Yes, Marcus Smart was one of my favorite Celtics in the last 7 years. The guy bled green, was an all time great defensive player and played his heart out for the team. Yes, Grant is looking like an elite role player in Dallas and having a breakout season. And as bad as I feel for Timelord and miss him on this team, the Portland trade is looking pretty good right now.

But this roster as constructed simply has zero holes if everyone is healthy. With the additions of KP and Jrue, all of our top 6 can shoot, score, and defend at a high level, and we have at least 5 guys who can go for 20 any given night. As much as trading guys like Smart and Rob hurt at first, the way this new-look core plays is so refreshing through the first 9 games.

After years of looking great on paper only to be set back by some unforeseen circumstance- a torn hip, a broken leg, a degenerative knee condition (x2), and a sudden desire to team up with two guys who also couldn’t lead teams in Brooklyn- it’s so refreshing to see a Celtics team that just works as advertised. This team plays like they’re supposed to, without a lot of the issues that our past core had (blown leads/chokes, lack of effort against bad teams, stagnant offense, etc.) and I think it’s largely due to the way the new roster is constructed and balanced.

The fact that we now have a dominant post presence who can get an easy basket when the 3s aren’t falling, shoot at an elite clip from outside AND protect the rim in KP opens up a whole new dimension to our offense that we haven’t had since KG. Tatum getting noticeably bigger, taking a better and more diverse selection of shots and using his strength to implement the Pierce/Melo old man game is huge. Brown not only seems to have taken another step with his skills as an isolation scorer/playmaker, but has finally learned to settle into the pace of offense and let the game come to him. And to top it all off, in acquiring Holiday the Celtics get back 99% of what Smart brought on defense but with a far more efficient offensive game, and a far better understanding of his role in the offense.

I know that it’s a small sample size, but so far it’s just night and day to me in how this team is operating offensively and how consistent they are throughout games. There’s no fear of blowing a lead when we’re up 20+, and most importantly we finally have an interior game to go to if the 3 ball isn’t falling. If we can stay healthy, I find it hard to believe any team in the league can beat us in a 7 game series considering all of our top 6 guys are good-great on both ends did the court. As much as the trades this off-season hurt from an emotional standpoint, it’s amazing how well-balanced this team is and what a good job Brad did constructing this roster.