Fantasy Basketball Recap: Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics finished the 2013/2014 regular season tied with the Utah Jazz for the 4th-worst record in the NBA at 25-57, and have a 10.3% chance of landing the first pick in this summer's draft. The Celtics haven't been this bad since the 2006/2007 season, the year before Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett came to town. Let's take a look at the fantasy notables for this past season's squad.

Inconsistent Jeff Green

With a Yahoo! preseason rank of 63, Jeff Green had "breakout" written all over him. Someone had to score in that Celtics offense, right? If you owned him, you know all about his inconsistencies, disappearing some games and dominating others. He finished the season with an average rank of 117, nearly doubling is O-rank, but on the bright side led the team with 16.9 PPG and was durable, playing in all 82 games. He has the potential to fill many categories, but I'm probably passing on him next year.

Rajon Rondo returned earlier than expected from a torn ACL and took some time to return to form, finally coming around with 9.8 APG by season's end. Typically a top contributor in steals, he swiped just 1.3 per game, the lowest ratio of his 8-year career. He also shot a putrid 40.3% from the field, again the lowest mark of his career. The season wasn't a complete wash by any means, but I expect him to put together a better season next year if he isn't traded.

Despite Brad Stevens' inconsistent rotation of Humphries/Bass/Olynyk/Sullinger, Jared Sullinger put together a nice season. Sullinger more than doubled his PPG in his second season as a pro, crashed the boards (top 10 in OREB), and even chucked some threes. And I say chucked because he attempted 208 and made just 26% of them. Coach Stevens told his big men to take a three if it's there, and Sully didn't hesitate. Kris Humphries is gone next year, and that will open up some minutes, so if he can bump his FG% up by cutting back on the threes and playing closer to the rim, he'll have top 100 Yahoo! value. He's a higher target for those in leagues with offensive boards.

Brandon Bass is the only other Celtic to appear in all 82 games with Green, and essentially the only player to meet expectations. Per usual, he put up 11 and 5 while shooting nearly 50% from the field and 85% at the line. I expect him to be just as valuable next year unless the Celtics trade him or decide to go with a youth movement.

Kelly Olynyk had a surprising season as I expected him to ride the pine, but Stevens employed a timeshare for his big men, and Olynyk managed to return top 130 Yahoo! value his final 12 games, doing a little bit of everything in 23 min/game. He plays below the rim and doesn't block anyone, but has fair percentages.

Avery Bradley missed some time due to injury, but appeared in 60 games and proved to be one of the better offensive options for the Celtics, raising his PPG average from 9.2 to 14.9 and improving in FG%, 3PT%, and FT%. As it stands, he'll be the starting SG next year with no one in his way.