How Did We Get Here? The Story of the 2020-2021 Boston Celtics
by Adam Zimmerman Diaz
After another excruciating loss to Atlanta on Wednesday night, many NBA fans are looking at the Boston Celtics with a new level of concern. Although sitting just a game back of the 4th place in the Eastern Conference, last night’s loss was more symbolic to the green, as for the first time since what feels like forever (really just since the 2014-15 season), the Celtics are out of the playoff picture 32 games in. There is hope, though. Many NBA personnel and experts will point to the Celtics’ $28.5 million traded player exception, which could be used to give new life to the team, but Celtics General Manager, Danny Ainge, suggested this week on 98.5 The Sports Hub that the team will likely wait until this offseason to pull the trigger on any firework trades. What I look at is how close the Eastern Conference is this season. During any other season, the 15-17 Boston Celtics would be far out of the playoff picture, let alone considered a contending team. However, these Celtics, as aforementioned, sit only a game behind the 4th seed Indiana Pacers, setting up a Friday night matchup that has gigantic implications on seeding and narrative. With a win Friday night, they would be in a virtual tie with Indiana, owning the tiebreaker from spitting the mini two-game series earlier this year. However, with a loss, the Celtics would fall down to tenth place in the east, a long way from being two games shy of the NBA Finals last year. There is hope, but one has to wonder, how did we get here? Even after all of the offseason shenanigans over the past four years, the Celtics have always been able to pull it together and have a strong regular season. So, what’s changed? I’ve assembled a timeline of events that should put everything into perspective for both Celtics fans and NBA fans as to why the Celtics are struggling so much.
June 29th, 2019
Kyrie Irving leaves Boston and spawns an interesting offseason.
Everybody in Boston remembers where they were when what felt like an inevitability for months, finally happened. After a disappointing collapse in the 2019 Playoffs in a 4-1 series defeat against Milwaukee, unrestricted free agent Kyrie Irving departed Boston for Brooklyn in a move that surprised no one. I won’t go into all of the drama that the star guard suffered in Boston, but I will go into one key factor that many speculate played a role in Irving’s departure. After a very successful 2018 postseason (one played without Irving), the Celtics rolled into the 2018-19 NBA season as consensus favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference. However, they ended up being the biggest disappointment of that season as a myriad of things went cataclysmically wrong. The main one being the forced re-entry of a clearly unhealthy and unprepared Gordon Hayward. This perceived addition ended up causing a lot of problems with rotations and chemistry and we saw the Celtics roll into the 2018-19 offseason expecting to shed more talent than gain. After this season, not only did the superstar Irving depart, but the deep bench that had made the Celtics such a threat was dismantled. The Celtics’ biggest free agent get of all time to that point, Al Horford, shocked the world by signing with the Celtics’ chief rival, Philadelphia. Marcus Morris, the reliable and consistent scorer off the bench, signed with the in-division “rival” (in quotations because they are not a good team) New York Knicks. Aron Baynes, the strong big man off the bench, was shipped to Phoenix for nothing to create cap space. Lastly, Terry Rozier, the young star who had broken out in the 2018 postseason but had to play second fiddle to Kyrie and Gordon Hayward in the regular season, was shipped out to Charlotte. That’s 65.9 points per game worth of production stripped from a team in one offseason. So, how did GM, Danny Ainge, alleviate that pain? Well, the loss of Terry Rozier was quickly aided by Danny’s biggest move of the offseason, the acquisition of Kemba Walker via sign and trade. This was considered huge to most NBA circles, as the perceived “locker room cancer” of Kyrie Irving (which was a misconception pedaled by sportswriters who were trying to find a scapegoat for the 2018-19 Celtics’ failures) was being replaced by a well known nice guy, Kemba Walker. There was hope again. Workout videos of a healthy Gordon Hayward and clips of Tatum and Brown’s approval of Walker gave Celtics fans hope for another run at a title. Along with Walker came veteran big, Enes Kanter, providing bench depth to hopefully aid the center depth after losing both Horford and Baynes, the top two centers in the Celtics’ rotation.
Who’s out: G Kyrie Irving, F/C Al Horford, G Terry Rozier, F Marcus Morris, C Aron Baynes, C Greg Monroe, G PJ Dozier, G RJ Hunter, F Guerschon Yabusele
Who’s in: G Kemba Walker, C Enes Kanter, F Grant Williams, G/F Javonte Green, G Romeo Langford, G Tremont Waters, G Carsen Edwards, C Tacko Fall, C Vincent Poirier
This “addition by subtraction” was a hope that Tatum and Brown could finally emerge as the superstar wing duo that everyone knew them to be because the ball would be in their hands as the catalysts of a Celtics championship. A good season was to come and after seeing the final roster there was hope in Boston again. By January 1st, the Celtics sat in second place in the east at 23-8, looking primed to make another run. However, the bumps in the road began to come quicker than expected.
