These are not last year’s Celtics. With one of the biggest roster turnovers I've ever witnessed as a fan, the Celtics told us two things. First, last year’s team were overachievers who could have easily be bounced in the first round of the playoffs. Second, the Celtics wanted to extend their timeline to better align with their young prospects. This team embodies everything that has made this Celtics rebuild so fascinating. On one hand, they have the makeup of a roster that has the potential to reach The Finals if a few things go right. But due to the age of its roster and upcoming picks, they still have the potential of internal development to rely on in the coming years. Ainge is continuing to have his cake and eat it, too.
With all that being said, the Celtics will have a lot of questions to answer this year. One of the more interesting ones is which players will be the most important part to having success this year. I want to stress that this list isn’t just solely based on talent; a few players are ranked higher then others based on their roles and what a big year could mean for their potential upside. So without further ado, here are the most important Celtics.