State of the Celtics

The Celtics are up 2-0 against the Cavaliers and are just 2 more wins away from being the biggest surprise team to ever make the NBA Championship. And they are doing this without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Haywood who both will be back full strength next season. And they have a pile of high draft picks in 2019. So I guess you could say the State of the Celtics is GREEATTT!!!

How are they doing this? Well according to one "rival front office guy" Boston finds themselves just 2 wins away from the NBA Championship because;

"They are a team full of killers. Some are loud like [Marcus] Smart and [Marcus] Morris. Others do it quietly like [Al] Horford, [Jayson] Tatum and [Jalen] Brown. And the best, quietest killer of all is on the sidelines because you never see it coming."

That's right - Brad Stevens the quietest killer of all. His nickname should be Brad "Hypertension" Stevens because he's such a silent killer. Celtics fans appreciate that Stevens is the best coach in the NBA despite not even getting a single friggin' vote for NBA Coach of the Year. And if you hear anyone point out that Brad is just .500 in the playoffs (21-21) you can be 100% sure that the person that said or wrote that is a jackass who knows nothing about basketball.

And let's not forget the front office led by Danny Ainge. Trading what ended up being the 8th pick in this draft for Kyrie Irving was a trade Red Auerbach would have been proud of. And no disrespect but when's the last time you heard any Celtics fan mention Avery Bradley?  Ainge traded him for Morris who has been the best defender in the league on LeBron James.

You could go right down the starting line-up:

Al Horford - signed as a free agent to a max deal and worth every penny. It should be remembered that at the time Horford signed Ainge was also pursuing Kevin Durant who had narrowed his choice between signing with either Boston or Golden State. That says a lot about how players are viewing Boston as a desired destination these days.

Terry Rozier - taken with the 16th pick in the 2015 draft. A pick that was roundly criticized by "experts" who are now seeing what Danny Ainge saw back then in Scary Terry.

Jaylen Brown - taken 3rd overall in the 2016 draft. A pick that was booed in Boston!

Jayson Tatum - also taken 3rd overall but in the 2017 draft. Ainge said he would have taken Tatum first overall but instead got a potential 2019 lottery pick from Philadelphia for basically waiting a half hour.

Marcus Smart - taken 6th overall in the 2014 draft. His stats don't come close to explaining how much Smart means to this team. I hope he doesn't leave as a free agent after this magic run is done this season.

That's a lot of talent on the court right there. Talent that can hold their own against anyone in the NBA as they are showing against Cleveland. And hopefully they can show against either Houston or Golden State in the next round.

The State of the Celtics right now and for the foreseeable future is excellent!