January 18th, 2020
Kemba’s first-ever appearance on the Celtics’ injury report with a knee injury.
It was well known at this point in the Celtics’ season that Gordon Hayward would be in and out of the lineup because of all of the problems stemming from his graphic and memorable 2017 ankle injury. However, Kemba Walker was considered an iron man for this Celtics team. Up until he reported the knee soreness to team doctors, Walker had played in 35 of the Celtics’ first 41 games. After reporting the knee injury though, he would go onto finish the season only playing in 19 of the last 30 games of the COVID-shortened season. His left knee had always been a problem. Before his return to the lineup in the 2020-21 NBA Season, Walker had the fourth surgery on his left knee since 2015. He’s always been able to play through it, but January 2020 marked a fork in the road that has seen Walker miss more regular-season games than he’s played ever since. After an up and down end to the Celtics’ 2019-20 season, the Celtics entered the bubble playoffs as a respectable 3rd seed. They rolled through the longtime punching bag of the Celtics in the playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers, in a sweep. Unfortunately, the injury bug had bitten them once again, as Gordon Hayward went down with an ankle injury that would sideline him until game three of the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite this, Kemba Walker looked like his knee problems were a thing of the past, averaging 24.3 points per game on an extremely efficient 49% shooting from the field. However, things quickly changed. In a seven-game, second-round slugfest between the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics, Kemba began to look human again. Facing a team with real perimeter defenders (Sorry, Shake Milton), Kemba averaged 17 points per game on 42% shooting from the field and an abysmal 27% from three. In this series, it became clear that the Celtics might not need Kemba as much as they had at earlier points in the season. Tatum and Brown were emerging and every NBA fan, analyst, and expert could tell you that Marcus Smart, who the Celtics ended up deferring to over Walker, flat out outplayed him on the biggest stage. Smart averaged 15.7 points per game on 42% shooting and 39% from three while giving the Celtics series-saving defense that Walker couldn’t provide. This was highlighted in a Game 6 loss that saw Marcus Smart make timely shot after timely shot en route to a 23 point, 10 assist, 11 rebound beauty of a performance, going 6-11 from three in the Celtics loss, which was in part, because of the shortcomings of Kemba Walker. He looked awful, scoring five points on 18% shooting in a game that went to double overtime and saw him play just under 52 minutes. From here on out in the playoffs, the Celtics would have a 3-4 record, losing in six to the Miami Heat, who would go on to get molly whopped in the NBA Finals by Anthony Davis and LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers. In the last seven games of the 2020 Celtics’ playoff run, Walker would average just 18.8 points per game on just under 41% shooting and just 31% from three. However, there was hope for the Celtics. Many assumed that Kemba would come back healthy for the 2020-2021 season and his knee would be fine now that he would be playing a definitive third option role due to the emergence of young stars, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. This ended up being far from the truth, but to get there, we need more explanation.
November 18th, 2020
NBA Draft night foreshadows an offseason of loss for Boston.
The Celtics entered the NBA draft with a lot of hope, having the 14th, 26th, 30th, and 47th pick, there was a notion that they would improve the depth issues that were seen as the root cause of their playoff shortcomings. At 14, somewhat surprisingly, the Celtics selected Aaron Nesmith. Nesmith filled a need of shooting and during the recent Celtics slump in 2021, has played well. But the Celtics passed up on Saddiq Bey, who has scorched them twice this year and has a big part in the Celtics’ 1-2 record against the lowly Detroit Pistons, plus would've also filled a need in shooting. They also passed up on highly touted prospects and fan favorites, Precious Achiuwa and Tyrese Maxey, who each filled other needs for the Celtics. Maxey, at backup point guard, and Achiuwa, who is a transcendent big. Later in the draft, the Celtics found their best prospect in Payton Pritchard. Pritchard has shown flashes of potential and has been a steady backup behind Smart and Walker this season. At 30, the Celtics picked Desmond Bane. Bane has been one of the best rookies in this class and has been arguably the best shooter in his class, leading eligible rookies in three-point percentage, shooting a ridiculous 45.8% from three, and averaging a respectable ten points per game to boot. One problem, though. He’s doing all of that for the Memphis Grizzlies. On draft night, the Celtics decided that they wanted to have an asset for the future and after his inconsistent play in the regular season and playoffs, they shipped big man Enes Kanter back to Portland in a three-team deal that saw Bane get shipped to Memphis alongside Blazers’ guard, Mario Hezonjia. At 47, with not many options available, the C’s picked a draft and stash prospect in Yam Madar. His upside is yet to be seen on an NBA level. Next on Ainge’s priority list was securing the unrestricted free agent, Gordon Hayward, which didn’t go exactly as anyone had expected.
November 21st, 2020
Hayward departs for… Charlotte???
