Boston Celtics 2023-24 NBA season preview: Can the C's win it all?

Who are these BostonCeltics?

As of late, they haveconsistently been a top-four team in the NBA, but rarely top-twoand never No. 1. They have flashes of brilliance followed byperiods of uncertainty and indecisiveness. They take games off,beating the best teams in the league while dropping games to someof the worst.

It is difficult to gauge whichCeltics team will show up on any given night, or even any givenquarter. For a team that is that good when they’re on, they really arethat bad when they’re off.

It was impressive that theyalmost came back from a 0-3 deficit in the playoffs – somethingthat has still never happened in NBA history. But the flip side ofthat coin is that they dropped three-straight games to the MiamiHeat to start that series. They are a team of high highs and lowlows.

Now, they could become even morevolatile with the loss of their leader Marcus Smart. Smart playedall nine of his NBA seasons in Boston, slowly earning a startingspot, but quickly earning the adulation of the fans. He led theirdefense with his tenacity and “Smart” plays. He also led theiroffense with his playmaking and shot creation. It's a big hole tofill, but at a guard position that was absolutely stacked, they dohave some guys to pick up the pieces.

Derrick White will step up tofill that role and he will likely do a great job. White haselevated his game on both sides of the ball since joining theCeltics and has already proven he is a great culture fit. MalcolmBrogdon will also see increased minutes without Smart and, likeWhite, has fit right in.

On the other hand, I am worriedthat Kristaps Porzingis will not be a good fit in Boston, which isironic because they traded their glue guy (Smart) for him.Positionally and skill-set-wise, Porzingis might seem like a greatfit. His numbers speak for themselves and this offense is perfectfor him. Their starting lineup will be one of the best in theleague with White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Porzingis and RobertWilliams III.

But Porzingis isn’t exactlybattle-tested. He has never really been on a good team, playing injust 10 playoff games throughout his NBA career. Compare that toSmart, who has played significant minutes in 108 playoff games,with at least one series per year. It’s not entirely Porzingis’fault that he hasn’t been on teams that could compete in theplayoffs, but he’s unproven in an area where Boston hasstruggled.

To add insult to injury, theCeltics also lost Grant Williams because they decided to spendtheir money elsewhere. It's rare for a team to have multiple glueguys, but Boston had two and decided to part ways with both of themin the same offseason. Williams was seemingly on the way out eversince he rejected their extension offer last summer. During lastyear’s playoff run, he had multiple puzzling healthyscratches.

With all that being said, theystill have a strong team leader in Al Horford, and Joe Mazzulla hada good first year as head coach. Brown and Tatum have emerged asleaders, despite how young they are. Even though they have yet toreach their prime, they are becoming veteran presences with sevenyears and six years in Boston, respectively.

It’s surprising that the Celticsaren’t more consistent given the deep playoff experience that theirkey pieces have. They made at least the Eastern Conference Finalsin five of the past seven years, losing there in Game 7 twice whileonly appearing in one NBA Finals series. Two years ago, they wereup 2-1 in the Finals and led in Game 4 only to lose in six games tothe Golden State Warriors.

So, what’s going wrong? Are theyunderperforming or are they just a step behind the best teams inthe league? Do they just need to let Brown and Tatum reach theirprime? Will this new-look Celtics team finally bring the LarryO’Brien trophy back to Boston? Or has losing Smart and Co. pushedthem even further away from that reality?

Only time will tell. Usually,I’m glass-half-full before the season starts, but losing bothhalves of their heart – Smart and Williams – is not a goodlook.

I don’t see this team winning achampionship this year or even making the NBA Finals. No, it'slikely a return to Eastern-Conference-Finals purgatory for theCeltics. Many teams would be ecstatic over a Conference Finalsappearance, but for a Boston team and fan base that has been thereso many times before and want so much more, it's not nearlyenough.