Boston Celtics Season Review: The Future Is Looming
Looking back on the growth of the Boston Celtics in the 2016–17 season for Brad Stevens and his troops.
From any angle, the 2016–17 Boston Celtics campaign was a complete success. When they struck out on the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, they realized their ceiling — second best team in the East. Without a third star, they were never going to sniff upsetting the Cleveland LeBrons. They knew this in July.
Yet, the successes were palpable:
- 53 wins
- First seed in the Eastern Conference
- Top 15 in both offensive and defensive rating
- One MVP candidate
- And a Coach of the Year candidate.
This season gave us entertaining regular season games in addition to two highly competitive playoff series. It gave us the Kelly Olynyk Game. It gave us another year of Marcus Smart, whose “No no no no no…YES!” play style evokes near-heart attacks as well as basketball euphoria. At its worst, it presented a device for daydreaming about the future of the franchise at a moment of infinite possibilities.
Most of all, this season gave us The Little Guy.
Statistically speaking, Isaiah Thomas had one of the best, most efficient offensive seasons of all time. No caveats — not just compared to point guards, or under 6-footers, or lefty's. Only four players in NBA history have averaged over 28 points per game with a .600 True Shooting Percentage and over 30 percent usage rate while attempting less than 20 shots. Kevin Durant has done it twice, James Harden did it this year too, and Karl Malone messed around with 31/11 in 1989. Of those five seasons, Thomas had the fourth most Win Shares (12.6).
What Thomas did on the court was special, but he means so much more to Celtics fans. To Bostonians, he represents a beacon of hope, courage, and resilience. Mr. Irrelevant wears a chip on his shoulder every game and plays with such passion night in and night out. His consistent fourth quarter heroics were miraculous in October, but expected in March.
Even his playing style is inspirational; his gutsy drives into the trees inhabiting the restricted area, his trademarked hesitation dribble, his absurd buzzer beaters, and his ridiculous scoop finishes through contact and over players over a foot taller than him.
Any team could have drafted him. Twice. Nobody foresaw this 5’7 scoring machine who scored 9.8 points per fourth quarter and finished third in the league in points per game. Nobody expected him to drop 52 points on the Heat (29 in the fourth quarter!) or 53 against the Wizards in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Not to mention free agent signing Al Horford, who is one of the most overqualified “glue guys” in the league. He made textbook decisions in the pick and roll, stretched the defense with his jumper, and anchored the defense. Overall, he is a perfect fit for the Celtics, whose volatility might necessitate 20 points from Horford one game and 10 assists from him the next. Horford was the steadying influence for Boston’s young core both on the court and in the locker room.
Isaiah Thomas is the King of the Fourth. And at least for another year, he’s the current face of the Boston Celtics franchise alongside his sidekick Al Horford, who is worth every penny of his $28 million per year contract.
But the future is already here. We watched Jaylen Brown grow from a baby defensive monster who ran around like a chicken without a head to a defensive monster and confident offensive force.
Brown hit rough patches, but he didn’t truly hit the classic “rookie wall.” Whether he was defending LeBron, posterizing defenders, or spotting up in the corner, Brown never shied from the moment.
“I had to fight for everything I got” Brown told The Boston Globe. “I had to earn every minute, earn every possession, and I liked it like that.”
The rookie small forward saw visceral improvement as the season progressed. Prior to the All-Star break, he averaged 5.7 points per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 30.4 percent from behind the arc in 15.5 minutes. After the break, the 20-year-old played 20.8 minutes per game and averaged 8.6 points on 49.4 field goal percent and 37.9 three point percentage.
And he’s only going to get better.
“I think with his talent and his work ethic, he’s really going to be great, man,” Celtics forward Gerald Green said. “I’ve been around the league a long time, around a lot of rookies, and he’s really a stud.”
Combo guard Marcus Smart also made noticeable strides in improving his offensive game. Though he went through a dreadful shooting stretch late in the season, he hit his outside shot with significantly more consistency. His 39.7 three point percentage is above league average, but that number is inflated because many teams sag off him and allow him to launch wide open triples. He also added a low-post offensive game to his growing arsenal.
Although the Celtics overachieved and were one of the most watchable teams in the league throughout the year, they met their inevitable destiny in the Eastern Conference Finals. They crashed right into their ceiling. But every year Boston’s stockpiled assets become real players, their ceiling raises. Every year Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart improve, the Celtics’ nucleus evolves. And every year LeBron gets older, Boston’s window cracks open.
