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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

The Anti-Bostonian: The case for the Celtics' motley cast of characters

jeremy

For my money, the most compelling part about the Boston Celtics is their eclectic cast of characters.

From all walks of life and all corners of the globe (considering it may not be round in this instance), the Celtics present a crew that almost mirrors the city itself. Hard, working-class strongmen are complimented by cerebral craftsmen who prefer to do their damage outside of the painted area. Some are slowly rebuilding their strength; some are young talents eager to prove their worth in an environment full of competition.

This charming microcosm was on display in the playoffs last season when the Celtics were without top scorer and top troller Kyrie Irving, who was battling a knee injury. Here, the city rallied around a team without a star who had set the Eastern Conference ablaze all season. The Celtics turned to the cast of characters around him — an unheralded mix of personalities striving for a common goal. And they strove.

Of course, this starts from the top down. Danny Ainge is not on the court anymore, but a master puppeteer behind the scenes. Playing the game of chess for him is Popovich-in-waiting Brad Stevens, engineer of team basketball and getting Kyrie Irving to play only slightly below-average defense. They’re respected. They’re trusted. Ainge has the blue-collar ex-player reputation. Stevens is the revered professor but is down to earth enough to reach the Boston crowd.

There’s Big Al Horford in the middle, hard to miss. He earns the crowd’s plaudits in his willingness to put the team first. A passing big man who can’t rebound? But he can shoot? It’s futuristic and anachronistic at the same time, somehow. Gee, I bet he’s under-appreciated in his contract? He makes over $28 million a year? Oh well.

Backing him up is hard-man Aron Baynes, who surprisingly decided to shoot nearly 48 percent from downtown in the postseason. He has the tenacity, the beard, the aggressiveness, the rebounding and the beard (did I say that already) to hold up the backbone that Horford can’t quite provide. A quality mix.

On the wing there’s Gordon Hayward, a Stevens disciple from his days at Butler University, back from a gruesome injury that occurred in the opening minutes of last season. Jayson Tatum — who by no fault of his own is just a tad overhyped — is a Danny Ainge success story who could turn out to be the gem of his draft class. He’s fun, he’s fearless and he’ll dunk over Lebron (not hypothetically — he actually has).

Up top there’s the charming, yet aptly named “Scary” Terry Rozier, who is frightening when he goes on a scoring barrage like he did against the Bucks in last season’s playoffs and terrifying Eric Bledsoe into a McGregor-like submission. Marcus Smart, who has already been ejected from a preseason game for a skirmish with old-faithful bugaboo J.R. Smith, brings the brawn. There’s pesky Semi Ojeleye, the aforementioned Kyrie, chess-playing Jaylen Brown and maybe even the ghost of Avery Bradley.

Stay tuned, but don't expect a parade down Boylston St. just yet.