CelticsBlog roundtable: bold predictions

What is your boldest prediction for this season?

Jeff Clark: I’m sticking with my usual. Marcus Smart, Finals MVP. It says everything I want to say about this year.

Keith Smith: Kyrie Irving - NBA MVP. Best player on the best regular season team. He stays fully healthy all year and puts up monster numbers.

Chris Grenham: Terry Rozier wins Sixth Man of the Year. Not the hottest take in the world, but I think it’s something to consider heading into the season. Rozier proved himself as someone who can be an everyday starting point guard in this league last season, so Brad Stevens will not be shy in using him off the bench. The Celtics are a team that might end up resting some players down the stretch in preparation for the postseason, which will be a nice opportunity for Rozier to strengthen his numbers. There’s plenty of valuable candidates for this award, but keep an eye on Scary Terry.

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Simon Pollock: Oh man, I am ready to be wrong about this. Terry Rozier, traded at or before the deadline. Trader Danny sees an opportunity to keep his war chest of picks well-stocked and moves Rozier at the peak of his value this season before having to resign next year.

Daniel Poarch: Jaylen Brown makes first-team All-Defense. Jaylen is going to be hugely important to the Celtics’ wing-heavy defense, and his prowess on that end of the floor has already started getting some serious respect -- he was 10th in DPOY voting last season. Assuming he tightens up some things -- namely, his work as an off-ball defender -- I’m betting he’ll make a surprise first-team appearance. Finishing in the top-three for DPOY isn’t completely out of the question, either.

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Romy Nehme: The Celtics send 4 players to the All-Star Game. Not 1, not 2, not 3 ... The NBA’s known for blanketing teams with blistering W-L records with multiple All-Star nods up and down the roster (almost as an endorsement for playing superior team basketball. See: Detroit bas-ket-ball & those Hawks regular season overachievers), and I think this team’s going to combust out of the gate with a vindictive itch for a few reasons: they’ll finally be able to reverse their lame pre season showing and blow off steam in a meaningful way (instead of battering each other in practice) after watching their game 7 meltdown on a loop this summer; I’m sure they’ve heard all the “the Raptors have the best player in the EC” murmurs; they’ve also heard the “LeBron leaving the East has paved the way for the Celtics to make the Finals” cop out, and let’s not forget: this team is going to be damn good. Not 29-3 in their first 32 good, but holy hell... Is it Tuesday yet?

Bill Sy: Aron Baynes starts 20 games. Not sexy enough? OK. All of Australia starts 20 games. With Gordon Hayward on a minutes limit to start the season, Baynes might even start tonight vs. Joel Embiid and the Sixers. The Celtics were notably better on defense last season when he was on the floor and with the preservation of Horford for the playoffs a priority, Baynes becomes a key cog over the regular 82. He may not average over fifteen minutes a game (considering that Daniel Theis is also returning), but I predict that Aron starts against teams like Philly, Detroit, and Milwaukee, all teams the Celtics will face in their first ten games.

Jack Noonan: The team starts out slow. Record is 5-5 after the first ten. National media freaks out and gives their hot takes. Celtics rally back after this start and still finish above 65 wins, including a long win streak. Then going on to win the east and then the title against Golden State in 7 games. The series goes down as one of the best of all time. Kyrie Irving wins Finals MVP. This prediction brought to you by the fan boy in me haha. Go C’s.

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Tim MacLean: The Celtics finish the season with three guys scoring at least 20 points per game. Between Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum, Boston will have elite options on offense this season and that’s without mentioning guys like Jaylen Brown. This isn’t to say that we can expect 60+ points combined from those three every night, but I think by the end of the season the numbers will pan out that way on average. Yes, there will be other mouths to feed, but I don’t see egos becoming an issue with this group.

Alex Kungu: /turns on stove

The Boston Celtics will win 70 games. I think the preseason will gave them the wake up call that they needed, but also has been a little over-analyzed by the media because the team barley had any time to practice before the wave of games hit them. I think they come out hungry to prove they’re one of the best teams in the league and completely blitz through the regular season schedule. Kyrie and Al will lead the team early, Hayward will start catching fire by December, and Brown, Tatum, and Co. will provide a steady presence.