NBA 2020-21 Preview: Boston Celtics’ Season Prediction, New Additions, Starting 5, Players Salaries, News; All you want to know before the new NBA season
The Boston Celtics have a tremendous group of young talent in Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, and Jayleen Brown. This NBA offseason they offloaded Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets and added Tristan Thompson.
Depth might be a problem for the Celtics considering the drastic changes made to the NBA season.
Boston Celtics 2019-20 season
The Boston Celtics gave up 37 points in the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. They could not stop the powerful duo of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.
They were one of the last three teams standing and they were dealing with injuries to Kemba Walker and Gordon Hayward. Although, it was still a frustrating finish for the Cs, who were the higher seed and the only East team that finished in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
NBA trade news: All NBA trades made by Boston Celtics, where they landed, and their contract details
The Celtics took a step forward despite losing five rotation players in the summer of 2019, but they came up just short once again, losing in the conference finals for the third time in the last four years.
Tristan Thompson fully participated in his first practice today, and he’s looking to elevate our team with his energy and competitiveness pic.twitter.com/jWSrqhUXJ3
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 19, 2020
Season preview: Boston Celtics in the NBA 2020-21 season
Gordon Hayward is in Charlotte after opting out of the final year of his contract. The Celtics were unable to work out a sign-and-trade deal that brought back any players, but they do now have a large trade exception.
Hayward’s departure allowed them to use the full mid-level exception to sign center Tristan Thompson.
More important may be that Jayson Tatum put pen to paper on an extension that will keep him under contract through (at least) the 2024-25 season.
But the somewhat surprising departure of a guy who averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists last season leaves the team significantly more fragile at the forward positions and more sensitive to absences within that first-line group of Walker, Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart.
With Walker still dealing with a knee issue, the Celtics could also be depending on 32-year-old Jeff Teague more than they should.
NBA 2020-21 Preview: Boston Celtics potential starting 5 players
Kemba Walker | 20.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.8 apg
The lingering left knee issue is a concern and will keep him off the floor to start the season.
Marcus Smart | 12.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.9 apg
The man who makes “winning plays” became more aggressive offensively last season.
Jaylen Brown | 20.3 ppg 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg
Not able to create his own offense like Walker or Tatum, but he does everything else.
This passing tho😍#Celtics pic.twitter.com/AGToCl8Wki
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 19, 2020
Jayson Tatum | 23.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.0 apg
Made a huge scoring leap last season and showed signs of playmaking improvement in the playoffs.
Daniel Theis | 9.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Had issues against Miami, but still an important, integral screen-setter and defender.
NBA player salaries: NBA 2020-21: Find the detailed information on the new contracts signed by the NBA players and their salaries here.
Boston Celtics, last 5 seasons
| Season | W | L | PCT | OffRtg | Rank | DefRtg | Rank | NetRtg | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 48 | 24 | 0.667 | 112.8 | 4 | 106.5 | 4 | +6.3 | 3 |
| 2018-19 | 49 | 33 | 0.598 | 111.3 | 10 | 107.0 | 6 | +4.3 | 6 |
| 2017-18 | 55 | 27 | 0.671 | 106.8 | 18 | 103.2 | 2 | +3.6 | 7 |
| 2016-17 | 53 | 29 | 0.646 | 110.6 | 7 | 108.0 | 14 | +2.6 | 8 |
| 2015-16 | 48 | 34 | 0.585 | 105.8 | 10 | 102.5 | 4 | +3.3 | 8 |
NBA players salaries: Boston Celtics players salaries
| Player | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 |
| Brown, Jaylen | $ 23,735,119.00 | $ 25,633,929.00 | $ 27,532,738.00 |
| Edwards, Carsen | $ 1,517,981.00 | $ 1,782,621.00 | $ 1,930,681.00 |
| Green, Javonte | $ 1,517,981.00 | $ 1,907,576.00 | – |
| Hayward, Gordon | – | – | – |
| Langford, Romeo | $ 3,631,200.00 | $ 3,804,360.00 | $ 5,634,257.00 |
| Nesmith, Aaron | $ 3,458,400.00 | $ 3,631,200.00 | $ 3,804,360.00 |
| Ojeleye, Semi | $ 1,752,950.00 | – | – |
| Pritchard, Payton | $ 2,035,800.00 | $ 2,137,440.00 | $ 2,239,200.00 |
| Smart, Marcus | $ 13,446,428.00 | $ 14,339,285.00 | – |
| Tatum, Jayson | $ 9,897,120.00 | $ 28,103,500.00 | $ 30,351,780.00 |
| Theis, Daniel | $ 5,000,000.00 | – | – |
| Walker, Kemba | $ 34,379,100.00 | $ 36,016,200.00 | $ 37,653,300.00 |
| Williams, Grant | $ 2,498,760.00 | $ 2,617,800.00 | $ 4,306,281.00 |
| Williams III, Robert | $ 2,029,920.00 | $ 3,661,976.00 | $ 5,430,710.00 |
Boston Celtics news: Boston Celtics’ possible Position by Position Starting 5 for the NBA 2020-21 season
NBA 2020-21 Preview: Boston Celtics’ predicted finish for the NBA 2020-21 season
The Celtics still have the pieces to rank in the top five on either end of the floor and finish in the top four in the conference for a fifth straight season.
And come July, they could absolutely be the team stewarding the East in The Finals, particularly if the progress of Tatum and Brown proceeds at its prevailing pace.
But with no Hayward and with Walker’s health a question before the season even starts, they are a little more delicate than they were last season when they were able to endure a myriad of deficiencies within their top six.
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