The Boston Celtics aren't sneaking up on anyone this upcoming NBA season. After a historic run that resulted in a trip to the Finals, they're among the favorites to win the championship in the spring of 2023.
Despite their unquestionable talent, the road back to the Finals will be far from a cakewalk. Between Danilo Gallinari's ACL tear, Robert Williams' latest knee surgery, and head coach Ime Udoka's season-long suspension, they're already facing their fair share of adversity heading into the new campaign.
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So, what needs to go right for the C's in order for them to overcome these obstacles and bring home Banner 18? If Boston wins the 2023 NBA title, these will be the reasons why:
Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon stay healthy
Two of the Boston Celtics' most important pieces also happen to be two of the most injury-prone players in the league.
Williams' season already is off to a less-than-ideal start as he'll miss time due to his recent knee procedure. It's the same knee the big man needed surgery on in March to repair a torn meniscus. The expectation is he will be out for at least the first month of the regular season.
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As for Brogdon, the Celtics' prized offseason addition hasn't played 60-plus games in a season since 2018-19. An Achilles injury kept him on the sideline for all but 36 games last year with the Indiana Pacers. He's also missed time throughout his career with hamstring, back, hip, knee, and quad issues.
If they can stay on the court, Williams could be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation while Brogdon earns Sixth Man of the Year recognition. One could make the argument that outside of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Williams and Brogdon are the keys to Boston making another deep postseason run. The Celtics' defensive identity is predicated on Williams being on the floor, and Brogdon's presence will bring a much-needed boost to the second unit.
Joe Mazzulla gets his team to buy in
The Celtics will be forced to adjust to a new head coach for the second straight year as assistant Joe Mazzulla will replace Ime Udoka, who took over for Brad Stevens last season. This year's change, however, comes under a much different set of circumstances with Udoka being suspended for violating team guidelines.
It's a difficult situation for Mazzulla, who has no prior NBA head coaching experience and has only been an NBA assistant since 2019. The 34-year-old has had to learn on the fly with his elevation coming on such short notice.
Fortunately for the C's, it looks like Mazzulla already has earned the respect of his players. The question is whether he can get them to buy in for all 82 games. With the group focused on returning to the NBA Finals, that shouldn't be a problem.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown keep the chips on their shoulders
Last year, it was about proving they could play together. Now that they've done that, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown should be laser-focused on one thing and one thing only: Banner 18.
Brown summed it up perfectly during Celtics Media Day, saying that after their tough Finals loss, the C's need to maintain their sense of urgency in order to accomplish the ultimate goal.
"I feel like everybody should have had as tough a summer as I did dealing with that," Brown said. "Listening to everybody here say, 'Oh, you had such a great playoffs, you're going to get 'em next time' -- sometimes it's not a next time. Even now, dealing with some of the things that we've got on our table now, you see that things don't always come how you expect them to come."
"I think the attention to detail right now is high and alert," Brown added. "... It's no a guarantee that you get back. Obviously we have to come in and do what we're supposed to do, but it's not no coasting through the regular season.
"... It's going to take dedication from each of our guys every single day. Accountability every single day. That's the way you get back. To just think you're going to coast off of last year, it's not going to work like that."
Tatum and Brown both told our Chris Forsberg they would trade their individual accolades for a championship. To make that happen, they'll need to carry their "us against the world" attitude into the new season.
The defense stays elite
The Celtics made it as far as they did last season because of their defense, which arguably was the best in the NBA. There's no reason they shouldn't be elite again in 2022-23.
Marcus Smart will return to defend his Defensive Player of the Year crown. Robert Williams will compete for that award as well if he can stay on the court after missing the first month. Derrick White will be in the mix for a full season after helping Boston finds its defensive identity upon joining at last year's trade deadline.
The C's tied with the Golden State Warriors for the NBA's best defensive rating (106.9) last season. They may even be able to improve on that mark in 2022-23. If they come anywhere close to duplicating their efforts, they'll be well on their way to another NBA Finals berth.
The supporting cast steps it up
A lack of scoring depth off the bench came back to haunt the Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals. Once Grant Williams cooled off, there was no one to step up and take the pressure off Tatum and Brown.
Brad Stevens' solution to that problem was signing Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari during the offseason. With Gallinari presumably out for the entire year, Brogdon and sharpshooter Sam Hauser will be counted on along with Williams to add a scoring punch. While the addition of Brogdon means less reliance on Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, the backup guards still will need to step up when their numbers are called.
It will also be interesting to see just how much Blake Griffin contributes. The 33-year-old isn't expected to turn back the clock to his All-Star days, but he'll at least need to minimize Rob Williams' glaring absence. Frontcourt depth is a real concern ahead of Opening Night.
They take better care of the basketball
Duh!
Seriously, though. The Celtics need to make serious strides in preventing turnovers this upcoming season. Along with a lack of bench scoring, turnovers were the reason Boston came up just short of an NBA title. They turned the ball over a whopping 22 times in their Game 6 loss to the Warriors and 100 times total in the series.
During the regular season, the C's actually ranked in the middle of the pack with 13.6 turnovers per game. They'd still like to improve on that number, but it's fair to say they'd be raising Banner 18 in a couple of weeks if they kept that average in the Finals.
If the Celtics win it all next year, cutting down on the turnovers will be among the biggest reasons why.