57-25. Good for 2nd in the east. I still give it a puncher's chance we get the #1 seed.
It all depends on how much Lebron seriously cares. He shouldn't have to. He's gone to 6 straight finals despite having the best record in the east for only 2 of those years. A Kyrie injury also sets them back, but a Love injury does nothing to harm them. He's seriously superfluous on that team. When they realize he does nothing to help them match-up against the Warriors they'll trade him for guys who will help them match-up with the Dubs. I also think Toronto takes a step back. They're going to miss Biyombo more than they realize. Their most efficient groups were with Biyombo at the 5, not Valanciunas. Also, Sully isn't a 4. He's a 5. His lack of mobility will make it too difficult for him to cover anyone outside of pure bigs.
Back to our team, C's were playing at a 53-win pace when they took David Lee out of the equation, and unlike in 2015, they actually beat some good teams when they went on their second half surge post-Lee. Horford is a great upgrade that this team desperately needed.
Most importantly, this team is built for the regular season. The starters will play phenomenally together but when defenses tighten come playoff time, it could be a different story.
Horford will be our lone all star. I love IT but he only made it last year because Kyrie had been out for too long. I'm not saying IT won't deserve it, but the fans like Irving and Wall more. Bold prediction: Avery Bradley will be closer to making it than IT. I think he and Horford showed they have terrific chemistry together and I advise you all to watch how they play. Crowder will also be heavily considered this year but he has to compete with Lebron, George, Carmelo, and Jimmy Butler. I don't see him beating them.
Horford will also make the all-NBA 3rd team. I think Horford is going to have one of his best seasons as a pro on the Celtics. He just fits the team in so many ways and they're going to rely on him more than Atlanta did.
All-defense teams: Avery (1st), Crowder and Smart (2nd). I think Bradley makes the strongest case for DPOY as a guard. I 100% believe Avery Bradley will have his best year as a pro. Remember that stretch he went on where he looked like a borderline star early on in the season? Yeah, that Avery will return with the vengeance this year and he'll stay this time.
The most obvious prediction: Brad wins COY. He's done so much for the team and now he's got a surefire star big man on his squad. Pending any surprises, he wins no question. His only competition is Thibs, and while I'm high on Minny being the young upstart team everyone will be rooting for, they are going to have growing pains.
This team gets to the ECF. Every competitor outside of Cleveland and Toronto has big question marks. celtics inevitably loses to Cleveland, but that's only if they stay the way they are currently constituted. They still have the assets to get someone. Especially if Smart, Rozier, and/or Brown look like studs. If this team gets Cousins or even Aldridge, things get more interesting.
Oh, and Brooklyn's getting us a top 3 pick in the draft. Even if they technically look better, they are also facing 13 teams (12 depending on whether or not Miami decides to tank ie trade goran Dragic) who will want to make the playoffs. Teams will relish the chance to play Brooklyn to get ahead. The nets will be essentially the 2014 Celtics. They'll look not unwatchable, but things are going to be BAD. Oh and the difference between them and the 2014 Celtics? The Celtics actually had several teams trying to out-tank them in 2014.
Get hyped guys. We're gonna have some fun with this team.
Topic: Official Celtics Predictions! (Read 6967 times)