Despite blowing up their championship core this summer and losing superstar Jayson Tatum to injury, the Boston Celtics and their fans remain cautiously optimistic heading into this season, especially after trouncing the Memphis Grizzlies in their first preseason game on Wednesday.
The Celtics still have Jaylen Brown, after all, who’s an elite player in his own right. They also have a decent supporting cast around him, including some exciting new players like Anfernee Simons. Given how weak the Eastern Conference is this year, Boston could be a playoff team.
However, The Ringer’s Zach Lowe sees the glass half empty when he looks at the Celtics. He’s been down on them all offseason, and he’s not changing his tune now.
Lowe recently discussed Boston’s outlook on Monday’s episode of his podcast, “The Zach Lowe Show,” with fellow NBA analyst John Hollinger. Lowe named the Celtics one of his “five most confusing teams,” while Hollinger did not.
“To me, there’s like some lingering Celtics optimism…When I look at the team, I just think it’s unreasonable,” Lowe said. “Their depth is completely unproven…A tax-ducking or cutting move is very likely…I think they’re gonna be worse than people expect.”
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Hollinger was also down on Boston, viewing this season as a bridge year for the franchise.
“They’re gonna trade Simons for somebody who makes less, or they’ll trade Hauser to get themselves under the tax entirely, and just spend the rest of the year positioning themselves for next year,” Hollinger predicted. “They have three good perimeter guys who will make them respectable, and their frontcourt will be embarrassing. That’s kind of where they’ll end up. And maybe that gets you to the play-in, and maybe it doesn’t.”
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Depth, size and experience are legitimate concerns for the Celtics, who have their weakest roster in years. It also remains to be seen if Brown can carry a team for an entire season given some of his limitations on offense.
Time will tell, but it’s already clear that Boston is a polarizing team this year with a wide range of outcomes.