It would be wonderful if all the guys on the team lived up to our loftiest expectations and the whole team shocked the world with an amazing season next year. However, odds are stacked against that happening. Chances are some things will go wrong and some guys will not do as well as we are expecting. Here's some of our picks.
Summer Forecast: Room for improvement - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston
Bill Sy, CelticsBlog (Jared Sullinger)
I don't think there's a player that's going to respond better to negative press than Sullinger, so yeah, I'm going to say Sully. But seriously, a lot of his success last season came as the last option in the offense that included Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. He was a terror on the offensive boards and got a lot of buckets on put backs and kick out jumpers. This fall, if his back is healthy, he'll be featured more and I'm predicting a little bit of a sophomore slump with the added pressure. Can he be a 15 and 10 guy as one of the primary scorers on a rebuilding team? Yes, Sullinger has the skills to become a very good player in this league, but it may take a full season and another summer for him to mature.
Kevin O'Connor, CelticsBlog (Jeff Green)
Don't get me wrong, I think Jeff Green will have a very good season, but many fans expect him to be a guy that can carry the load night in and night out. I have read comments around the Internet suggesting that Green could average over 25 points per game but I don't see it. With around 15-to-16 shots per game, it's realistic that he could average a tick over 20, but that still would be underwhelming in a lot of fan's eyes. Again, this isn't a knock on Green, but he is one player I see with potential sky-high expectations on a team that really isn't anticipated to do much.
Jeff Clark, CelticsBlog (Jeff Green):
I suppose it depends on what you define as "expectations." I've seen some project Jeff Green as an All Star 20 points per game scorer. He's got that kind of potential, but he might only be capable (over the long term) of being a 2nd or 3rd option guy. If so, that's going to disappoint a lot of people.
What do you think?