There are two Celtic teams that will play this season, and I’m pretty sure one of them will be just fine.

The other? Let’s just say the jury is out, which it probably should be at this time of the year.

The clubs in question are, respectively, the regular season Celtics and the playoff Celtics. To be good in the Opening 82, there is a certain amount of talent required, and this group more than meets that standard. To be a very good regular season team means taking said talent and playing hard on a highly consistent, if not constant, basis. And because of their depth and the competitive instincts of those involved, this crew should win the games they should and maybe even some against better clubs.

Playing hard every damn night gets you 40 wins in this league. We’ve seen previous teams here punch above their weight class and carve out good seasons.

But those type of teams can run into a roadblock in the playoffs when the opponent is just as rested as you are and gets to truly lock in on how it wants to exploit your weaknesses. A foe playing three games in four nights is not going to have more than a cursory walk-through or video session to deal with a scouting report.

In the postseason, however, the game slows and generally becomes more of a battle with fewer run-outs and more emphasis on each possession. It is to be prepared for this kind of game that the Celtics still have much work to do.

“It’s definitely a different game in the playoffs,” said Kemba Walker. “I just think that we have to keep on building to get to that point where we’re a good playoff type team. And I think we will.”

The difference is very real, and it’s an issue that’s most certainly a question for a preseason darling like Philadelphia.

As we’ve noted here before, the 76ers will dearly miss J.J. Redick and the floor spacing his outside shot provided. That means things will be tighter for Ben Simmons, and that’s already a problem in the postseason. Add to this the departure of Jimmy Butler, a guy the Sixers got because he could get his own shot and not leave such late-in-the-clock matters to Simmons.

When winter turns to spring and the regular season turns to the playoffs, the game changes. When the Celtics met Philly in the second round two years ago, Simmons went from 15.8 points on .545 shooting, with 8.2 assists to 14.4 points on .475 marksmanship, with 6.4 assists and 24 turnovers in the five games. Of course, it’ll help if these teams meet again in April or May that Al Horford will now be on Simmons’ side and not switching out to harass him.

One of the major Celtic problems is that Horford is gone. So there are perhaps bigger questions here. But it’s possible some of the answers may lie within.

From the moment the roster was essentially buttoned up this past summer, the glaring issue for the Celts was one of size — and, from that, interior defense. Their most successful defensive grouping in the preseason had Daniel Theis starting at center, but neither Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic nor Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson played in those two games last weekend, and Theis has acknowledged that his job will be infinitely more difficult if he has to go up against, say, a Joel Embiid, a man the Celts will find staring at them from across the center jump circle on opening night Wednesday.

Brad Stevens has said the starter at center could well be a fluid situation, which is never really ideal when a team would rather settle into some form of consistency with its rotation.

The club is still not sure how best to use Enes Kanter, and Robert Williams has to show a more regular element of grit to complement his physical gifts if he wants to claim big minutes. But in the way of longer-term answers, is it at least possible that Vincent Poirier could be that big and beastly body the Celtics need? It’s obviously unfair to make any definitive judgments on a guy just dipping a toe into NBA waters, but he has some very good instincts, and if he can get up to speed on the pace of the league, he may have more of an impact on the 2019-20 edition than the general public expected when he was signed over the summer. And, really, if he gets time with the first unit, his job description should be fairly narrow and well-defined.

Getting someone — be it Poirier or Kanter or Robert Williams or Theis or someone the Celts might acquire in trade — to step up and make opponents concerned for their safety in the paint will be a key as to how long this team can last after the middle of April.

Until then, however, they should do very well — maybe even better than some expect. Related Articles Celtics need to remember that defensive energy is the root of their offense

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Of course, any before-season projections should come with the caveat that exposing old takes has become a cottage industry that profits from the misguided judgements of others. And business is good. Material is never in short supply. Just last year, the Celtics looked on paper to be the measure of most anyone in the NBA, and they were widely predicted as such. I had the decency to write that it would be all about finding the right chemistry and that, “If they cannot, this could be a colossal cleanup on aisle 5.”

Still, I figured they would — eventually — and the fact I held on to that belief in some measure into the playoffs should be enough scare you away from my opinions.

This year’s Celtics aren’t as good on paper, but last year’s roster sheet is now landfill. The 2018 Celtic preseason predictions? They were flushed.

Chemistry will be key for the current outfit, as well, but in this regard things appear to be on much more solid footing. Some of those who remain now may have been guilty last year of getting too caught up in that 2018 postseason run, but the ensuing collapse of something that should have been so good appears to have fostered a better commitment to team principles. It’s hard to take anything decisive from exhibition games, but the word from inside the practice facility is that there is a different vibe this time around.

And these guys will need it. They need to be greater than the sum of their parts, where last year’s club didn’t even equal the total of their names.