The 2021-22 Boston Celtics in Review
June 16th, 2022
By Alan Lu
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(Photo: Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images, via CelticsBlog)
The Boston Celtics really earned their way to get to the 2022 NBA Finals this year. New executive Brad Stevens really understood what his team needed to help them get there, and he made great moves all year long to set things in motion to allow his team to do so. He hired new head coach Ime Udoka to coach the team, and he was able to bring veteran big man Al Horford back.
He also swung a couple of big trades during the middle of the season to help his team get Derrick White from the Spurs, and to get Daniel Theis back from the Rockets. The Celtics initially struggled early on as they started off 23-24, but a slew of very good moves, very good play, and very good coaching enabled them to go 28-7 for the rest of the regular season. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were terrific this season, and Al Horford, Marcus Smart, and Robert Williams all excelled in their roles with the team. The Celtics had a strong bench, and Marcus Smart won the Defensive Player of the Year.
In addition, the Boston Celtics managed to defeat a slew of impressive, very talented teams (they swept Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s Brooklyn Nets, defeated Giannis’ Milwaukee Bucks in 7 games, and defeated Jimmy Butler’s Miami Heat in 7 games) to get to the 2022 NBA Finals. They wound end up facing Stephen Curry’s 2022 Golden State Warriors’ squad, but they ended up losing to them in 6 games in the NBA Finals this year. Still, this season was a roaring success for them, despite coming up just short, and the Boston Celtics will be title contenders next season.
Key Players:
(Photo: Elise Amendola/Associated Press, via MassLive.com)
Jayson Tatum
2021-22 (BOS): 26.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 45 FG%, 35 3PT%, 85 FT%, 58 TS%, 21.8 PER, 9.6 WS
He is a very athletic, skilled swingman that had a strong, all-around season, and Tatum put forth numerous dominant performances in the postseason to lead his team to get to the 2022 NBA Finals. Unfortunately, he didn’t play nearly as well in the NBA Finals, as he struggled to make shots consistently and was turnover prone, but he is a superstar who has shown that he is one of the best players in the league.
2022 Season Grade: A-
Projected 2023 Rating: 4 stars (4.5 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Starter on the Boston Celtics
(Photo: Michael Dwyer/Associated Press, via Los Angeles Times)
Jaylen Brown
2021-22 (BOS): 23.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 47 FG%, 36 3PT%, 76 FT%, 57 TS%, 18.9 PER, 5.8 WS
He is a very athletic, skilled swingman that also had a very good, all-around season, and Brown had a strong performance to help his team get a comeback win in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals. He had a very good season overall, and he is one of the best, two-way wing players in this league.
2022 Season Grade: B+
Projected 2023 Rating: 3.5 stars (4 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Starter on the Boston Celtics
(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images, via NBC Sports)
Al Horford
2021-22 (BOS): 10.2 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 3.4 APG, 47 FG%, 34 3PT%, 84 FT%, 57 TS%, 16.7 PER, 7.6 WS
He is a smart, skilled big man that excelled as a sharpshooter, facilitator, and defender, and he thrived by showing off very good all-around skills and a strong outside shot that enabled him to help get his team a comeback win in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals. He generally had a strong postseason, and the veteran center made very good plays on both ends of the floor this year.
2022 Season Grade: A
Projected 2023 Rating: 3 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Starter on the Boston Celtics
Robert Williams
2021-22 (BOS): 10.0 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 2.0 APG, 74 FG%, 0 3PT%, 72 FT%, 74 TS%, 22.1 PER, 9.9 WS
He is a very athletic, energetic big man that thrived at making plays to help his team shore up the interior, and he played terrific defense to help the Celtics this year. He struggled with a knee injury late in the NBA Finals, which hurt his ability to defend out on the perimeter or to move around as much, but he was still fairly effective, as he would use his vast length, timing, and instincts to block a plethora of shots, and he also was effective as a finisher and ball mover for his team.
