The preseason narrative for the 2019-20 Boston Celtics is vastly different than last season’s team.
The 2018-19 Celtics entered the campaign surrounded by massive expectations, which they ultimately fell considerably short of meeting. Following an offseason littered with changeover, the current C’s are poised to be a scrappy bunch looking to defy odds in a top-heavy Eastern Conference.
It remains to be seen how the new-look Celtics will fare, but at a minimum, they’re poised to be an easy team to root for. Marcus Smart on Monday, in incredibly on-brand fashion, explained what we can expect from Boston in terms of effort on a nightly basis.
Smart on the Celtics back to being underdogs: "It's good for us. Our backs are against the wall now. When you corner a wounded coyote, you better be ready for it fight with everything it's got. That's us this year. We're fighting like wounded coyotes with everything we have."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) August 26, 2019
With Al Horford and Aron Baynes now out of the picture, Smart, the currently longest-tenured Celtic, likely will be leading voice in Boston’s locker room. It’s safe to assume the pesky guard won’t accept anything less than 100 percent from every player on the Celtics’ roster.
