5 Reasons Why the Celtics Will Defend Their NBA Title

The Celtics' Bench is Stacked

Brad Stevens has done a tremendous job stacking the Celtics bench since taking over as the President of Basketball Operations. The team feels comfortable with its backcourt and frontcourt depth and has more than enough to compete for a championship yet again. Led by Payton Pritchard and Al Horford, Boston’s eight-man rotation essentially ends with Sam Hauser. But if need be, the C’s can go as deep as they need, with their 15th man being Lonnie Walker IV, who played a significant role for the Brooklyn Nets last season.

Jayson Tatum Has Less Pressure 

Following the Celtics finally getting over the hump last year, you could see the relief in Jayson Tatum to know he finally got the job done. The forward acknowledged that he feels less pressure on him, knowing he’s finally got an NBA Championship under his belt. Now that the superstar can play more freely, he’s poised for a career year, especially after working on his shooting mechanics in the offseason which he claimed affected his shot efficiency throughout last year. An improved jumper and a stress-free Tatum could be bad news for the rest of the league.

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Kristaps Porzingis Will Return Fully Healthy

Kristaps Porzingis suited up for 57 regular season games last year with the Celtics. In the postseason, the big man only played seven of the team’s 19 games. When he was on the floor, Boston looked nearly unstoppable with its ability to run a variety of different lineups. And when he wasn’t in the lineup, the Celtics were still dangerous but not on the same level they were with a healthy Porzingis. As the Latvian recovers from offseason surgery to repair the ankle injury he suffered in the NBA Finals, Porzingis is expected to return in December with around six months of recovery time. A fully healthy KP joining a Celtics team that already looks poised to be just as good, if not better than they were last year, will be a key to a title run.

Boston is a Mismatch for Opposing Teams

Boston has repeatedly proven that they’re a mismatch for opposing teams. The C’s can put lineups on the floor that can demolish a zone defense or exploit man-to-man coverage. Considering their firepower and ability to run different sets as effectively as they do, the Celtics have yet to run into a team that can stop them.

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Joe Mazzulla Will Prove He’s a Top Coach in the NBA

Joe Mazzulla, in his second season as the Celtics head coach, led the team to achieve the ultimate goal. However, Mazzulla still never received the credit he deserved for putting his team in the position he did to succeed. After losing assistant coach Charles Lee in the offseason, the team promoted assistant coach Sam Cassell as Mazzulla’s lead assistant. Following an entire offseason to prepare, the third-year coach will get his chance to prove he’s a top basketball mind in the league.

The Celtics' Bench is Stacked

Brad Stevens has done a tremendous job stacking the Celtics bench since taking over as the President of Basketball Operations. The team feels comfortable with its backcourt and frontcourt depth and has more than enough to compete for a championship yet again. Led by Payton Pritchard and Al Horford, Boston’s eight-man rotation essentially ends with Sam Hauser. But if need be, the C’s can go as deep as they need, with their 15th man being Lonnie Walker IV, who played a significant role for the Brooklyn Nets last season.