Boston Celtics Complete 2016-17 Season Preview

Nobody knows how close Kevin Durant was to signing with the Boston Celtics other than Kevin Durant. But right before the four-time scoring champion shoved the NBA’s hope for competitive balance off a rooftop by teaming up with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors, Boston was ostensibly in the mix as his most logical destination. 

Despite their inability to lure that franchise-altering, expectation-shattering talent, the Celtics head into the 2016-17 season with a conference finals-worthy mix of depth, talent, coaching and cohesion. The Warriors and defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers set the bar high above the NBA’s 28 other teams, but Boston’s nipping at their heels; its flight from ground zero to the clouds is moving faster than anyone could’ve anticipated. 

Last year, the Celtics had one of the NBA’s five best defenses, adopting a modern style that promises to breed real success once they acquire a bit more experience and talent: move the ball, shoot threes, don’t let up on the defensive end and play with a relentlessly uptempo pace.

Durant thinks the Celtics have a bright future, and the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett explained why they were one of his final choices:

Those who doubt the lure of Brad Stevens and his potential to attract free agents will be disappointed by Durant’s reasoning in choosing the Celtics as one of just six teams with whom he’d even meet. If it wasn’t clear from the unsolicited comments from opposing players in praise of what the Celts are building, Durant put it simply.

“I just like the way they play,” he said. “I like their coach. I feel they have some good pieces.”

Numerous sources and reports said at the time that Durant’s decision eventually came down to staying with the Thunder or moving on to Golden State, though we’d heard the Celts’ agreement with Atlanta free agent Al Horford made him stop and think.

And that brings us to the All-Star Boston actually did land over the summer.

Biggest Offseason Move

The organization’s most timely and pivotal free-agency signing in (at least) several generations, Al Horford inked a four-year, $113 million contract back in July.

His on-court impact in Year 1 will be massive on both ends—from ingenious passing, to positional versatility, to his selfless nature, to being an upgrade over Jared Sullinger in almost every way imaginable—but Horford’s off-court influence is almost equally meaningful, particularly regarding what it does for Boston’s perception around the league. 

He chose the Celtics over his Atlanta Hawks, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Washington Wizards. All those teams would’ve had at least one top-20 player already on board. Boston has no such thing, yet the four-time All-Star locked his eyes on the future, endorsing a front office, coaching staff and budding core that managed to win 48 games last season with the ninth-youngest roster in the league. 

“Even when I was with Atlanta, and we beat the Celtics in the playoffs, I was very impressed with how hard the guys played, and how good the team could be,” Horford said at Celtics media day. “We all know the situation with their flexibility and future draft picks. That was there, but for me just the guys that we have here, the group this season, that’s what I felt good about.”

One of basketball’s most consistent and reliable two-way big men for a decade, Horford was one of 10 players in the entire league to average at least 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists last season. According to Bleacher Report Insights, he was one of just four centers (Karl Anthony-Towns, Robin Lopez and Mason Plumlee) to start in all 82 games.

Dating back to 1983-84, the Celtics have never had a power forward or center start all 82 games. 

Horford’s credentials are worth a standing ovation, but so is his game’s ongoing evolution. On a career-high 3.1 attempts per game, he shot 34.4 percent behind the three-point line last year, adding a new dimension to his skill set. He’ll now infuse Boston’s offense with another big who can space the floor.

It’s something that Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was excited about on media day.

“[Horford] made sure he changed as the game changed, and ultimately really did a great job at making that transition look really easy…I’ve watched him shoot it in individual work and he’s a guy that can really shoot the basketball, and we’ll need …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com