Boston Celtics: What moves to make in the offseason?

The elimination in the Playoffs of Boston Celtics at the hands of Miami Heat made clear the need for major roster changes over the summer: Brad Stevens and the management cannot think of starting next season with the same players and obtaining a different outcome. The Heat are masters at exposing opposing teams’ weaknesses; this time, it was the Boston Celtics who paid the price.

Despite coach hammer you keep denying it, the Celtics rely too much on the three-point shot: when they fail to score consistently, especially thanks to the excellent opposing defenses, their attack finds itself without solutions.

However, the Celtics don’t need to disrupt the roster to become serious candidates for the title: after all, they have reached the Eastern Conference Finals and, had they shot better in Game 7, they probably would have made it to the Finals.

First, Stevens has to deal with the longs department: Al Horford he is almost 37 years old and has begun to show signs of age, unable to contain Bam Adebayo in defense and proving to be ineffective in attack if deprived of one’s best weapon, the three-point shot.

During his fourth season in the NBA, in which Horford earned his second consecutive All-Star game, 99.5 percent of his shooting totals came from inside the arc; during the 2022/23 Regular Season, the percentage dropped to 32.1% and, in the Playoffs, it reached 28.8%. This postseason (20 games), Horford made just 23 two-point shots, just over one per game.

In the series against Miami, against the zone, it happened several times that Horford received the ball in the area but refused the conclusion, preferring to pass to a teammate on the perimeter. For Horford, post play is a thing of the past.

When Horford is in the field together with Rob Williams, who in four years in the league has not yet developed an effective post game, the Celtics find themselves with two centers who cannot build their own conclusions near the rim. The Celtics would have needed another center who knew how to create play and score, like Jakob Poeltl, but Stevens preferred to bet on the Williams-Horford duo, not being able to count, due to technical choice, on Luke Kornet or Blake Griffin.

The Celtics could have bet on a veteran like DeMarcus Cousin, but they made a different decision and the offense suffered, as Horford shot 29.8% from three-point range in the playoffs and the pair of big men attempted averaged just 6.3 two-pointers per game overall.

Second, if the Celtics are to continue to rely so heavily on three-point shooting they will need more shooters: the hope is that Daniel Gallinariwho missed the entire season with a cruciate ligament tear, decides to exercise his player option.

This season, the Celtics have not been able to replace Gallinari, who injured himself in August: according to Stevens, Gallo’s replacement should have been from Sam Hauser but, despite the latter having played in 80 games of RS, shooting 41.8% from three-point range, Mazzulla knocked him out of the rotation in the playoffs, depriving the team of an excellent shooter.

Hauser has never been a great defender but has always been committed; seeing the positive impact that Duncan Robinson has had on the series, even Mazzulla could have found a way to exploit the production skills of his own sharpshooter.

Stevens will also have to decide whether Boston needs another facilitator in the guard department, as the team lacks a reliable pick-and-roll shooter and a fast player who gets to the rim quickly.

Marcus Smart he put in strong performances in his eight seasons with the Celtics, but the team struggled late on offense and neither he nor Malcolm Brogdon they managed to fix the problem.

Brogdon has become a scorer off the bench, rather than a point guard to be used in the decisive minutes; the Celtics definitely needed someone to bring order to their offensive play, especially towards the end of Games 1 and 2 against the Heat. It may therefore be necessary to rebuild the backcourt.

If Mazzulla is reappointed, a more experienced coaching staff will be absolutely necessary. According to some sources, assistant coaches Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles and Mike Moser should join Ime Udoka in Houston, thus leaving three spots available on the Celtics staff.

This season, Mazzulla has paid for his inexperience and the absence of a seasoned coach who could advise him; there are plenty of former head coaches or assistant experts who would be interested in being part of his staff, in order to coach players like Jaylen Brown e Jayson Tatum and help the Celtics win the title.

The feeling is that Mazzulla needs adequate support, both on the pitch and on the bench. Stevens tried to give the team depth by adding Gallinari, Brogdon and Mike Muscala, but the effects weren’t as expected: Muscala, for example, should have opened the field in attack, but he almost immediately dropped out of the rotation. Furthermore, Mazzulla kept on the bench Payton Pritcharda sign that the player will probably soon become a free agent.