Primarily offseason objectives for the Celtics

The Boston Celtics just made The NBA Finals. So to answer your question: yes, they are title contenders. But, every offseason, each contender needs to retool, re-strategize, and rethink.

The experience is no longer an issue. Now, they’ve been here before. There are no more excuses. However, there are certainly some offseason objectives the team needs to meet. Not just Brad Stevens, or Ime Udoka, or Jayson Tatum, but everyone, together. To improve for the immediate future and not just be title contenders, but title favorites, here’s what the Celtics need to do as a team to be just that:

Relax and unwind, then get in the gym

The Celtics were once 23-24 on Jan. 22 and the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. From there, the Celtics crawled all the way to Game 6 of The NBA Finals. It’s safe to say that it was a long season for the team, and for fans.

That’s why it’s so important for the Celtics to simply relax and unwind. Go on vacation. Spend time with family and friends. Don’t think about basketball for a bit. It’s understated how essential it is for players to kick back and relax after a long, tiresome, grueling 82-game season. On top of it, the Celtics played in two seven-game series and one six-game series, so the season has been extra extensive and long for the C’s.

After some down time, though, get back in the gym and work on your craft.

Stay cool, calm, and collected

This is a very, very important offseason for the young core of the Boston Celtics, and yes, that includes Brad Stevens and Ime Udoka, who were both in their first year at their respective positions.

The Celtics were plagued by turnovers, which is sometimes a byproduct of inexperience. Were the Celtics just too ahead of schedule? Did they need more experience before cementing their legacy as champions? Sure, and not turning the ball is certainly an area of improvement for the players, but it’s also bigger than that.

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Staying poised, not letting the moment get too big, is going to be essential for the Celtics. It’s not so much about being clutch or making shots in crunch time. It’s about simply staying poised. It’s that simple.

The same goes for Brad Stevens and Ime Udoka. Stay the course. You were two wins away from a championship. There’s no need to blow the roster up for Bradley Beal. There’s no need to trade any core pieces. There’s no need to change the rotations in a major way.

For everyone, it’s about not letting the moment get too big.

Let’s make Boston a free agent destination, shall we?

After having a spectacular postseason run, free agents looking to compete at a higher level may look to Boston as a potential free agent destination. Even better, Brad Stevens has a few financial tools to work with this offseason to bring in some much-needed talent.

The front office is clearly looking to upgrade in the scoring department, particularly off the bench. Could a player like T.J. Warren be enticed to sign a prove-it deal with a contender such as Boston, especially after being injured for nearly two seasons?

The Celtics have a great pitch to free agents — we have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, two exciting players who haven’t even reached their prime yet.

The Celtics also have the advantage of simply making The NBA Finals this past season. Knocking off Brooklyn with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Milwaukee with the best player in the world in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Miami with Jimmy Butler certainly bodes well for Boston as a free agent destination.

After everything that’s happened and with the Celtics having a contending, exciting roster, Boston could become a sought after destination for veterans looking to contribute to a championship goal.

It’s time to adjust the offense

Boston went to a fairly traditional wing-centered offense last year. In this style of offense, the point guard, typically Marcus Smart, would get the ball to either Tatum or Brown. From there, one of the two stars would initiate the main action in the play. Since the offense became stagnant in The Finals, Stevens and Udoka have to make a decision: keep this system or make some adjustments.

There are definitely going to be at least some adjustments, as the Celtics bring in free agents and add new players to the rotation. But, in order to win a championship, the adjustments may need to be extensive. It’s time to not put everything on Tatum and Brown. Add a scorer to the second unit. Continue stressing and developing Smart as an offensive facilitator and playmaker. And, ensure that Tatum and Brown evolve as playmakers.

Take 1,000 jump shots a day

To begin the season, the Celtics weren’t successful with Smart and newly-acquired Dennis Schroder were missing good-looking, wide-open 3’s. Yes, shooting needed to improve at the time, and it did. Boston shot 40.8 percent on three-point attempts in The Finals, and the emergence of Grant Williams as a catch-and-shoot player definitely helped.

Boston has enough talent and solid role players to be a decent shooting team. But, decent isn’t going to cut it if you’re trying to win an NBA championship. Everybody — from Tatum to Brodric Thomas — has to improve shooting-wise.

The Celtics are close. They’re one rotation player away, and a few internal improvements away as well. But, the expectations fall on leadership and the superstar players. Stevens, Udoka, Tatum, and Brown. It’s on them. Celtics fans, and the entire basketball world, will soon find out what they’re made of.