It’s been some time since the Boston Celtics picked up Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari in an offseason trade. Plus, the rookie J.D. Davidson will have to prove himself in the G-League first before solidifying a spot on a team that just made a championship appearance. And hopefully, the Kevin Durant trade talks are over for the C’s. 

The Celtics are looking to make another run at a championship with the current roster they have. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t come across some struggles trying to climb there way back to the mountain top. 

Burnout 

During the playoffs we saw Jayson Tatum play a ton of minutes each and every single game. Throw in the fact that the Celtics played in two consecutive seven game series and you have some burnout. By the time they got to the Warriors—they appeared extremely fatigue. Well guess what, they still may face the same issue. Sure, they added some much needed depth to their roster—but Al Horford is another year older and Robert Williams has a tough time staying on the court. 

Let’s just hope they learned from past mistakes and now know how to close out series in 6 games. 

No clear floor general

With the signing of point guard Brogdon—many questions emerged on whether he would be the new starting point for Boston. However, Brad Stevens quickly shot that idea down, Marcus Smart is still the guy. And although we’ve seen the formula work, there’s also been times where the C’s could use a clear floor general in crunch moments. Part of the reason series went to seven games is because Smart was the one taking the last shot or making the turnover. That’s no sleight towards the Defensive Player of the Year—but it’s the truth.

With such a big pool of talent and depth, this roster could certainly work. But Smart likes to get trigger happy with his shooting. If he continues, hopefully he can upgrade from 33% from behind the arc and drop more than 12 points a night.

Front court injuries, scoring, defense, etc…

As much as the move to pick up Gallinari may have been a good one, the guy doesn’t play defense. And we’re far away from the days he was with the Clippers averaging nearly 20 points a night. The Celtics’ backcourt is what makes this team shine. Especially with an aging Al Horford and injury prone Robert Williams. 

Granted, Grant Williams has shown he can knock down corner threes and play defense on the perimeter. However, at just 6’6, the man is undersized when going up against all-star bigs. And there’s plainly just nobody that’s a solid offensive threat down low. Perhaps coach Ime Udoka can find some ways around this, but as for now, the guards will be doing the heavy lifting on the score board. 

Nonetheless, as of now, the Celtics’ roster is one of the best in the eastern conference. They’re young, athletic, fast, and durable for the most part. They’ll face some struggles and have some weaknesses just like any team. It’s whether they can adjust—but we’ve seen from last year in their run to the finals that they definitely can.