{"id":24751,"date":"2019-08-16T13:06:16","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T17:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=24751"},"modified":"2019-08-16T14:02:55","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T18:02:55","slug":"boston-celtics-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2019\/08\/16\/boston-celtics-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Countdown to NBA Tip-Off: Boston Celtics Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The seemingly never-ending NBA offseason is almost at an end. With the 2019-20 NBA schedule releasing, it is time for teams and fans to look forward to enjoying their team play next season. Different teams have different expectations, but all have urges to prove themselves this coming season. With the twists and turns for the franchise this offseason, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/boston-celtics\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Boston Celtics <\/a>season preview is interesting.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Boston Celtics 2019-20 Season Preview<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Throwback to Last Season<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Such a big year for the Celtics, and so little to show for it. A year that started out with fans all over the world thinking it was going to be the return of the big three in Boston.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/irvinky01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyrie Irving<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/haywago01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gordon Hayward<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tatumja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jayson Tatum<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>were supposed to be the team\u2019s saviors, but that never happened. With Irving and Hayward returning from injury, the team had championship aspirations. Egos and putting one\u2019s self in front of team purposes destroyed the Celtics team and chemistry. Despite all of that, the Celtics still made the playoffs and swept the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/indiana-pacers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indiana Pacers<\/a> in the first round. As things were looking up for them, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/milwaukee-bucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> came to end their playoff run. As their season ended, everyone knew that changes were coming.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Offseason Changes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This was one of the biggest offseasons in recent history for the Celtics. Their disgruntled star point guard in Irving left them for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/brooklyn-nets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brooklyn Nets<\/a>, and Irving\u2019s backup,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/roziete01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Terry Rozier<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>also left the team for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/charlotte-hornets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Charlotte Hornets<\/a>. Their starting big man,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/horfoal01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Al Horford<\/a><\/strong>, opted out of his contract, seemingly to take a more team-friendly deal. Then, reports came out that Horford went to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/philadelphia-76ers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>. This was a low point in the Celtics\u2019 season. But as everyone knows, things in the NBA are never as they seem, and the Celtics pull a quick power move in signing both\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/walkeke02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kemba Walker<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kanteen01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Enes Kanter<\/a><\/strong>. They also drafted a Summer League stud in\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/edwarca01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carsen Edwards<\/a><\/strong>, a crowd favorite in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willigr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grant Williams<\/a><\/strong>, as well as\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/watertr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tremont Waters <\/a><\/strong>and\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/langfro01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Romeo Langford<\/a><\/strong>. Now, the Celtics seemingly have more of a morale-friendly team and a stronger future.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Next Season Preview<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Many in the media and the press underrate this Celtics team. They overlook the signing of Walker. They overlook the progression of Hayward and Tatum. The media only focuses on Irving\u2019s departure. Truth be told, this team is not to be overlooked. Walker is in his prime and Tatum will have another progressive year. Brown has another year under his belt and is sure to ball out. And Hayward will have more time to return to his old self. Fans can fully expect this team to win between 45-55 games in the Eastern Conference this upcoming year. They can also expect an All-Star selection from Walker and Tatum.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Prediction<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>With all that being said, the Celtics will be a playoff lock this upcoming season. A top-four finish in the Eastern Conference is a reasonable seed, and fans should expect the same. If chemistry was the problem with last year\u2019s team, then this new roster could be looking towards smooth sailing. The Celtics are a team that could finish with wins in the low 50\u2019s or high 40\u2019s. Celtics fans should be really excited about this upcoming year.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<br \/>\n<a id=\"HpNWcRQ4QHhydHtdaa2MQA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1052843234\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'HpNWcRQ4QHhydHtdaa2MQA',sig:'maq7TE4YuDpj5VZn2Jd-bexUFG6VynGlmrT9am_dBfs=',w:'594px',h:'397px',items:'1052843234',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The seemingly never-ending NBA offseason is almost at an end. With the 2019-20 NBA schedule releasing, it is time for teams and fans to look forward to enjoying their team play next season. Different teams have different expectations, but all have urges to prove themselves this coming season. With the twists and turns for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3164,"featured_media":24756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1608,62],"tags":[250,302,231,1866,37,164,399,1491,49,798,169,406,219,96,225,1863,427,1435],"class_list":["post-24751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celtics","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-al-horford","tag-boston-celtics","tag-brooklyn-nets","tag-carsen-edwards","tag-charlotte-hornets","tag-enes-kanter","tag-gordon-hayward","tag-grant-williams","tag-indiana-pacers","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-kemba-walker","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-nba","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-romeo-langford","tag-terry-rozier","tag-tremont-waters"],"modified_by":"Chase Gage","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}