2022 Season Grade: A
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars (3 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Starter on the Boston Celtics
(Source: Twitter/@NBCSCeltics)
Marcus Smart
2021-22 (BOS): 12.1 PPG, 5.9 APG, 3.8 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 42 FG%, 33 3PT%, 79 FT%, 54 TS%, 13.6 PER, 5.6 WS
He is an athletic, energetic combo guard that thrived as a facilitator and defender this year, and his terrific defense helped him win the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award. He was streaky with his jump shot at times, but his defense and strong team play helped get his team far into the postseason this year.
2022 Season Grade: A-
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Starter on the Boston Celtics
Grant Williams
2021-22 (BOS): 7.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 47 FG%, 41 3PT%, 91 FT%, 64 TS%, 11.2 PER, 5.1 WS
He is a strong, mobile combo forward that has played very well, and he has excelled as a sharpshooter and versatile defender for the Celtics this past season, as his play has really bolstered their team, especially off the bench.
2022 Season Grade: A
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Rotation player on the Boston Celtics
Derrick White
2021-22 (SAS): 13.2 PPG, 4.9 APG, 3.5 RPG, 42 FG%, 31 3PT%, 86 FT%, 55 TS%, 14.8 PER, 5.1 WS
He is an agile, skilled combo guard that excelled as a facilitator, and he did a great job of shooting and scoring the basketball for the Celtics after arriving in a midseason trade from San Antonio, in which he especially has thrived as an all-around player in the postseason. He had a very good postseason, with the exception of struggling considerably with his jump shot in Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals, but White showed off versatile scoring skills and a solid all-around game to help his team off the bench.
2022 Season Grade: A-
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars (3 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Rotation player on the Boston Celtics
Payton Pritchard
2021-22 (BOS): 6.2 PPG, 2.0 APG, 1.9 RPG, 43 FG%, 41 3PT%, 100 FT%, 58 TS%, 15.0 PER, 3.1 WS
He is an agile, skilled point guard that has thrived as a shooter and facilitator for the Celtics this year, and he has played solid, tenacious defense for them this season.
2022 Season Grade: A-
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Rotation player on the Boston Celtics
Daniel Theis
2021-22 (HOU/BOS): 8.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 52 FG%, 31 3PT%, 68 FT%, 60 TS%, 13.2 PER, 1.9 WS
He is a mobile, skilled big man that has thrived at making plays to help shore up their team’s interior, and he is a fundamentally sound player that has shown that he can also space the floor to help them on offense.
2022 Season Grade: A
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Rotation player on the Boston Celtics
Other Notable Players:
He is an athletic swingman that had an up and down year as he struggled to make shots efficiently in the regular season, but he has had some good shooting games in the postseason, and he has improved defensively.
2022 Season Grade: C
Projected 2023 Rating: 2 stars (2.5 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Rotation player on the Boston Celtics
He is a skilled sharpshooting forward that shot the ball very well, especially from the outside off the bench as a rookie for both the Celtics and their G-League team this year.
2022 Season Grade: B+
Projected 2023 Rating: 2 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe rotation player on the Boston Celtics
Other Players on the Roster:
He is an athletic 3 and D forward that didn’t play much for the Celtics this year, but he played well in the G-League this year.
2022 Season Grade: C+
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars (2 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe roster player on the Boston Celtics
He is an athletic 3 and D forward that didn’t play much for the Celtics this year, but he played well in the G-League this year.
2022 Season Grade: C+
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars (2 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe roster player on the Boston Celtics
He is a sharpshooting combo guard that didn’t play much for the Celtics this year, but he did a great job of shooting and scoring the basketball for their G-League team this year.
2022 Season Grade: C
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe roster player on the Boston Celtics
He is a stretch big that didn’t play much, but he didn’t really stretch the floor in the NBA that much this year, because he didn’t make a single three-point shot in the NBA this season. On the other hand, he did show some good passing and shot blocking skills in the G-League this year.
2022 Season Grade: D
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe roster player on the Boston Celtics
Side Note: Kornet will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) at the end of the 2021-22 NBA season.
