Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown and forward Jayson Tatum. Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Draymond Green is right — Celtics' margin of error is slimmer than ever before

By Adam Taylor | Last updated 3/5/24

The Boston Celtics are in their third straight season of contending for a championship. They went to the NBA Finals in 2022, and the Eastern Conference Finals last season. During the summer, Brad Stevens added Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Boston now holds the best record in the NBA and is the favorite to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy in June.

According to Draymond Green, who was speaking on a recent episode of his "The Draymond Green Show" podcast, the Celtics need to make the most of their opportunity.

"It is 100% a title-or-bust year for the Celtics," Green said. "You don't get to continue to be in a position that the Celtics are in and get opportunity after opportunity, especially with Jaylen Brown's contract kicking in. Then you're gonna have JT coming up, getting that same level of contract pretty soon, which lessens your resources. You gotta strike while the iron is hot."

The Celtics front office will have some tough decisions in the coming seasons. Their current roster is incredibly expensive, and that cost will only continue to rise. Jayson Tatum is eligible for a supermax contract extension. Holiday's contract is up for renewal. Derrick White's deal expires after next season. Realistically, the Celtics can't keep everybody.

As such, that gives the Celtics a two-year window with their current core. They have to win at least one championship. Otherwise, this team will be considered a failure. On paper, they're the deepest, most talented team in the NBA, and they've shown as much throughout the regular season.

Jaylen Brown, Tatum and Al Horford have plenty of playoff experience and have been on deep runs. Holiday is an NBA champion. White was with the franchise when they went to the Finals in 2022. Porzingis is the least experienced of the primary group. However, his presence has unlocked the team on both sides of the floor.

With so much experience and talent, the Celtics have no excuse not to raise a banner in the next two seasons. If they fail to do so, that failure will be something that follows Tatum and Brown around for the rest of their careers. They've come close before. They just need to take that final step.

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