Everyone knew that Gordon Hayward would be one of the Celtics’ two main priorities in the offseason, the other being signing Jayson Tatum to an extension. However, things began to fall apart for the C’s quite quickly. First, Hayward opted out of his $34 million player option, an option that many expected him to accept. However, everyone thought it was fine. Ainge would find a way to bring him back. Yet, things quickly fell apart and Hayward darted to the Hornets on a gigantic 4-year, $120 million deal. Luckily for Ainge, both Hayward and the Hornets were willing to play ball on a sign and trade deal that would allow the Celtics to recoup a $28.5 million trade exception, the largest in NBA History. Four days after the draft and a day after the Hayward news broke, the Celtics signed their young superstar, Jayson Tatum to a 5-year, $195 million max extension. With this contract, the future was secured. After Tatum and Hayward were past them, the Celtics got to work. They had also dealt away Vincent Poirier on draft night, giving them three trade exceptions worth $28.5 million, $4.7 million, and $2.5 million. These expire a year from the deals, giving the Celtics flexibility throughout the year and into next year’s offseason to make additions to the team. Other than those moves, the Celtics would make additions to try and fill the holes left by Kanter and backup guard Brad Wanamaker, who had played a key bench role in the 2019-20 season, earning him a contract with the Golden State Warriors. First, they added veteran point guard Jeff Teague on a one-year, $2.5 million deal. This was seen as a low-risk move, as Teague had been decent in the 2019-20 season as a backup, but he was far from the 2015 All-Star he once was. The other addition to the team was seen as the bigger move that could move the Celtics’ needle a little bit but gave them something they hadn’t had since Horford, a strong, big presence in the middle. Tristan Thompson was a stalwart of contending Cleveland teams, but now that they were tanking he wanted a change. People believed that Boston was a big away from being a true contender and although Thompson wasn’t going to change the landscape of the NBA, he gave the Celtics a rebounder that they just didn’t have in Theis and Kanter the season before. So it went, a couple of losses and some decent bench additions, and the roster was set. Many pundits predicted the Celtics to be right back in the mix. There was a narrative that this team had played better without Hayward and that Thompson and Teague, along with rookies Nesmith and Pritchard were better than the bench unit they’d had a season prior. Tatum and Brown looked ready to ascend to superstardom. Everything was coming up championships and roses in the city of Boston, until it wasn’t.
Who’s out: F Gordon Hayward, C Enes Kanter, G Brad Wanamaker, C Vincent Poirier
Who’s in: F/C Tristan Thompson, G Jeff Teague, G Payton Pritchard, G/F Aaron Nesmith
December 1st, 2020
Kemba Walker undergoes left knee surgery.
Kemba’s knee had been a problem and after contemplating surgery, he finally gave in. It was announced that he had successfully undergone stem cell treatment for his left knee and would miss the first month or so of the season. This news raised some alarms but grew more curiosity. Brown and Tatum were now the 1a and 1b that Celtics fans had always pegged them to one day be. We would finally see how the duo would perform as the number one option and see if they could really show up. Show up they did. By January 9th, the Celtics had gotten out to a 7-3 start, tied atop the East. Tatum and Brown were the reason why. Tatum was averaging a career-high 26.9 points per game on 47% shooting. Brown was right behind him, averaging his own career-high of 26.3 points per game on 53.9% shooting. The Celtics looked like contenders whose two best players were each emerging into MVP candidates. Everything was looking up for the Celtics and after an offseason full of questions, it looked like we had our answer to the questions about the Boston Celtics’ future. However, if you’ve been paying attention at all to this column, you’d know that something was about to go terribly wrong.
January 9th, 2021
Jayson Tatum tests positive for COVID-19.
When the news broke of Jayson Tatum contracting COVID-19, there was sadness among Celtics fans, but nobody was really hitting the alarm bells because of the play of Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart. Smart, along with Brown and Tatum was on his way to averaging his own career-high of 13.1 points per game this season. Although nobody hit the panic button, they should’ve. After losing Tatum, the Celtics would gain Kemba. Many thought of this as a fair trade-off because once they got back Tatum, it would be business as usual. Even after gaining Kemba Walker, the Celtics would go on a 2-3 stretch, which might not seem like anything to panic about, but these three losses included two to their rival and now Eastern Conference-leading, Philadelphia 76ers, and a 30 point spanking at the hands of the pitiful New York Knicks. To compound that, it didn’t take an idiot to figure out that Kemba Walker wasn’t exactly four-time All-Star, Kemba Walker. Along with a bench that had begun to look less and less deep as Teague’s production dropped off exponentially and the best wing help they could manage was Semi Ojeleye, Kemba’s dismal return was not what the Celtics needed. In the 4 games without Tatum, Kemba averaged 17 points per game on 43% shooting. Not bad by any means considering he was coming off of knee surgery, but Kemba alone wasn’t changing the trajectory of the team. Bench scoring and depth was a problem and if only we knew how much of a problem it would be.
