Last season, the Celtics took an early exit in the playoffs in the first round against the New York Knicks. This led to an off-season filled with moves that have the 2013-2014 Celtics looking completely different.
Major Departures:
Doc Rivers
Paul Pierce
Kevin Garnett
Jason Terry 
Major Additions:
Kelly Olynyk
Gerald Wallace
Kris Humphries
Marshon Brooks
Keith Bogans
Doc wanted out, he is now the coach of the Clippers. Danny Ainge saw that the 3 year plan turned 5 year plan was just about over with KG and Pierce and felt it was time to rebuild. This sent KG, Pierce and Terry to Brooklyn in a trade that brought a busload of guys to the Celtics from the Nets. In the end, the Celtics new look is something that fans may have a hard time getting used to. Time to break it down by position.
Head Coach:
Brad Stevens
The Celtics bring in young gun, Brad Stevens as he makes the leap from college to the NBA. For most, the memories of past coaches moving from college to the NBA are not very pretty. Notable coaches that made the leap to the NBA from college are Rick Pitino, John Calipari and P.J. Carlesimo. All had less than stellar careers in the NBA, so the odds for Stevens are against him. Going into the season there are some big questions that will tag along with him the whole year:
Can he control Rondo’s attitude for the betterment of the team?
How will he develop young guys like Green, Olynyk and Sullinger?
How many wins will the Celtics team actually win this year?
Point Guard:
Rajon Rondo*
Avery Bradley
Phil Pressey
Asterisk next to Rondo as he continues to rehab and heal from his ACL tear that ended his season last year. It should be an even bigger asterisk as a Rondo-less Celtic team will have lack of command at the point guard position. Last years team faced many offensive woes after the All-Star point guard went down and we can probably expect the same until Rondo is back on the court. This leads Avery Bradley and Phil Pressey to pick up the slack. I don’t consider Bradley a point guard and taking over ball handling duties last season put some stress on his overall game. Phil Pressey showed signs of brightness in the preseason and after a season under Rondo’s wing, I can see him being on his way to being a solid PG in this league. For now, he faces an uphill battle as he is the only true point guard on the roster while Rondo is sidelined.
Shooting Guard:
Keith Bogans
Marshon Brooks
Jordan Crawford
Courtney Lee
A rather deep squad at shooting guard especially if you throw Avery Bradley into the mix. It’ll be very interesting to see how Stevens uses this group and how the minutes get divided up. Once Rondo comes back, Bradley will be the true starter but I can see Stevens mixing up lineups for the first few months. Bogans is someone who will give you good defensive minutes and will hit the occasional three but besides that there isn’t too much to him. Brooks is someone who is a wild card. Still into his young NBA career he has showed that he can score and be a solid option for an NBA team but he is still developing and getting adjusted to the league. If he can figure out how to get the ball in the hoop, he will be a solid option for the C’s off then bench. Crawford has come out and said he wants to assume more but can he harness his abilities to truly help the team? He has been known to take a lot of forced shots, but in this offense he will need to take good shots and make good decisions. Courtney Lee is one who could go either way. He struggled last year to fit into the system but after a year to get his feet wet, he could provide a defensive spark for this team. He just needs to hit his open jumpers
Small Forward:
Jeff Green
Gerald Wallace
This position could be extremely beneficial for the Celtics, or it could be a dud. Jeff Green will be playing his second season removed from his life altering heart surgery. He was able to do proper offseason training without worrying about rehabbing from the surgery. This guy has a question mark next to his name. Can he take over the scoring role every night and become to go-to guy for the C’s? He showed signs that point toward yes last year, but can he do it consistently. The Celtic inside of me says he can but the basketball analyst sees that there is no safety net in Paul Pierce or KG, Jeff Green is all alone. He will get a lot more shots this year and his success will help steer the Celtics success. Gerald Wallace is another guy that you wonder about productivity. A once quick athletic player in Portland has lost a step or two and it shows in his game. He’s been in the league for 12 years for he needs to show some leadership with some of the younger guys and help them through the season.
Power Forward:
Brandon Bass
Kris Humphries
Jared Sullinger
This position may be the most rounded and clear cut position for the Celtics. Brandon Bass will be entering his third season in green and he has proven he is a solid power forward. His elbow jumper and his intense defense is something that has been a staple in the Celtics for the past couple seasons. He will be another Celtic that needs to emerge as a leader seeing he has been in green for a couple years. Kris Humphries is a guy who can average a double double. He plays hard and can give you quality minutes. The only thing that could hold him back is the “Kardashian Kurse”. Jared Sullinger is a guy who is going to be big for the Celtics. Before season ending back surgery, Sullinger was a great big man to turn to off the bench who would play hard, fight for rebounds, and could finish at the rim. He may be a little rusty out of the gate, but he will get back into the swing of things and do well for the C’s.
Center:
Kelly Olynyk
Vitor Faverani
The Center position is an interesting one for the Celitcs. It has the biggest question mark for all positions. Two players who are new to the NBA have made a solid impact for their team in the preseason. Kelly Olynyk is someone who could really grow within the Celtics organization and will have plenty of opportunities to shine this season. Vitor is someone who could go either way. An international player coming to the NBA has proved to be successful but there is also failure within that. I’m not saying he’s going to be a Manu Ginobili but he could be a solid player. You just don’t want to see him be a Darko Milicic. He showed the Celtics that he can be an asset with his relentless defense and his post play on offense.
Overall:
All in all, the Celtics do have some good players, but without Rondo, the Celtics are going to have a hard time competing. Danny Ainge shipped off KG and Pierce to begin a rebuilding stage with the Celtics so it is going to be some time before you see them contend for the playoffs. They are going to be at the bottom of the pack this year and will most likely look to lose some games to get into a better position for a potential lottery pick. It is hard to ignore next years draft class as there could be a potential franchise changer in there.
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