The 15

By Vinny Jace, Special to the15net dot com:

It’s been a long summer for Celtics fans. More importantly, it’s been a long summer for me watching Philly fans take a more obnoxious victory lap than Knicks fans. Heading into this season, the local and national media perception surrounding the Celtics is that they’re entering a phase similar to when the Red Sox traded Mookie Betts—it’s all about the bottom line.

I have written about this team a lot and tried to present a fair and honest assessment of why the offseason went the way it did. I staked the claim that owner Bill Chisholm is not John Henry, and that the Jaylen Brown trade was made solely for basketball purposes. While we may quibble with the return—and trust me, my heart has still not accepted this new reality—for the time being, I am confident we’ve seen the beginning of why Brad Stevens did what he did in a manner that is no longer just hypothetical.

The Celtics took the money that likely would have gone to Brown’s extension and proceeded to re-sign their depth pieces. They locked down starting center Neemias Queta (4 years, $56 million), Jordan Walsh (3 years, $15 million), Ron Harper Jr. (4 years, $13 million), and, just earlier this week, Payton Pritchard (2 years, $44 million). The Celtics have firmly bet on their depth to carry them through a front-loaded Eastern Conference, while crossing their fingers that the squads that hastily assembled super-teams implode by season’s end.

It’s a calculated risk. I’m sure this was the loneliest summer of Stevens’ career. He went from the Whiz Kid who brought home Banner 18 to an odious figure who watched the Miami Heat obtain Giannis and traded a beloved star to their most hated rival in Philly. Even rank-and-file Celtics fans have not only questioned him, but also wondered if this is the beginning of the end of the Stevens era. Time will tell.

For what it is worth, the Celtics never seemed anything but content with their choices. While fans brainstormed trades to dump Paul George’s salary, the Celtics brass made it known they’re happy to have the 36-year-old forward next to Jayson Tatum in the frontcourt. The returns in the two preseason games we’ve seen them play have been very good! George has a velvet touch with the basketball; his ability to veer into opposing teams’ passing lanes and turn a defensive possession into transition offense is tremendous.

While Tatum was always the better of the Jays, the sense that they were “dueling banjos” stems from the odd fit the two always had together. Brown was a high-usage, not-so-efficient ball-stopper who occasionally flashed brilliance when trusted to handle the ball. His peak in 2024 was a sight to behold, but in context, it had a lot to do with the spectacular players who were also on that team and able to cover up his weaknesses.

George has said and done all the right things so far. He’s come across as incredibly humble, sincere, and genuinely happy to be in a place where he isn’t expected to be the focal point. He is a key cog in a machine designed to churn out regular-season wins. The Celtics aren’t under any delusions that prime PG-13 is coming back; they merely want him to play a brand of basketball that better fits the Mazzulla Ball philosophy.

One strength the Celtics have this year as opposed to last is a surplus of ball-handling. Tatum obviously was out until March, and Brown was never much of a dribbler. With Tatum back in the fold and George next to him, the Celtics have excellent distributors to complement their backcourt.

There is the issue of George’s health, and that is something you truly cannot ignore. The Celtics’ staff has managed players with iffy histories better than most and still couldn’t get a player like Kristaps Porzingis on the floor for their most important games. Now, factoring in Tatum coming off an Achilles injury and a 36-year-old George, it isn’t a stretch to imagine them missing time.

This is where betting on depth matters. It’s why you re-sign players like Walsh and Harper—so they can handle the workload in the dog days of the season, allowing you to turn to Pritchard and tell him to go get you thirty points.

The ultimate irony heading into the season is that despite all the doom and gloom, I do see this Celtics team as extremely talented with very few holes besides the health risks. The center rotation went from a weakness to a strength. Queta is back, looking to put a bad postseason behind him. Mitchell Robinson is ready to “possession maxx” on the boards, as the kids would say. And I feel much better about Luka Garza being a third-string big man than a backup. They form an excellent trio of screeners, bruisers, and smart players ready for the 82-game grind.

Pritchard and White are back in the backcourt. Optimism is high that Pritchard can take another leap, and there is legitimate hope he can achieve All-Star status. He’s gotten better every year since his initial extension in the summer of 2023, and I think the Celtics are confident there is even more to his game to be unlocked. White is coming off a campaign where he did virtually everything perfectly, except shoot the ball.

Now, that can be explained away. The team without Tatum had a dearth of offense, making it easy for defenses to focus entirely on White. He had to take care of the ball-handling, perimeter defense, and even rim-protecting duties. Perhaps that heavy workload factored into his field-goal percentage sinking below the Atlantic Ocean. I choose to believe he’ll rebound under these new and improved conditions.

Last season, the Celtics cobbled together a top-five defensive unit on a roster otherwise devoid of elite depth. Now, they have added an elite rim-protector and a veteran defensive wing who excels at off-ball defense, all while subbing out their weakest link. The bullish part of me looks at that and sees a higher upside for this team than most expect.

What tempers my expectations is, admittedly, the outside perception possibly being onto something. I lack the courage of my convictions! But in fairness, I also see the Eastern Conference as a bunch of robust, middle-class teams scrapping and clawing to win between 48 and 53 games. There should be room for nuance. For example, I do have the New York Knicks making it back to the Finals. I just don’t see how they’ll win more than 53 games—the same mark as the year prior—in a conference where teams aren’t actively tanking.

Teams’ strengths will be diluted by what appears to be a lackluster win-loss record. A sleeping giant in the East awaits the playoffs. My reading on the Celtics is they’ll win a modest 50 games—but I do not see them as that sleeping giant.

Vinny Jace is a special contributor to The15net.com.