Video: Are the Celtics better than last season?
The Jumps' Rachel Nichols, Chiney Ogwumike, and Matt Barnes yesterday dedicated a decent portion of the show in anticipation of tomorrow's Celtics vs Lakers match-up on where the Celtics stand. Or more to the point whether this year's Celtics team is better than last season's.
More or less the team swapped Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter, and Brad Wanamaker for Tristan Thompson, Jeff Teague, and Payton Pritchard in terms of rotation pieces. While Tristan is an upgrade over Kanter, I think Teague and Wanamaker are a wash. Payton Pritchard has had a fantastic rookie campaign (well prior to his knee sprain), but asking him to be as good as Gordon Hayward is out of the gate is a tall order. This year's team is also lacking in the wing depth due to Hayward's departure.
Where this year's team can overtake last season's is in experience. The team has had more time to play with each other and the young players should all be better this season than last. The only players old enough to expect a possible regression would be Kemba Walker out of the returning group and the aforementioned Thompson and Teague. The rest of the team is still very young.