Celtics' Danny Ainge Says 'This Season, the Question Is: Are We Good Enough?'

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters Saturday that the question this year about his team is whether it is "good enough."

"There are different kinds of questions," Ainge said at the team's annual open practice at TD Garden, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps .

"I think that last year's questions were more based on, you know, how is it going to jell? There was not a question of how much talent we had. This year the question is, 'Are we good enough?'"

The C's entered the 2018-19 season with championship aspirations but only reached the second round of the playoffs before exiting.

Boston added Kemba Walker this offseason but lost Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, the latter of whom will be difficult to replace because of his versatility.

Ainge also expounded upon his previous points.

"Can we make enough shots is always the key. But can we get the stops? Can we rebound the ball well enough? I think those are probably the biggest challenges. We've been good defensively over the last few years, so I worry about our defense taking a step backwards. We need to have everybody step up on defense."

The C's open the season at the Philadelphia 76ers on Wed., Oct. 23.

They'll enter this year's campaign with lowered expectations. Of note, Caesars Palace lists the C's with 22-1 odds to win the NBA Finals, which ranks ninth in the league. Their over/under win total is 50.

The question of whether the Celtics are good enough lies in the individual seasons of a few different players. Of note, improved campaigns from Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward can go a long way.

Ainge specifically discussed Hayward, who suffered a broken ankle on opening night of the 2017-18 season and missed the rest of the year. The ex-Utah Jazz star returned in 2018-19 but struggled on and off, averaging 11.5 points on 46.6 percent shooting in 25.9 minutes as he worked his way back.

"I think right now there's been a lot of buzz about Gordon and his comeback, and I'm worried that it's getting a little out of hand," Ainge said. "Like, I think he's Gordon. He's back to being Gordon. And we're very excited about that. I sometimes worry, like, 'Oh my gosh, they think it's somebody else.' But I'm excited about Gordon."

Ainge also added the following remarks:

"Gordon is just a good basketball player. He can think, he can pass, he can shoot, he can create, he can defend, he can rebound. I mean, he's a complete player. And we need him to just be that. And we need lots of other guys to play up to their best. And I think we have a chance to be really good."

Down low, Enes Kanter is a better interior scorer and rebounder than Horford, but he can't stretch the floor, pass or play defense as well as the new 76ers big man. Still, Kanter is a productive double-double threat every night who should provide quality minutes.

The C's starting five projects to be Walker, Brown, Tatum, Hayward and Kanter.