2018-19 NBA Preview: Areas of improvement for each Celtics youngster

If there was one lesson to be taken from the 2017-18 playoffs that we hadn't already learned before in the fascinating league that is the NBA, it is that the Celtics have arguably the best core of young players on their roster, and are only slated to add more in the 2019 NBA draft when they own the Clippers', Grizzlies' and the Kings' first-round picks.

These young guns have battled the odds unlike any other core in its infancy in the league as of today. Without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, these Celtics played 19 games in the playoffs, won 11 of them and could conceivably have ended up in the NBA Finals but for some Game 7 yips that caused Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart to all but shoot them out of the championship hunt.

But with LeBron's move to LA, the Eastern Conference is there for the taking. The Celtics made short work of the 76ers in the Conference Semifinals, exploiting Embiid's and Simmons' weaknesses to finish the series off in 5 games.

With that being said, championships do not fall into the laps of the worthy, and there is a ton of work each player on the roster needs to do before they can call themselves a true championship threat. We list the most obvious changes each of these 5 youngsters needs to make this season in order to maximize the potential they've already displayed:

#1 Jaylen Brown - Drive more often

Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics - Game One

Jaylen Brown is already one of the most athletic players in the league. His compilation of posterizing dunks contains prize scalps of the caliber of Kristaps Porzingis and Pau Gasol, and the 21-year-old has a fair way to go before he even reaches his athletic ceiling. One might even hazard as far as to already place him alongside the Russell Westbrooks and LeBron James' of the world, though The King in his youth is possibly the most explosive player in the history of the league.

Brown legitimately has the caliber to be an even more explosive Paul George at his best, but right now, the difference between the perennial All-Star he's projected to be and the above-average player he is today has much to do with experience.

Brown is a really great straight-line driver of the basketball. Better understanding of plays, a more well-developed hesi pull-up jimbo and a mentality to put the ball on the floor hard every time he drives in a Westbrook-esque manner will take his offense to the next level.

#2 Jayson Tatum - Killer instinct

Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics - Game Seven

With 6:41 remaining in the 4th quarter of the Eastern Conference Finals, Celtics #3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft put The King on what I think is the best poster dunk of the NBA season gone by. With 6:04 remaining in the same quarter and the Celtics down 69-71, Tatum put the Celtics back in the lead with a stupendous 27-foot 3-pointer.

Right at that point, a lot of Celtics fans might have jumped up in ecstasy and pride at their young'un going toe-to-toe with the greatest player on the planet and winning the sweepstakes for the time being. In the last 6:04 of the quarter, however, we were all deprived of the shootout that had already been brewing in full cry at that point, as Tatum took just one more shot attempt, which got blocked by JR Smith.

It is unreasonable to expect a rookie to succeed when pitted against the arguably greatest player to ever play the game. But Tatum is the kind of player who has the skill and smoothness as a 6'8" small forward that only Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony have had in the past. Sacrilegious as it might seem to say, Tatum might already be on track for a career better than Paul Pierce as of the end of his rookie season.

To be the new Truth, however, Tatum needs to force the issue better, take over on nights when 3 of his teammates combined to shoot 30 3-pointers waywardly and forced Boston out of the game with their bricks.

#3 Marcus Smart - Decision-making

Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics - Game Five

For all the great things that Marcus Smart does on the floor which do not show up on the box score, there is one glaring weakness in his game that even the most one-eyed Boston fan will admit. Smart has been just a terrible volume 3-point shooter through 4 years in Boston, and while he should shoot 3s when left open because it's the best play for the team, there has to come a time in his career when he consistently starts making them.

The rest of Smart's game is about as good as it gets. He's a really good half-court set playmaker, particularly in pick-and-roll actions. He's pretty solid at driving to the basket. He's the best perimeter defender in the league not named Kawhi Leonard. He can legitimately guard 4, sometimes up to 5 positions on the court on switches.

But till the time that he begins to stroke 3-pointers at a consistent rate, he will never be more than a complimentary role player on any team. A great role player, make no mistake, but nothing better than that.

#4 Terry Rozier - Finishing in traffic

Boston Celtics v Cleveland Cavaliers - Game Six

At 6'2" and 185 pounds, Terry Rozier will usually be the smallest player on an NBA court. While his excellent wingspan of 6'8" makes him a better defender than players at his height, he's a below-average driver of the ball at this point of his career.

Physically speaking, there's not much Rozier can do now that he's already 23 years old. 10-20 pounds of muscle gain in his upper body can somewhat ease his way, but more often than not its Rozier whose decision-making is by and large at fault.

Rozier should try more emphatic drives given his explosiveness and speed. Averages of 50.3% from 0-3 feet and 30.9% from 3-10 feet are by no means ideal for a point guard who might wish to be a starter on his own team next season.

#5 Semi Ojeleye - Decisiveness

Milwaukee Bucks v Boston Celtics - Game Seven

There's something to be said about a rookie who didn't look out of place when fielded in playoff action, as Semi Ojeleye was. While the man with arguably the best-looking shoulders in the league is only a rookie right now, Ojeleye showed enough potential in the limited minutes he got last season to give Boston fans the hope that their roster contains another diamond in the rough.

Ojeleye is right now the definition of an end-of-the-bench player, except he's streets ahead of most other players in his category as a defender. Weighing over 240 pounds but with the foot speed of a player around 50 pounds smaller, Ojeleye is an engaged, active on-ball defender and a team defender with great awareness and a knack for reading plays and responding instantly.

He did shoot decently in his rookie season, though he eschewed any shot that he did not need to take. This needs to change as Ojeleye has the physique to be a dominant force as an offensive rebounder or in the low post in the modern NBA, and could conceivably end up playing as a small-ball center later on in his career.