The Boston Celtics are a centerpiece away from championship contention

I'm not a Boston fan but I disagree with these posts on where Boston are at, and the notion that Boston needs a 'big man' to compete...I actually think Boston are one of the more progressive and forward-thinking teams in the league. Teams are all trying to move towards building rosters which allow maximum flexibility on offense and defense. The notion of filling 'traditional' positions is dead. Just look at the teams we have lining up in the NBA finals...For the Lakers, Lebron is a PG. Their best line up has AD at the 5 and spreading the floor by shooting 3s. McGee has been phased out and is now playing limited minutes and Dwight is limited to specific match ups. For Miami, Bam is their dominant big man and he's 6ft 9inches. They have 8 guys playing decent minutes in the playoffs and 6 of them are wings. Fact is, teams these days want guys who can move the ball, shoot and dribble on offense, and who can switch and rotate on defense. Teams play at pace and create space for their offense. With this in mind, I don't think Boston need a big man or as James mentions above, a PF. In fact, Boston have one of the very best PFs in the game in Tatum who is pretty much the ideal 2020 NBA player and ideal stretch 4. Young, big, good on defense and offense, good with the ball in hand etc. What Boston really need is more depth and more patience. Their bench isn't up to scratch, especially with Hayward being so injury prone. And Stevens is a great coach. He's just a victim of too much success too soon...

It's not going to be easy because Stevens should be replaced, but they stupidly renewed his contract I think for two more years so it would cost them a lot of money to renege so they are probably stuck with him for at least another season before it becomes more cost effective to pay him out. Also I think he is a coach that Ainge can control so they wouldn't want to get rid of him. Ainge should move on in order to make way for new and fresh leadership which is capable of reversing the long term cultural malaise that has befallen the club. Again though, Ainge is highly unlikely to do this. Given this situation, they may have to reorganise themselves and their playing strategy to work with what they have. Yes, they need to pro actively and aggressively pursue a proven power forward who can also contribute to providing some protection in defence. If they also find another big defender, that would be good but might upset team balance too much and it is not essential. This is where a revised strategy comes into play. In the games I watched during the season before the pandemic, Robert Williams was doing a great job. Theis has been embarrassing to watch at times. Too slow in movement and reaction, too easily over powered and out played and was never able to finish off a game because he was either too tired and/or probably demoralised by having been overwhelmed so often by opposition players. He would be handy though coming off the bench for short periods. I think the only guaranteed starters are Tatum, Walker and Brown with Williams their central big man with a defensive focus. That leaves room for the power forward and would give them diversity and depth off the bench with Hayward and Smart each playing solid amounts of game time and Theis providing relief when necessary. Boston showed that they could get themselves into winning positions throughout the playoffs, but couldn't close out games so Stevens needs to accept this and adopt a defensive strategy when necessary during games while using a power forward for easier baskets when counter attacking. That's playing percentages. Therefore, they can close shop and protect their leads. The golden question is who is the power forward they can attract if any during the trade period and would they be able to tempt another club to part ways with a contracted player if necessary? I would certainly offer up Hayward as a carrot because he shares too many similarities with other players on the roster and is injury prone and he would be the only player of value they could offer as part of any deal and that they can afford to lose. But if that were to happen, they would really need to develop the rest of the list and find another good bench player to join Smart under pressure situations.

I would like to add a second and final post. If anyone is in any doubt, hopefully you have just had definitive confirmation after game 6 of the merit in the author's comments and opinions about Boston's situation and my obervations in support of his opinions. Aside from the obvious hole represented by the historical and current lack of a power forward, this result just merely confirms the mediocrity that the Boston Celtics represent as a franchise. The club keeps repeating the same roster mistakes year after year for decades and keeps losing games in playoffs for the same reasons every year for decades but nothing ever changes. Brad Stevens is soft with no sense of passion or grit to inspire and motivate his players in addition to his responsibility for team selections and roster development and Danny Ainge must take overall responsibility for his major part in the continued under performance of what was once a proud and successful franchise, even though the rot had already set in before he took over. Boston for too long have relied on the successes of past glories which are but a distant memory. They have become just another average club battling tooth and nail just to be competitive and have no right to be even considered a modern day contender for the championship. As a Boston supporter, I look forward to seeing the Lakers take out their 18th championship this year and draw level with Boston. The Lakers have long displayed the best playing philosophy and a recuitment strategy designed to win championships which is why they have become the best franchise in the NBA.

