Before we fully turn the page to a critical offseason for the Celtics, some parting thoughts on the Celtics' trip to the Eastern Conference Finals...
1. Gordon Hayward’s value was magnified: The Celtics didn’t need him to get past an undermanned and dysfunctional Sixers team but they nearly blew a 2-0 series lead without him against the Raptors, before self-combusting in the fourth quarter during four of their six games against the Heat. Hayward returned in Game 3 against Miami after a five-week layoff but his play declined with every game in the series as he wasn’t close to 100 percent after a premature return, according to a league source. More rehab was required to properly strengthen the ankle but the Celtics and Hayward didn’t have time to wait any longer once the team fell into a 2-0 hole against Miami. Hayward gave it a shot but he wasn’t able to sustain solid contributions in Game 3.
Hayward will opt into a $34 million player option for next season in the upcoming weeks but his long-term future in Boston is a big question mark giving the high-priced contracts that Tatum, Brown and Walker will have through the next 3-5 years. The easy solution for the Celtics now would be to simply run it back with this group and try to put together more complementary pieces around them. However, it’s now been three straight years where Hayward has not been at his best in the postseason due to bad health luck. The Celtics clearly needed Hayward to be at their best (the C’s played their best basketball in the bubble seeding games with him on the court) and could have used him at 100 percent against the Heat zone to settle the group down offensively, especially in late-game situations. Danny Ainge assuming this team would be healthy enough when it mattered based on their track record this year was a mistake and it came back to bite when it mattered. While Hayward is highly overpaid for his role on this team, it’s hard to see him drawing anywhere close to an equal return in a trade if the C’s were going to explore the market. The challenge in 2021? Hope Hayward avoids bad injury luck when it matters and have better depth available to fill in when he’s not.
2. It’s too bad Romeo Langford wasn’t healthy enough to get a chance against the Heat: Like Hayward, the rookie swingman was snakebitten with injuries all season long, barring a couple of rotation chances midway through the season. His defense was where he stood out all year long and after watching Brad Wanamaker get repeatedly burned against the Heat’s shifty shooters, it would have been intriguing to see Langford get more of a shot in that spot for select bench minutes to see if he could hold his own. A groin injury just one minute into his only stint against the Heat took away that opportunity while a torn wrist tendon kept him from being 100 percent during the entire. Langford's surgery to repair that wrist ligament will keep him from entering next season at full strength according to Brad Stevens (barring a very delayed start to the year). The No. 14 overall pick won’t have a lot of pressure on him when he enters year two since he is still pretty far down the wing depth chart but he will open up a lot of flexibility for the C’s if he makes a leap into a consistent rotation player in year two. His next step will be turning into an efficient weapon offensively after gaining more on-court comfort with his revamped shooting form (35% FG, 19% 3pt). That will be a challenge coming off of a wrist injury this offseason but if he turns into reliable wing depth in his sophomore season, that will open the door for the C’s to address other areas of the roster with their remaining assets in-season.
3. Brad Stevens took a step forward in postseason but there is work to do: Like many parts of the Celtics roster, the head coach took an important step forward this season, winning his first series as an underdog (versus the Raptors) since an 'upset' against a Sixers team in the 2018 postseason. While Boston’s fourth-quarter failures ultimately fall on the players first and foremost, it has turned into a bit of a trend with Stevens’ Celtics’ teams. Boston lost Game 7 against the Cavs in 2018 behind an avalanche of ill-advised fourth-quarter 3s and the same players followed that blueprint in Game 6 against the Heat. Stevens has been great at instilling confidence in all his players throughout his career but the need for a more pronounced hierarchy must take shape in high leverage spots. Zone defenses by the Heat and Raptors during crunch time often sent Boston’s offense into panic mode and that can’t happen moving forward if this team wants to turn into a legitimate championship contender. In-game management was good but not great. Stevens didn’t push the right buttons enough against the Heat, even though he was hamstrung largely by a lack of adequate depth once Hayward went down. Still, Game 6 was tough for him. Sticking with Enes Kanter for big first-half minutes when the C’s defense was already not sharp was a bad idea. Staying away from Grant Williams until the second half of games was puzzling given his 3-point shooting success all postseason long and his switchability as a center. Failing to settle the C’s offense down during their ugly fourth quarters loomed late as well. Erik Spoelstra is one of the best in the game and has more big-game coaching experience than anyone in the Eastern Conference right now, which has been apparent during Miami’s run. For the Celtics to get to the next level, Stevens needs to get there too.
4. 3-point shooting let the C’s down: The Celtics ended the postseason ranking 13th out the 16 postseason teams in 3-point shooting at 34.1 percent despite seeing more open looks than probably any other remaining in the postseason thanks to the amount of zone they faced over the past two rounds. Before the postseason began, we worried about whether the bench would shoot 3s at an acceptable clip this postseason and they ended up being Boston’s biggest strength from the perimeter. Grant Williams (12-of-17) and Brad Wanamaker (44 percent) made the most of their open looks to help Boston survive the early rounds without Hayward while Semi Ojeleye (5-of-23) regressed from his career-high of 37 percent in the regular season. Jayson Tatum (37.3 percent) and Jaylen Brown (35.8 percent) continued their trend of raising their games in the postseason but did not get help from their fellow starters. Marcus Smart (33 percent) painfully regressed to the mean in the Heat series while Kemba Walker (31 percent) never really found a rhythm from deep, which makes you wonder just how much his knee was bothering him turning this run. Perhaps the biggest trouble for the C’s offensively at times was the fact that Daniel Theis (4-of-23) never found a rhythm from beyond the arc, which allowed defenses to ignore him away from the basket on a regular basis. As has been the case for the past 2-3 years, a pure shooter off the bench could go a long way for helping to open up the floor for Boston’s offense. The hunt for one should be on the top of the wish list for Ainge this offseason.
5. A win-now mentality at the trade deadline would have done this team a lot of good in these unique circumstances: It’s tough to second guess too much given how much the equation changed for this season after a four-month layoff in a bubble environment. The Heat were able to run their trade deadline additions through a full training camp in Orlando and revamp the way they played accordingly, a luxury they would not have had during a normal season. However, with Tatum still on his rookie deal, this is a unique opportunity for the franchise to surround him with pricier talent, a window that closes after next season. There will be a fuller shift into win-now mode next year but some help on the edges helped Miami get into the NBA Finals. The Celtics have plenty of flexibility this offseason now but they would have traded that in a hot minute for where Miami is right now. Last year, there were too many mouths to feed on the bench while this season there weren’t enough experienced ones. Finding the proper mix in 2021 will be essential for getting this team over the hump.