has in store for their future. Al Horford may not be the same defender he was when he was younger but he’s already built the camaraderie from his first tenure in Boston. Horford most importantly understands defensive rotations and you have the luxury of being able to go small with him or big if you choose to do so. The Celtics did not have the depth versatility to do so during Horford’s first stop as a Celtic. All of those capable defenders and Robert Williams III is just in the paint waiting to swat your shot into the 20th row. That excess amount of versatile defenders to throw at numerous offensive talents is an advantage not a lot of teams can say they have. The Celtics will be able to do a ton of switching defensively and on a different night may have a different player standout defensively. The only difference between the Celtics of the old and the Celtics of new is that even though they seemed to improve so has the rest of the Eastern Conference.

Nass’ Top 25 NBA Players 2021-22 Regular Season