January 30th, 2021
Marcus Smart injures his calf.
The Celtics’ depth got even worse when just three games into Tatum’s return from COVID, Marcus Smart was sidelined with a calf injury that is expected to keep him out well past the All-Star break. After Smart’s injury it was clear that at 10-8, things were only going to get worse for the Celtics. Kemba is still yet to return to form, averaging just 17.3 points and 4.1 assists per game on 37.5% shooting. His scoring is his lowest output since 2014-15, a year that he would only play 62 games due to knee surgery. At 37.5%, his shooting is his lowest since his rookie year and his 4.1 assists are a career-low. Kemba has shown flashes this season but has not been nearly consistent or healthy enough to make a big impact. His streak of four straight All-Star games was snapped and he’s missed clutch shot after clutch shot this season as his inconsistency has failed to generate the confidence that makes him such a great player. His 4.1 assists are the true teller, though. Ball movement is a problem for the Celtics. Lacking the multitude of players that can create their own shot present in past years, they need ball movement to get good shots. As a team, the Celtics rank 26th in the league in bench scoring and 28th in assists per game. Outside of the starters, nobody can create their own shot and even worse, nobody is creating those shots for them. Ball movement is a problem, but without a reliable backup point guard or really point guard at all, can the Celtics fix this? Smart is hurt, Walker is in and out of the lineup, Pritchard is a rookie, and Teague has been godawful and piling up DNPs. Since Walker’s return, the Celtics are 7-14, falling to 9th in the Eastern Conference, with Kemba only playing in 16 of those games. The inconsistent lineups and shallow bench make it extremely difficult for Brad Stevens to coach the team and even more so for Tatum and Brown to find ways to fix it on the court. Both Brown and Tatum are averaging a career-high in assists, but their main strengths are scoring the ball. Without anyone to facilitate for them, they have relied on isolation scoring. This way of scoring can make offenses stagnate and has been a real reason as to why the Celtics have blown leads in so many games. When Tatum or Brown come out, because they’ve been isolating, there’s no rhythm. Now, I am not at all blaming Tatum or Brown entirely for the Celtics’ failures. Even with Kemba being in and out of the lineup, if the Celtics had a bench that was even middle of the road, they’d be able to adjust to Tatum or Brown coming out of games and actually develop an offensive rhythm. The problem is, the Celtics don’t have that. Robert Williams and Payton Pritchard have been solid off the bench this year for the Celtics, but in no way can you expect to be a contender with these two being your top two bench options. The rest of the bench consists of players who are too young and inconsistent to make a real contribution, like Aaron Nesmith and Grant Williams, or players who should no longer be on an NBA court, like Jeff Teague, Carsen Edwards, Semi Ojeleye, Tremont Waters, and Tacko Fall. Add on injuries to Smart and Walker and this team really is just Tatum and Brown with not much else. Smart’s injury highlighted a disappointing truth about these Celtics: they don’t have a bench and they don’t seem to plan on improving their bench. Danny Ainge recently said in a radio interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub that the Celtics don’t plan to use the precious $28.5 million TPE until this summer, leaving any real additions to the bench up to minor moves using the other two, smaller TPEs or relying on a buyout market that has never been kind to Boston.
February 25th, 2021
Where do we go from here?
Looking back at the events leading up to this season, it’s no surprise as to why the Celtics are where they are. They sit in 9th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 15-17, including abysmal losses to Atlanta, Detroit, and New York, and some collapses against New Orleans, Dallas, and Utah. It’s clear that the lack of depth and health is killing the Celtics, but there is little that can be done about it. As long as Danny Ainge seemingly refuses to make mid-season moves, the roster of this team won’t improve, but that doesn’t mean that the play cannot. The simple fix to this Celtics team is ball movement. Move the ball around and get good shots. That’s largely what they lost in Gordon Hayward, a player who was an excellent passer and was willing to sacrifice his offensive talent for the good of the team. He has proved that he was doing that in Boston during this season, as he’s increased his scoring and decreased his assists, no longer relied upon to play a point guard-like role in Charlotte. The pressure is on the Jays to make everyone around them better because that’s what superstars do. Even then, is that enough? Despite suggesting it as a solution, I don’t think it is. The makeup and health of this roster are too bad. There is no clear backup for any position other than center, as Robert Williams is a stud off of the bench who Brad Stevens seems to never choose over Thompson and Theis. Overall, as a roster, the Celtics are too thin and it might not be something that they can overcome. Time will tell how much Marcus Smart’s impact will be and if Ainge will make a move at the deadline, but all we know right now is that it’s going to take a lot of heart and effort to right the sinking ship that is the 2020-21 Boston Celtics.
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