While Boston was 2 wins away from winning the NBA Finals this past June, there is no guarantee they will return back this year.

Yes, the C’s had an unremarkable run last year and made it to the Finals. They did so by rolling over the Brooklyn Nets, battled hard with former reigning champ Milwaukee Bucks, and exposed a flawed Miami Heat team. But, no matter how impressive their run was, this is a new season, and everything must reset.

“I don’t want to overrate us” said Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, in an interview with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach back in early September. “I wouldn’t pick anybody ahead of us. But I don’t think we’ve got any smooth sailing ahead. We were a good team last year that won some key close games and were in the mix. But I don’t have us as the favorites. There are five or six co-favorites, as far as I’m concerned”, stated Grousbeck. He emphasized that he did not want the team to play overconfident and tampered down on their high expectations across the league.

The C’s earned these lofty expectations after an A+ of an off-season. They needed additional playmaking, and went out and traded for Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon, on now his third NBA team, averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.9 assists last season. He’s exactly what the Celtics needed, and can serve as a viable third option to behind Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown.

Boston also went out and added some additional shooting and scoring off their bench by adding NBA vet Danilo Gallinari. Unfortunately, Gallinari suffered a knee injury in the summer, so he won’t be available for them until late March-early April, at the earliest. But, even with him not playing on the court, he can be an additional veteran presence & voice in the locker room, and could even teach the younger guys how to improve their shooting (Gallinari is a career 38% 3 pt shooter)

Other minor moves included the addition of Blake Griffin & Noah Vonleh, 2 NBA vets who were added as big man depth while the Celtics starting center Robert Williams III recovers from knee surgery.

Even though their off-season was a home run, it slowly came crashing down with the teams head coach, Ime Udoka, being suspended for the entire season.

It was a shocking move, and definitely hurts the team in a buy in aspect. Udoka was a large part in the teams turnaround last year & road to the Finals, and some questioned whether this situation will cost Boston a trip to the Finals again.

But it shouldn’t.

Even with the decision to suspend their coach, it’s clear Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown are on a mission. It’s safe to say that they’re mature enough (or very close to it) where it won’t matter who is coaching them- they want to win.

Tatum expressed his desire to win and how their recent finals loss is something he would use as motivation.

“It takes a long time. I still think about it every day”, Tatum mentioned during a summer league interview. “To know how hard it is to get there, how much harder it is to get over that hump. I’ve got to be better coming in next year, we’re obviously trying to get back.”

It’s clear the finals loss hurt Tatum, and seeing that he wants to use it as motivation should really bring some optimism. NBA teams often direct their team atmosphere based on their star player, and if Tatum is ready to head back, we sure know his teammates will feel the same.

So where does this bring us to this upcoming season, and their expectations?

The Boston Celtics will have their eyes set on returning to the NBA finals next June. Only this time, they hope to take the Larry O’Brien trophy back to Boston, and raise their 18th banner in the TD Garden.

The Eastern Conference improved drastically this off-season. Cleveland added star power in trading for Donovan Mitchell, Milwaukee added needed shooting with Joe Ingles (and are bringing back a healthy Khris Middleton), Philadelphia added needed bench depth, Atlanta added star guard Dejounte Murray, and Brooklyn will have Ben Simmons to add alongside Kyrie Irving & Kevin Durant. Teams like Miami & Toronto can also not be ignored.

It will not be a cakewalk for the Celtics to reach the finals again. It is imperative to continue their championship-level play from the previous season. They now possess high expectations, and the world sees them being top 3 NBA finals winner favorites.

A 54-57 win season is certainly feasible for the Green. That is where they currently stand in the public’s eyes. If they can reach that goal, it will be the first step towards a championship back in Beantown.