It’s Independence Day, but the Celtics have already provided fireworks for us by acquiring Danilo Gallinari and Malcolm Brogdon. They’ve made the types of moves that contenders make to push them closer to a championship.
With that in mind, let’s celebrate the day with an Independence Day-themed look ahead to some early expectations for next season.
1776 - Jaylen Brown total points next season
Brown set a career-high with his 1559 total points this past season, and he did so playing 66 games.
So while the goal here is stated as total points for the upcoming season, the goal is really finding a way to get him to play 76 games, which would be two better than his previous career-high.
His nagging hamstring issues have to be solved to make that happen. How to do that is up to him and the team’s medical staff, but his durability issues have to be solved. Acquiring Brogdon certainly helps ease some of those worries because he can be slotted in at any of the perimeter spots as a fill-in starter, but Brown staying healthy for longer would be a great help.
If he played 10 more games at his scoring average of 23.6, he would have scored 1795 this past season. It’s an achievable goal.
7.4 (July 4) - The assist average for Boston’s assist leader
I’m looking at Marcus Smart, but acknowledging that it could end up being Jayson Tatum or even Brogdon.
But Smart is the starter and he put up a career-best 5.9 assists per game, and that's with half a season of Dennis Schröder mucking things up. Add a couple of more accomplished shot-makers in Gallinari and Brogdon, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility to ask for two more passes per game finding guys who make shots.
The real ask here isn’t just of Smart and his passing, it’s of Boston and its ball-movement, cutting, and better scoring. I’m looking at everyone to be a bit more efficient this season, leading to increased assist totals.
When the ball moves, the right people with the right skills accumulate the right stats. When people aren’t worried about their stats, their stats actually do just fine; the scorers will score, the passers will get their assists, the rebounders will get their putbacks.
56 (the number of signers of the Declaration of Independence) - Boston’s 2022-2023 win total
The Celtics won 51 this past season, so tacking on five more wins isn’t a huge ask, especially when you consider how many games this team lost after holding fourth quarter leads.
Winning 56 games should be very achievable for this Celtics team. Obviously, the competition has something to say about it, but asking a team that started slowly to add five wins to their total isn’t asking much.
But, like the other numbers, this is more than just about holding on to win games they lost last season. It’s about them applying the lessons they learned from the Finals and coming into the season ready to apply those rather than have another slow start.
This is a team that has found its identity and is fully aware of the expectations of the coach. Their first season was incredibly successful, and now they have to build on it. It’s on everyone, from top to bottom to improve and start the season strong.
200 (The number of copies of the Declaration of Independence produced by John Dunlap on the night of July 4, 1776) - Maximum turnovers by any Celtic
Tatum had 217 this past season, which worked out to be 2.9 per game. If he had 200, the average would have been 2.6, but really the goal here should be to keep it below that.
Tightening up his handle and playing more aggressively off two feet will go a long way to shaving a few dozen turnovers off his total. A lower turnover total would show us how much work he put into correcting perhaps his biggest weakness.
13 (the number of colonies) - Danilo Gallinari points per game
This is a lofty goal considering he put up 11.7 and is only getting older, but if he can hit this magic number, then Boston will have one of the best scoring benches in the league.
Between Gallinari, Brogdon, Derrick White, and Grant Williams, Boston’s bench can flip from weakness to strength in a hurry. If Gallo can hit a couple of 3-pointers, step into a jumper or two, and get to the line a couple of times. Being surrounded by the offensive talent Boston has, it’s possible he can put up a few big scoring nights to balance a few quiet ones.
I’m looking at this number as one of Boston’s benchmarks. If he can hit that, then there's a good chance Boston’s a top seed.
70 (Ben Franklin’s age when he signed the Declaration of Independence) - Total games played by Brogdon
Ambitious? Yes. But this will be another big benchmark for the C’s because it will obviously mean he was healthy enough to make it through a full season. If he can make it through the season with only 12 games off, then add that to the Gallinari number that indicates the strength of the Boston bench and the Celtics likely living at the top of the standings.
48 (the number of signers of the Declaration of Independence actually born in the colonies) - number of games played by Sam Hauser
The Celtics signed him to a three-year deal last week, and they expect him to have a role on the team..
The team also rolls nine-deep as it is, making Hauser, potentially, the 10th man. However, he’s really the one true wing player and shooting specialist on the roster outside of the starters.
So let’s see what he can do for this squad. They moved on from Aaron Nesmith, so Hauser will now get a chance for sniper reps off the bench. Can he find his way into 48 of Boston’s games to make a difference with his shooting?
Have a happy Independence Day. Be careful out there, and everyone come back tomorrow with 10 fingers, please.