Ramp to Camp: Bold award predictions for 2024-25 Celtics

Ramp to Camp: Bold award predictions for 2024-25 Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Let’s get bold.

To kick off Week 2 of our Ramp to Camp series, we asked our NBC Sports Boston panel to slam the fast forward button on the 2024-25 season and deliver one brash prediction about an honor or award that a member of the Celtics might earn this upcoming season.

(Check out the first five installments of Ramp to Camp here.)

Despite steamrolling the league last season, the Celtics didn’t exactly dominate the award voting. Brad Stevens got perhaps the biggest nod as Executive of the Year. But beyond one All-NBA spot (Jayson Tatum) and two All-Defense guys (Derrick White, Jrue Holiday), the Celtics didn’t get much hardware. The snubs were more notable than the winners.

So who’s going to be a surprise All-Star this year? Who is going to make the sort of leap that delivers them some postseason hardware?

Our pick is Jaylen Brown for First-Team All-Defense. On the surface it’s a bold suggestion, because the Celtics already have two guards already cemented in All-Defense spot. But we love the idea of Brown using all of the frustrations from the past six months to take his defensive game up even another level after last season’s vault.

Brown harnessed some of the motivation from being snubbed on All-NBA and All-Defense voting to help earn MVP of both the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals. Then Team USA added to the disrespect with its own snub and now we’re all left waiting to see how Brown utilizes it for fuel.

Brown marched into Celtics Media Day last year and pretty much declared he was going to show he could be an All-Defense player. He backed it up throughout the season, so much so that a former All-Defense guy in Al Horford was emphatically stumping for Brown to make an All-Defense squad at the end of the year.

A player once defined by his offensive talents, Brown showed last season that he has the potential to be one of the most impactful two-way players in the NBA. He showcased it repeatedly in the postseason with his willingness to defend the best scorers on the other team.

When we think about…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ramp-camp-bold-award-predictions-141809774.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-09-09 14:18:09

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