Celts will make opposing fans miserable this season: Sports Illustrated


"It's going to be miserable for Celtics haters everywhere."

Now that's the kind of quote I like to see going into a Boston Celtics season. Those words, straight from the mouth of Sports Illustrated's Andrew Sharp, accurately sum up my feelings about the coming iteration of the Celts in quite pithy fashion.


On the podcast Sharp and fellow SI netizen Ben Golliver host (the Open Floor - it's pretty solid, if you need to expand your summer basketball podcast pallette), the pair were discussing over/under predictions for notable teams in the league, and they had a lot to say about Boston. Said Golliver about the Cs:

"We know our Green overlords are coming. We've been dreading it for a couple of years. I think I've said this before, but the Celtics superteam is going to be something that we start hearing more and more next season. When they're fully healthy, when they've got five potential All Stars on the court at the same time. I do think there's lots of reason for optimism."

Five All Stars may sound like a lot, but given Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward should both be near-locks if healthy, and with Al Horford always in the mix, it seems possible that both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum could make the leap this season, too. More than likely, it'll be three or four of those five making the squad, but it's certainly not out of the question, either.

Sharp and Golliver are in on Boston. They are not in on the ostensible rivals of the Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers, however, at least concerning the over/under. Said Sharp on that unit:

"The Sixers are not going to win more than 50 games. The fact that the number is at 54.5 is completely insane to me, and I would go under hard. So for the second year in a row, bet your mortgage on the Sixers under and thank me later. Everyone go out there and get rich."

I don't know if I'd bet my mortgage on the under (mostly because I am a grad student and too poor to have one), but I do agree that as currently constructed, the Sixers are at best second-round playoff fodder. Philly fans, relax - they have a great if flawed young core with a boatload of assets in the pipeline. Some of those assets need to become a functioning bench, though, because after the first five or six guys, that roster is...holy crap, I've never seen tumbleweed while writing, but you get the picture.



If you'd like to hear the rest of their podcast, check the player above, and if you'd like to watch opposing fans be miserable this coming season, well...you're in luck, buddy.

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Image: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY
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