Exactly, just someone who can fill the big role they need. Daniel Thesis is decent, but they could do better

Yes, KD, Steph, Klay, Dray > than the Boston crew; no question. I think (with due respect to Australian basketball legend Bogut) perhaps the difference between Bogut and Theis is less pronounced; 2015 Bogut 5.4 pts, 7.0 R, 2.3 A, 0.5 S, 1.6 B 2019 Theis 9.2pts, 6.6 R, 1.7A, 0.6 S, 1.3 B Not alot of difference in those stats; Theis scores a bit more, Bogut managed half a rebound and half an assist more a game. Sure, Bogut bought veteran savvy and high basketball IQ moved the ball well, moved without the ball well; did the little things etc, but he didnt influence the game by going down on the block and going to work offensively. To be clear, I am quite old, I love the post game; my all time fave player is Olajuwon... I would much rather see a Dream Shake than a Step back 3 (I still cant really accept that many of these attempts are not called travelling) I am no fan of the 'everyone chucks 3's' offence we see so much of these days... but the numbers dont lie; unless you have someone truly awesome in the low post, or a true mid range assassin you are mostly better off launching 3's at league average shooting % or driving to the bucket for layups or fouls. I dont think R Lopez moves the needle significantly vs Theis for Boston; B Lopez (formerly a noted low post scorer who now bombs away from deep) or Valunciunas I would agree to being a useful upgrade, but really, the most sought after player type in the league at the moment are big wings who can do everything at a high level.... Boston have 3 of them (Tatum, Brown, Hayward) arguably 4 if you include Smart.... plus they have a 30 year old 4 time in his absolute prime all star PG.... they are loaded and their roster is rightly the envy of most other teams. Which team would say no to a straight up swap of their roster for Bostons at the end of this season with all contracts as they currently stand (eg the Clips 2 stars able to opt out after 2021 ) ? Would adding a better player at their weakest position make Boston stronger, well, clearly yes, but this is hardly a revelation. More interesting (*I would think) to try and work out how they upgrade, given their cap situation. Sure they have some extra draft picks, but they arent going to be picking in the spots that delivered Tatum and Brown to them anytime soon. Do I think they could win it all next year ? Sure, they will be one of the better teams in the East and 'anythings possible' *(c) Kevin Garnett, once the playoffs start. I dont think they will be favourites to win and I dont actually expect them to win, but they are a better chance than all but a handful of teams I'd suggest. I dont mean to come across as critical; I love basketball and enjoy the opportunity to discuss; so thanks for penning the article and for your replies. You central 'Theis's' is correct; Boston would be better with a better Centre. At this stage, I think I will leave it Rick Pitino, the Celts coach in '92 to sign off on my behalf by quoting these observations he offered to expectant Boston fans 28 years ago: 'Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they're going to be gray and old. What we are is young, exciting, hardworking, and we're going to improve.' cheers

Let me see if I have this right; if the Celtics could only land an all star big to go with their existing 4 all stars, they would be in championship contention ? Who was the big inside presence for the Warriors when they won 3 titles in 4 years .... It’s ok, I’ll wait ... Didn’t the Raptors win it all last year with the two guys they still have, who you pegged as perimeter orientated, plus that Leonard guy, who is a wing (ie also not a big inside presence)

Great read, I had this exact same thought when watching the Celtics. They have every position handled except for a centre. If they fill that big man role with a decent quality big then the championship is definitely something they can attain

This commentary is spot on, but it misses a related and crucial issue which has constantly undermined Boston as a club for the past 30 years. Yes points inside the paint are too difficult for Boston to score which means they can't play percentages to maintain their leads and create counter offensive pressure when opposition teams get a run on which prevents them from being able to close out games. The bigger problem however that seems to have constantly been overlooked is that this has been a long term problem for many decades. This is why Boston after having dominated the NBA until the eighties have since completely dropped off and fallen away to be just another average competitor and been overtaken by other teams. Boston have refused to adapt to the way the game is played today which requires the presence of a big power player who a team can go to for easier points inside the paint when the pressure is on. Probably with the exception of the Mavericks several years ago, I think you will find that all championship winning teams have had that presence. Boston's playing philosophy is to insist on an even heighted spread of players that relies on playmaking around the perimeter to create opportunities. This is no longer enough to win a championship. Therefore, I see this as a cultural problem off court for Boston that requires changes in the administration who can introduce the changes needed to recruit and develop the right players and modify the playing philosophy. Danny Ainge has to take responsibility for this and move out as he has been the person most responsible for the failures as he is heavily involved in recruiting choices and was part of the old playing culture which was successful in a different era a long time ago. I also think Brad Stevens either needs to be replaced or put on notice as he has had ample time to develop the roster and game strategies but his game time strategies have contributed heavily to the play off losses. He has shown that he cannot handle strong offensive runs from opposition teams in critical games and his choice of starting with a player like Daniel Theis and not play Robert Williams has been a disaster. Theis is good to have off the bench but I would take Williams as a starter every time.