Few expected the Boston Celtics to reach the 2022 NBA Finals in the first place. And yet, despite a tumultuous start to their regular season, the team turned it around in the 2nd half and became the hottest team in the league down the stretch.
Boston finished the 2021-2022 regular season tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 51-31. They swept Kevin Durant’s Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2022 playoffs and took out the 2021 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals before being pushed to a Game Seven by the Miami Heat in the East finals.
Boston briefly held a 2-1 series lead against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, until the infamous fourth quarter of Game Four happened. Steph Curry erupted for 43 points in that 107-97 victory for the Warriors, adding another chapter to his expansive book of basketball accomplishments. Until then, Boston looked like they were well on their way to adding banner number 18 to the rafters.
Alas, the Warriors took care of business in six games while the Celtics were left to play the “what-if” game all summer.
Last season Jayson Tatum became the true star many thought he was. Marcus Smart took home Defensive Player of the Year honours, and, 36-year-old Al Horford saw a career revival take place in the familiar confines of TD Garden.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, it wasn’t meant to be.
A Wild 2022 Offseason
The Celtics acquired two players in the offseason: Malcolm Brogdon via trade with the Indiana Pacers, and Danilo Gallinari as a free agent. While the former is expected to play a large role this season for Boston, the latter suffered an ACL injury while playing for Italy in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
Some may argue that the Celtics’ biggest miss of the 2022 offseason was Kevin Durant, who after a months long standoff with the Nets, decided to remain in Brooklyn afterall. The Celtics were amongst the favourites to acquire the two-time Finals MVP before the Nets and Durant set their issues aside. More importantly, the Celtics initially had the assets to build a package for Durant, something few other teams on his trade “wish list” possessed.
One such asset was 25 year old Jaylen Brown, who was a key contributor to the Celtics Finals run last year. While Boston has since downplayed rumours of a Brown focused package in Durant talks, it remains to be seen what effect, if any, his name being linked to such a high profile deal all summer will have on the blossoming star.
Another setback this summer was forward Robert Williams requiring surgery on his left knee. Originally the club hoped he would be back in time for the start of the regular season, however that timeline has since ballooned to 8-12 weeks based on how much loose fibre doctors removed during his scope. Without Williams in the lineup, the plan of resting Al Horford during the early part of the season suddenly seems to be out the window as well.
Ime Udoka Scandal
While Boston would love to focus on their on court efforts ahead of the 2022-23 season debut, it’s impossible to merely glance over the Ime Udoka scandal which dominated headlines a few weeks prior.
For those who may have been living under a rock, here’s a brief timeline of what has become public knowledge to date:
-Ime Udoka and actress Nia Long begin dating in 2010
-In November of 2011 they had a son, Kez Sunday Udoka
-May 2015 the couple gets engaged
-June 2021 Udoka named Celtics head coach
-June 2022 Celtics reach NBA finals
-Sep 21st Woj Bomb
-Sep 22nd Celtics suspend Udoka for the season
-Sep 22nd Udoka releases statement
-Sep 22nd Joe Mazzulla named interim head coach
-Sep 23rd Celtics owner says there was a “months long” investigation regarding Udoka’s conduct.
-Sep 24th TMZ reports the affair was with a female staffer in charge of travel planning (including Nia’s).
-Sep 25th, affair was reportedly caught on doorbell camera
Without question, the Celtics 2nd half turnaround, and defense first mentality were directly related to their coach. How the team ultimately fares with Joe Mazzulla calling the shots on the sidelines remains to be seen.
Still a Complete Team
While Kevin Durant in a Celtics uniform would have undoubtedly tipped the balance in the East, that doesn’t mean Boston isn’t going to contend for a championship. In fact, by missing out on Durant, they were able to retain their core of Smart, Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, and continuity isn’t necessarily a bad thing
When healthy, the club will have their “Big 3” plus Robert Williams anchoring the defensive end of the floor. They also have 23-year-old Grant Williams, who had his fair share of positive showings in the postseason, and they still have Derrick White who, while inconsistent, can still put up serviceable numbers at the NBA level.
Malcolm Brogdon provides long-range offense, and can spell the starters when needed. While he played a career-low 36 games last year due to injuries, he still managed to put up decent numbers (19-5-5) while shooting 31.2% from beyond the arc. If healthy, Brogdon could be a good change of pace player for the Celtics.
A combination of White & Brogdon are likely to get the starting point guard spot with Smart sliding over to shooting guard. In theory this will allow the Celtics to still have Smart’s defensive prowess on the court but with Brogdon/White’s playmaking abilities. It’s a win-win situation for the Celtics if Brogdon stays healthy.
While it would be easy to write off the suddenly coach-less Boston Celtics this season, their window to compete is far from shut. As usual in the NBA, the team who hoists the championship trophy at season’s end is usually the healthiest squad. For Boston, they’re hoping they’ve gotten their injuries out of the way with this offseason.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.