He is a 3 and D player that didn’t play much for the Celtics this year, but he showed off solid all-around skills for their G-League team this season.
2022 Season Grade: C-
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe roster player on an NBA team
He is a sharpshooting combo guard that didn’t play much for the Celtics this year, but he did a good job of shooting and scoring the basketball for their G-League team this year.
2022 Season Grade: C
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe roster player on an NBA team
Head Coach:
Ime Udoka
2021-22 (BOS): 51-31, 14-10 in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, Lost in the 2022 NBA Finals
He is a rookie head coach that had a terrific first season in the NBA with the Boston Celtics this year. After starting out 23-24, they went 28-7 for the rest of the regular season, which helped them earn the 2nd seed out in the East.
Udoka helped his team sweep Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s Brooklyn Nets’ team in the first round, they defeated the defending champions, the Milwaukee Bucks that were led by Giannis (Khris Middleton was out for the series, but it was still a very tough series, in which Jrue Holiday made two game-saving defensive stops in Game 5 of the second round, and they also took Jimmy Butler’s Miami Heat to 7 before winning a close one on the road.
Their next stop was to face off against Golden State in the 2022 NBA Finals, and head coach Ime Udoka led their team to a convincing comeback win in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals. After superstar point guard Stephen Curry scored 21 points in the first quarter, they were able to chip away and make adjustments, and the Celtics’ red hot fourth quarter shooting and strong defense helped the Celtics get the comeback win in that game.
But in Games 2-6 in the 2022 NBA Finals, the Celtics’ lineups were curious, as he would stick with players that were shooting poorly for too long, Grant Williams was not playing enough, and the offense was stilted at times, in which Tatum and Brown would try to trade isos and fight each other for shots rather than work in a cohesive offense. As a result, the Celtics could not work as harmoniously as they did in the first game of the NBA Finals, and they ended up losing in 6 games to the Warriors. Still, Udoka had a good season overall in his rookie season as a head coach of the Celtics.
2022 Season Grade: A-
Projected 2023 Rating: 3.5 stars (4.5 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Head Coach of the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics’ Projected 2022-23 Rotation:
C Al Horford
F Robert Williams
F Jaylen Brown
G Jayson Tatum
G Marcus Smart
____________________
G Derrick White
F Grant Williams
G Payton Pritchard
C Daniel Theis
F Aaron Nesmith
The Boston Celtics’ Picks in the 2022 NBA Draft:
#53
The Boston Celtics’ Projected 2023 Win-Loss Record:
56-26, 1st in the Eastern Conference
Their Projected Offseason Plan:
The Boston Celtics are projected to be capped out, so they won’t have much money to spend in the offseason. They are expected to run it back and keep their team together, since they were able to get all the way to the 2022 NBA Finals. They have two of the best players in the game in superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and their ability to play both ways and take over games makes them an incredibly dynamic duo. They also have three really good starters that are all strong defensively around them in Al Horford, Robert Williams, and Marcus Smart.
The Celtics also have a really good bench, and they have a slew of skilled players that excel on both ends of the floor. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard are skilled guards that shoot and pass well, and they came up huge in the postseason. Grant Williams is a very skilled combo forward that really excelled as a shooter and defender, and he would be an upper-tier starter or sixth man on most NBA teams. Getting Al Horford and Daniel Theis back to their team was great for their team and for their culture, and it helped put things in motion that will help them get their 18th NBA championship.
New executive Brad Stevens did a great job of making the moves to help the Boston Celtics this season, and he showed a tremendous understanding of what his team needed to make a run for the title this year.
In all, the Boston Celtics had a very good season, even if they fell just a bit short. In the meantime, they will need to decide if they may need to upgrade their point guard position, as they will need a natural facilitator to pair alongside Tatum and Brown to help their offense flow better, and the Celtics could look to incorporate more movement into their offense for next season.
The team analysis of the Boston Celtics was done before the 2022 NBA Draft and the start of free agency. I went to No Trade Clause and Basketball-Reference for research purposes. Thanks for reading.
