Winning and losing in the NBA Playoffs comes down to made and missed shots. While coaches can’t control that, they can decide who will be standing on the court, and for how long. So how do the Boston Celtics break down?
Here’s the unassailable list of Celtics who are allowed to shoot whenever they want to and should be on the court literally whenever possible: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis. Lower on the rung that may need to be managed more intentionally are Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Payton Pritchard. Everyone else must be studiously investigated.
Boston Celtics v Detroit Pistons Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images
First question: Holiday versus Pritchard. I know there is a decent contingent of fans that think Pritchard’s scoring abilities have officially exceeded Holiday’s (which is probably true), and that they’ve exceeded them enough so that Pritchard should either start or close the game (which is probably not true).
Unlike previous years, the Celtics need Pritchard to score in bunches to survive in shootouts, and are susceptible to ultimate embarrassment when he is cold. He is an essential part of the offense, spacing the floor at all five shooting spots for drive-and-kicks from Boston’s elite slashers. But in the playoffs, can the Celtics actually leave him out there?
In some matchups, sure. But in the hardest spots, Pritchard is liable to get fried by the NBA’s premier scoring guards, such as likely-Eastern-Conference-Finals-opponents Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. And even if they don’t see the Cavaliers, every team seems to have an insanely-skilled scoring guard these days. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Damian Lillard, Trae Young, even Coby White. The market is saturated with these guys, and Pritchard is liable to get crushed by all of them in a way Holiday just isn’t.
Both will have to play big, but Holiday absolutely must play bigger. He also must close every game, which means his lately-shaky three-point shooting will have to improve in winning time. Nevertheless, it’s a good problem to have when you’re talking about the Sixth Man of the Year here. Maybe I should show some respect…
2024 NBA Finals - Dallas Mavericks v Boston Celtics Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Ok, so now it’s time to talk Al Horford and his bench understudy, Luke Kornet. Boston’s Center room is like a house of cards built on top of a Jenga Tower built on Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. It’s cool to look at, but it feels like a disaster waiting to happen.
Kornet has been having the best season of his career, and will definitely get some minutes in the playoffs. Big minutes? Eh… I’m not feeling great about that proposition unless Porzingis is injured (which certainly happens). He isn’t a rim protector, he can’t shoot, and the longer he is out there, the longer the Celtics are at risk of going cold without proper spacing. My colleague Azad Rozay does make a compelling argument that Kornet does help create some space though. He’s a trooper, and will absolutely be needed to take pressure off the key pairing, but should not be pushing 20+ minutes if everyone is healthy. Let’s just hope the volcano doesn’t erupt, because then we’re talking Xavier Tillman/Neemias Queta minutes and quoting Han Solo: “I have a bad feeling about this.”
What about the wings? Hauser will certainly be out there, though he has squarely taken the 8th spot behind Pritchard and Horford (which was not true at all last year). He is a player that can hang on defense and space the floor exactly how Boston needs him to, but he isn’t dynamic enough to pull something out of his rather-small bag if things go south. That’s Pritchard’s major leg up.
Okay, so… we’ve got our answer, right? Heavy usage of the big four, plus Holiday over Pritchard in minutes, though serious usage of the latter. Horford and Hauser will fill in however and whenever they can. Alright, well, that’s the end of the article. Everyone have a nice d—
“You forgot about Baylor Scheierman!”
What was that? Did you guys hear something?
“I said… (massive inhale) YOU FORGOT ABOUT BAYLOR SCHEIERMAN!”
Sigh. Did I? Scheierman has been sick recently, and has put together a pretty cool end-of-season highlight reel. But even short Rodney Hood with swag is still… short Rodney Hood. He can shoot… occasionally, and gets thrown around like he’s one of those mini mesh Frisbees we all had when we were kids. Maybe one day Baylor can crack meaningful rotations, but today is simply not that day.