Celtics, How Good are they Really?

This team is an ~0.600 team. That is how good they are. They have been an ~0.600 team pretty much the whole season, so this shouldn't be any surprise to anyone. The fact that they win and lose in bunches has made this a difficult season for fans. Whenever a bunch of wins occur, everyone is convinced they have turned the corner. Whenever a bunch of losses occur, everyone is convinced they have gone off a cliff. Truth is they are an ~0.600 team. The Pacers are slightly better, and will likely have home court advantage; hence, they should be slightly favored to take that series. That is just what it is.

The tougher question is "why"? Seems like there are 3 scape goats. One is kyrie, an argument based on the fact that the Celtics seem to play better without him. Another scapegoat
Is the youth. Kyrie has implied this, and some posters feel compelled to criticize the youth in great detail in response to any criticism of Kyrie. More recently, Brad has become a whipping boy for fan frustration. Truth probably is that all 3 camps have a point. Perhaps the constructed team and Stevens are not a great mix. Kyrie is a ridiculous offensive talent, but he is not a great fit for the style of play Brad wants to install. Kyrie needs the ball to maximize his worth, and Brad's motion offense doesn't want any one player dominating the ball. Kyrie is not alone - Tatum is becoming more of an iso-type player this year too. This is not a knock on these guys - other than GSW and the Spurs, most championships are won with teams built around a couple/few supremely gifted stars. The problem maybe that Brad's system isn't designed for this type of play. Brad has done wonders with teams without any stars, but, his egalitarian system might not be suited for this roster. As a result of this mismatch between personel and style, the Celtics have seemed to underperform. Changes are undoubtedly coming - will be interesting to see which direction Danny goes...

Rock there is another issue.

This team has great quality depth at 1-3 but not 4-5.

We do not have a great big man.  You have to have a dominating rebounder to be a true contender.  All previous Celtics Championship teams had one.  This team does not.

The way the game is being played has changed a lot with the proliferation of the 3 point shot.  But this is still basketball and all the fundamental elements associated with winning or losing remain.  You have to have great bigs to win a championship.

Brad's motion offense is actually deficient and very predictable.  The biggest problem with that offense is that it is designed to open up 3 point shots.  For anybody.  So you have guys that are not shooting well taking 3 pointers instead of riding the hot hand.  At times they do search out mismatch situations and the high P and R with Irving and AH has produced offense for us but overall the lack of creativity in the offense stands out.  

I think the overall configuration of this team is unbalanced.

Stevens has received too much praise and too much criticism.

Danny is going to have to address this during the off season.  I think we have too many good players for too few minutes.  I think both Morris and Terry Rozier will be let go because the Celtics are already paying the luxury tax and are not going to add to that tax unless it fills a very specific need.  I think the Celtics are more likely to pursue Anthony Davis if they do not make it out of the East.  I do not think the team has enough to win without upgrading the front line.  This playoff will probably expose this need further.

So Boston will not come back with the same roster next year.  They never do so that is pretty much a given.  What we do not know is if Danny will go all out and make a major trade for AD or some other big or will he go back into the draft and look to find a long term solution for his frontline.

After observing Danny over these many years he is probably going hard after AD.