Dennis Rodman was the defensive anchor, and the Celtics appear to have that in the form of Robert Williams and Marcus Smart вЂ“ two players the Celtics should be keen on keeping. Say what you want about Jerry Krause, but surrounding Jordan and Pippen with the complementary role players that complimented their games was important.

The Bulls did in fact surround their young superstars with the right pieces. Maybe the Celtics were just ahead of schedule in 2022? Jordan was in his sixth season when he won his first championship.

As I previously mentioned, Tatum is only 24 and Brown is only 25. Jordan was in his sixth season and Scottie Pippen was in his third. That year, the Bulls won the title by defeating the veteran-laden Lakers. The Bulls were eliminated by the Pistons in both 19 before finally getting over the hump in 1991. The Bulls experienced the same thing in the late 1980вЂ™s and early 1990вЂ™s. In the past few seasons, the Celtics struggled getting past the Eastern Conference Finals until breaking through last season and getting to the championship. LetвЂ™s dive in and examine some of the previous examples to see if the Celtics should do what those organizations did (or didnвЂ™t). Some of them made the right moves in the offseason and established championship-winning teams in the following years. There have been numerous examples of young cores reaching The Finals and falling short.

1991 houston rockets roster