Trio of Boston Celtics make HoopsHype’s top-22 positional rankings for 2021-22
A trio of Boston Celtics players has found their way into our sister site HoopsHype’s annual positional rankings series wrapping up this week, with the three Celtics stars seen as among the league’s 22 best talents at their respective position heading into the 2021-22 NBA season.
There are a few noteworthy omissions with both Marcus Smart and Dennis Schroder not making the cut for point guards and Robert Williams III for centers, but the team seems about as well-represented at the small forward position as any team in the league by HoopsHype’s standards, with two top-10 talents at that position.
Let’s take a look at the players in question.
Boston’s Ime Udoka rated 3rd most likely to win Coach of the Year by ESPN panel https://t.co/1hpnkZRy0w
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 17, 2021
Al Horford - No. 16 center
Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
"Although he’s undoubtedly slowed down some in recent years ... Al Horford remains an effective playmaker, scorer, and defender," writes HoopsHype's Frank Urbina. "Horford can hit threes with his feet set, particularly from the corners, as well as face-up and get buckets in the low- to mid-post while remaining an impactful defender on the other end thanks to his sky-high basketball IQ."
Jaylen Brown - No. 8 small forward
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
"2020-21 was without a doubt the best season of Brown’s career. He put up nearly 25 points per game after never having averaged more than 20.3 before," notes Urbina. "He shot a career-best 39.7 percent from the three-point line. He absolutely smashed previous career marks in BPM and VORP. And he did all of that while remaining one of the most impactful wing defenders in basketball."
Jayson Tatum - No. 4 small forward
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
"An All-Star in 2020-21 as well as an Olympic gold medalist, Jayson Tatum has shown nothing but an upward trajectory since reaching the NBA in 2017-18, without sign of slowing down yet," writes the HoopsHype analyst. "It’s not an exaggeration to say if Tatum learns how to get to the line more often, where’s he’s a career 84.0 percent foul shooter, he could up his scoring average to the low 30s – he’s that talented of a bucket-getter overall." This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! [lawrence-related id=59311,59156,59150,58574] [listicle id=59336]
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