Forty days is what separates us today from the end of the 2021-22 regular season. A month and a half before the Playoffs – or the Lottery – each franchise honed its weapons during the trade deadline on February 10, then recently took advantage of a week of All-Star Break to ask itself some essential questions. to a regular end in the nails. The objectives are not the same everywhere, of course, but we also quickly settled on the main themes of the six weeks ahead of us, by selecting for each franchise three small questions, three ideas to develop. Non-exhaustive choice of course because otherwise it never ends, and we leave without further delay on the end of the season of the… Celtics.
# Have the Celtics become real contenders?
With a 20-8 record in 2022 the Celtics are clearly one of the hottest teams this winter in the NBA. The attack is running at full speed around the Jayson Tatum / Jaylen Brown duo, the defense has become a force once more thanks to Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III and Derrick White, a few veterans are buffering, Ime Udoka does not necessarily have the elbows yet frank but very frankly it is much better. From there to make the Celtics a franchise that is among the favorites in the East? Hmm, be patient. Why not, but be patient. The Bucks, the Sixers, the Heat and the Bulls are going a hundred miles an hour, and today we no longer want to wedge the Green Nation into the family just below, with a little more certainty than the Cavs who will – perhaps – be a little… green in the Playoffs, with a little more certainty also than the Nets at the moment T but that might not last. Anyway, it has nothing to do with a start to the season that looks like a big mess and everyone in Boston now seems to know their role. But the Eastern Conference is incredibly dense this season, and every round of the Playoffs passed will ultimately be… a small achievement.
# What is Robert Williams III’s ceiling?
10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal average. At 24, pick 27 of the 2018 Draft is giving the full measure of his talent this season, and it’s already terribly effective but also very exciting for the future. Anthony Davis in the body of Zach Randolph but with the relaxation of Kenneth Faried, capable of being incisive in attack on simple things but above all monstrous in defense, RWIII is one of the revelations in Boston this season, one of the revelations of the NBA as a whole. One of the accomplishments that Bobby seems to be close to? Something of the five by five style (five units in the five main statistical categories), as the beast masters more and more all aspects of the game. Clearly a potential third man alongside the duo of All-Stars JB / JT, but also, and above all, a significant weapon when it comes to stopping the few Joel Embiid and/or Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Playoffs. In short, not yet the ultimate deterrent weapon but there is already an idea, to be continued.
# Best trade deadline in the whole NBA?
So at first glance and as my Tata Jeannine would say: it’s not Peru, especially since some franchises still got James Harden, Ben Simmons, Tyrese Haliburton, Domantas Sabonis or CJ McCollum before February 10. But the Celtics’ few little moves this winter are smart, useful, and have already proven themselves. Exit Dennis Schroder to begin with, good guy the Dennis huh, but one wonders if he has ever been part of a project once in his life, except that of his parents nine months before his birth. Good wind to the German, and welcome back to Daniel Theis, in a 100% Teutonic trade, well almost since he also allowed the useless Freedom and Fernando beams to be cleared. Daniel Theis will never make alexandrines but will always be keen to put some chestnuts and, there too, ten minutes of fight in the Playoffs will not hurt, where Kanter in particular has never been beaten in his life in defense. The other big blow of the C’s at the deadline? THE big blow of C’s? The arrival of Derrick White in place of a Josh Richardson who will never have made his mark since leaving the Heat in Boston, Derrick White, who we cry a tad in San Antonio and who instantly became one of the best substitutes in the League, thanks to his influence on both sides of the field and also thanks to a welcome game intelligence off the bench . 12/4/4 average might not sound like a big deal, but at 27 Mr. Blanc plays like a veteran and his fit in Boston seems perfect, so far.
