2023/2024 Season record 50-32

 

23/24 marked the first season that Boston ended the tank and decided to make a playoff push. The young core of Tatum, Garland, Sengun and Kuminga had just become too good for Toby to continue the push for young talent in the lottery and what a successful first year it was! Boston was able to make the playoffs finishing as the 4^th seed with a 50-32 record.

 

Season highlight: Making the semi-finals in their first year competing. After finishing 4^th, they played host to the Cleveland Cavaliers and finished them off rather emphatically with a 4-2 win.

 

Season lowlight: Lowlight for a team that finished 4^th is always going to be a harsh one because their season was so good but for the Celtics it must be falling short in the semi-finals against the Wizards. After going up 2-1 against their long-time friend I’m sure Toby would have loved to get the series over them however the Wizards found their stride to win the next 3 straight games to eliminate them.

 

Season MVP: Jayson Tatum – Tatum had the best season of his career with averages of 27.6ppg, 7.1rpg, 3.3apg on 54/49/89 an All-Star appearance and All NSL 2^nd team honours.

 

Season Flop: Jonathan Kuminga – Kum buckets as he’s affectionately called had a very average season after getting the nod from the GM to start over half the games, his play was very lacklustre only averaging 8ppg and often being outmuscled by bigger PFs in every matchup.

Best trade: Boston Lands RJ Barrett for Dennis Schroder, KMJ, Johnny Davis and Indianas (Wemby) 2028 1^st round pick. Landing the most complimentary piece to their roster yet an elite slasher and corner shooter to take pressure off Tatum and take the best offensive player of opposing teams and boy did he look great in the NBA after his trade home to Toronto. I gave this trade an A+ at the time for Boston.

 

Worst trade: Boston trades RJ Barrett for Dillon Brooks? I’m not sure the reasoning for this maybe salary constraints after Sengun’s break out as he will be pushing for a max or Toby just didn’t like the fit. I thought Barrett was a homerun for them and was shocked when they moved him on and for the return of Dillon Brooks and 14 (Devin Carter) in a weak draft it left me very puzzled.

 

Other notable trades: Boston sends Lugentz Dort and receives DeAnthony Melton, Kira Lewis Jr. Another trade that left me shocked but not due to value but more so Toby moved his boy Lu Dort.

Boston sends Terry Rozier and receives Lonzo Ball, Maxell Lewis, Indiana 2028 1^st, Indiana 2025 2^nd. This was a home run for Toby if Lonzo was to return however Toby jumped the gun on Lonzo and released him back to FA who will now be back in 2025 (for how long we don’t know).

 

Draft grades: Boston selected 2 1^st rounders in this years draft at 14 and 19. At 14 Boston selected Devin Carter 3 year player out of Providence who finished his junior year with 19ppg, 9rpg, 3.6apg and 1.8spg. A rather impressive line for a 6 foot 3 guard. Drafted to backup Fox might be a tough progression to being a valuable 2k player with limited opportunities. B+ .

 

At 18 Boston selected TikTok sensation Jared McCain out of Duke, another 6’3 guard, averages in his freshman year of 14ppg, 5rpg, 2apg and 1spg with elite shooting numbers of 46/41/88. I really don’t know anything else on McCain other than he likes to dance in front of his phone so I’m not sure how to grade him accurately. It seems Toby will pit both rookies against one another to decide who will be the bench guard behind Garland. B-

Overall Grade: B

 

The Future: The future is extremely bright for Boston, last season they were one of the top offenses in the league and have yet to see any real 2k progression to the elite offensive centre they possess in Alperen Sengun. With Tatum’s ability to play the PF position they will always have an advantage in the starting lineup outside of a few teams. The move to the next gen engine can only benefit Boston as Alperen Sengun will be at least 7ppg and 4apg better as a player. With the breakout of Kuminga in Golden State as well I expect him to play a big bench role for this team. The future plans of this team will be holding the line, I don’t see them making any big trades as they are pretty well filled out with depth in every position and a talented bench unit. I think Boston will have their eyes on the ultimate glory as soon as this coming season.