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The Boston Celtics had very high hopes entering the 2020-21 season after battling the Miami Heat in the 2019-20 Eastern Conference Finals. However, the loss of Gordon Hayward, who averaged 17.5 points per game in his last season with the Celtics, and Kemba Walker's persistent injury troubles showed that the Green Machine lacked the scoring depth to contend for the title.
Evan Fournier's addition helped the Boston Celtics tread water, but the Frenchman was often out with an injury and had to be sidelined due to health and protocol mandates. In the end, the Celtics lost Jaylen Brown to a season-ending wrist injury that all but mercifully wrecked their hopes of going deep into the playoffs.
Their even 36-36 record brought them to the play-in tournament, where they dispatched the Washington Wizards to clinch the 7th seed in the East. Claiming the 7th seed at the time also meant facing the mighty Brooklyn Nets in a seven-game series. The Celtics were defeated 4-1, with the lone win coming after Jayson Tatum erupted for 50 points in Game 3.
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Coming into the 2021-22 season, the Boston Celtics hired Ime Udoka to guide the team. One of Udoka's main objectives will be to improve the team's defensive rating, which fell to 13th last season.
A drastic improvement on defense alone will not be enough in a stacked Eastern Conference playoff battle. The Boston Celtics will need scoring firepower to be bona fide title hopefuls. Without Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, the rest of the roster will have to punch their weight for the Celtics to have a meaningful playoff run.
Players who will help carry the scoring load for the Boston Celtics in the coming season
#5 Marcus Smart
Marcus Smart has surpassed his scoring average in each of his seven seasons with the Boston Celtics. This could be the year when Celtics fans will see a regression in his output simply because his main task on offense will be to set up his teammates. As the point guard, he would have to make sure Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are fed the ball in their sweet spots.
Allowing others to carry more of the scoring load will give Smart extra energy to hound the opposing team's best players. He has been the Boston Celtics' best defensive player, and that is not likely to change in the coming season.
With that being said, Marcus Smart would still need to provide his fair share of the scoring. His scoring will be a big boost to the unpredictability of the Celtics offense. He could average around 11 points a game.
A ball hawk on defense and a solid floor general will help the Boston Celtics' quest to extend their playoff finish last campaign.
#4 Al Horford
After only a 28-game stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Al Horford seems reinvigorated on his return to the Boston Celtics.
Based on the preseason games, it looks like Horford is moving very well on both ends of the floor. Vintage Al Horford is a guaranteed double-digit scorer who can space the floor or post down low.
Al Horford could resume his scoring average of around 14 PPG. Whether he gets his minutes as a starter or backup to the rising Robert Williams is still something to keep an eye on.
As good as Williams has been, particularly in the playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets, Horford's offensive game is still way better at this point in the former's development.
#3 Dennis Schroder
Dennis Schroder is penciled in to come off the bench for the Boston Celtics this season unless Ime Udoka has a dramatic change of plans.
The German has proven his entire career that he is magnificent as the first man off the bench. In the year he placed second to Montrezl Harrell for the Sixth Man of the Year award, Schroder was impressive with 18.9 points a game.
Kemba Walker normed 19 PPG as a starter with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Schroder will have more freedom to make buckets as he runs the offense of the second unit. Even if one of the Js stays on the floor, which is likely to be the case, Schroder will have ample scoring opportunities to hit 19 points a game.
Dennis Schroder has always been a natural scorer, so it's safe to say he can put up points when needed. He also directed the plays in the minutes he played with Marcus Smart.
#2 Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown made the All-Star last season partly because his scoring jumped from 20.3 to 24.7 PPG. Although he took more field-goal attempts, his efficiency also went up. His 38.2 3PG% rose to a hair below 40%, while his FG% inched to 48.4% from 48.1%. Despite the increase in FG attempts and usage, he remains an effective scorer. His 58.6 TS% is major evidence of this.
As good as Jaylen Brown has been, there are still elements to his game that can be better. For someone who is consistently a major part of the Boston Celtics' offense, the 4.3 free throw attempts last season were a little bit low.
Brown is listed as 6'6 and 223 lb, but he plays bigger and stronger than that. There are not many shooting guards in the NBA who can stand his physicality.
If he gets to the line more, those freebies are going to raise his scoring output by at least 2 points. Speaking of free throws, he's only a 69.9% shooter from the line and had a career-best of 76.4% last season. Bringing that percentage to 80% will at least allow him to average more than 26 points a game for the Boston Celtics.
#1 Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum is the MVP of this Boston Celtics team. His performance at such a young age borders on the MVP level. Like Marcus Smart and Brown, he has seen his average rise every season he has donned the Celtics jersey.
His 26.4 PPG last year was spectacular, but he has proven that those numbers can get better. His playoff scoring output over the last three years has stood head and shoulders above his regular-season numbers.
Last season, he tied Larry Bird's 60-point Boston Celtics record and dropped a few 50-point bombs at different times last campaign.
Jayson Tatum has bulked up coming into this season. In the Boston Celtics' preseason opener against the Orlando Magic, he dunked over Wendell Carter Jr. with two hands. That would have been close to impossible with Tatum's originally skinny frame. Now that he has more muscle and strength, going to the basket for high-percentage shots will result in more free throws.
JT went to the stripes on average of 5.3 a game last season. The number looks great. However, considering that Harden averages 11.8, KD with 10.2 and the Greek Freak with 10, Tatum's usual attempts pale in comparison. If he pushes it to around 9 FT attempts a game, a little over 30 PPG is a guarantee for the Boston Celtics.
