The 2019-2020 Season was an interesting season, not only for the Celtics but for the whole NBA. The Celtics only played 72 games this year as a result of the NBA being shut down in the middle of the season due to COVID-19. In those 72 games the Celtics went 48–24. Last season, the Celtics went 49–. The win percentage this year was 66 percent compared to last season there it was 59 percent.
Last year was a disaster for the Boston Celtics. While they did win 49 games and make it to the second round of the playoffs, the Celtics severely underperformed. Last year, the Celtics had a ton of talent and were projected to go far into the playoffs, but locker room tension poisoned the team from the inside. A lot of the blame was placed on Kyrie due to his ball-heavy playstyle and his unorthodox style of leadership. This year however, with the smooth integration of Kemba Walker to the team, the Celtics were able to win more games and make it further into the playoffs. Walker was the exact opposite of Irving in terms of leadership. While Irving was known as a selfish player, Walker was known as somebody that is impossible to hate, Walker even won the 2018 NBA sportsmanship award.
Fans can also be happy with the improvements the young players have made this season. Jayson Tatum made his first all star game this season, as well as all-NBA third team. He averaged two points, seven rebounds and two assists on 45 percent shooting, which are great numbers. Tatum was heating up especially before the NBA shutdown. In the month of February Tatum was averaging zero points on 51 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from three. This year, he took a step up to become the Celtics best player. Next year he could emerge as a superstar, a MVP type player.
Tatum is not the only player to improve his game from last year. Jayen Brown also took huge leaps this year. He averaged 20 points, six rebounds and two assists. He did this all while maintaining elite defense. It seems insane now, but in the middle of the season, it was a toss up of who you wanted to be an all-star, Tatum or Brown.
Our rookies, Romeo Langford, Carsen Edwards, Tremont Waters, Grant Williams and Tacko Fall, have all been really fun to watch as well, especially Tacko Fall. Fall has been a fan favorite, mostly because he is the tallest player in the league at seven feet eight inches and a whopping 8 foot 4 inch wingspan. Tacko Fall is a player that does not see too much play time but gets the fans excited. I’ve seen TD garden chant Tacko and wear actual Taco costumes to get Brad Stevens to put him into the game. The two rookies that get the most minutes are Grant Williams and Romeo Langford. They have played well in the time they have been given. While offensively Williams isn’t the best, he is a smart and hard working defender. Compared to other power forwards in the league he is undersized, but knowledge about the game puts him in optimal positions to grab easy rebounds and alter enemy shots. We picked Langford with the fourteenth pick in the draft, and it was a bit of a gamble. Langford was coming off a serious injury in college and was projected to go top ten before this injury. Langford also played well for us. Like Williams, Langford is also a great defender, but unlike Williams, he has shown a lot of offensive potential. While he only averaged points this season in 11 minutes of play, he showed off his ability to create off the dribble and knock down the point shot.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a recap if we didn’t mention the playoffs. We made it to the conference finals for the second time in the last years. We were led in the playoffs by our two young stars: Jayson Tatum (25.7 PPG) and Jaylen Brown (21.8 PPG). It was nice to see our two young stars lead us in the playoffs again like they did in the 2017-2018 season. We saw a lot of success despite the injury to Gordon Hayward in the first round that ruled him out for almost the entire playoffs. Next year the Celtics are going to have virtually the same team with more experience. If we can continue to see this linear growth from young stars like Tatum and Brown, the Celtics could win a championship as early as next year.