In anticipation of opening night in Cleveland, the Red’s Army staff will make their predictions for how the 17-18 season will transpire. We’ll kick things off with win/loss predictions for the regular season. Last year’s Celtics went 53-29, good enough for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. While only four players return to this year’s squad, the crew here at Red’s doesn’t see the roster turnover drastically affecting regular season results.
John Karalis — 53-29
I’m pegging this season as a repeat of last year for the most part. Same amount of wins, early season experimenting, some struggles at the start, and then a big run to finish the season. Integrating everyone, especially defensively, will be a challenge made tougher by the early season schedule. They’ll figure it out, though, and end up challenging for the top seed again.
Mike Dynon — 55-27
Logically, the new roster will need an early adjustment period. But once they come together, they’ll exceed last season’s 53 wins. This is probably the most talent Brad has ever coached. Why wouldn’t he get his highest win total?
Ben Mark — 55-27
This is only a 2 game improvement from last year, but in reality signifies a big step forward. The 16-17 Celtics had an expected win total of 48 games, with a +2.6 point-per-game differential, and 25 wins after trailing in the fourth quarter. This 2017-18 team will be slow to take off while integrating new faces and squaring off against a tough October/early November slate, but once they do, they’ll win plenty of games convincingly. I’d expect this team to win 55 games with a greater positive point differential due to a greater infusion of star power, the progression of some promising young guys, and the wizardry of Brad Stevens.
KJ Kourafas — 55-27
The Celtics will struggle to find any kind of consistency early in the season, resulting in an uneven start. The team will pick up steam at the end of the year and make a splash in the playoffs.
Liam Green — 57-25
Combination of overall east weakness, Cavaliers coasting (and missing I.T.) and genuine improvements to the team.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
