Part one of the Boston Celtics 2024 New Year’s Resolutions
pointing out some areas that the Boston Celtics can improve in 2024
We’ve already put 2023 behind us and are well into the New Year’s Resolution season, having completed over two weeks of 2024. It’s an optimistic time of year, an opportunity for all of us to push our own boundaries and aim for personal progress, whether your objective is to read more books or attempt to work out more frequently.
As we approach the halfway point of an exhausting regular season, professional players may find this pattern to be true or not. However, as outsiders, it’s a good idea to evaluate what we’ve seen thus far from the Boston Celtics and make some recommendations for their future. After reviewing the squad, we will determine each player’s objectives or areas for growth in 2024.
To keep things simple, we will only be looking at players who have substantial NBA experience thus far this season or who have full, guaranteed contracts. Now let’s get started.
Jordan Walsh: Make a case for being added to the active roster.
Jordan Walsh’s rookie season has been going very well, but when it comes to second round draft choices, expectations should always be kept in check. Due to a lack of playing time on a major league club, he has played the majority of the season with the Maine Celtics of the G-League, where he has shown encouraging performance through five games of the regular season. In an effort to improve as a scorer, he has added some unexpected deep shooting (41%) at a steady volume (7.2 3PA/G).
Walsh’s start is encouraging, but it won’t be sufficient to get him on the floor for this excellent of a Celtics squad. There would be too much potential and a short track record for him to have a significant burden as a scorer. Walsh has to demonstrate a skill that will provide situational value in order for him to break into the rotation as a young, undeveloped player. That will provide as protection. With a wingspan of 7 feet 2 inches and a height of 6 feet 7 inches, he has the makings of a smothering wing defender that teams will never have enough of.
In the event that Oshae Brissett gets injured during this season, Walsh is my choice to be the.
There isn’t much more to ask of Mykhailiuk, though, outside of “grow four inches” or “become peak Danny Green on defense.” He already has the package that makes him a player of NBA caliber: explosive movement while shooting three points. He has made just 22% of his 35 tries this season, so the numbers haven’t shown this yet, but it’s still much too small a sample size to completely negate what his six years in the league have shown.
This team’s go-to player in case of an emergency is Mykhailiuk. Mazzulla and the Celtics know exactly what he can provide to the team in the event that a guard in the rotation is injured, so they must have faith that he will be prepared to step up.
Every player in the league wants to be on the court, so it’s difficult to stay on the sidelines and wait for opportunities. However, genuine professionals possess the patience to remain prepared when minutes are scarce.
Dalano Banton: Take on a role off the ball
Banton is undoubtedly the most unique player on the Celtics’ long bench, if nothing else. With his profession as a point guard and his towering wing frame, it’s difficult to resist daydreaming about what he may be. If there had been any indication that he had the capacity to reach such heights, we would obviously be talking about him quite differently now. Banton, who is playing in his third NBA season, hasn’t been much more than.
He has only played 122 minutes of basketball for the Celtics so far this season, and he feels different from the other guards on the squad. There hasn’t been much room for other guards who require the ball since Tatum and Brown are still accumulating their usual on-ball repetitions while Holiday, White, and Pritchard are taking up the majority of the minutes.
Banton seems to be at a loss on what to do at the moment. Although he can initiate the pick-and-roll, it’s difficult to justify giving him those minutes when it means depriving someone else of more potential on this team. With a career three-point percentage of just 27%, he is a total non-shooter.
It would be much easier to understand what he brings to our squad if he could find that one unique item to deliver.
Lamar Stevens: Deep-rooted consistency
Similar to Mykhailiuk, Stevens is an infrequently utilized bench player who really simply needs to maintain himself ready for the evenings when the team needs him. He has slightly more experience than the other players on this list and has played for two seasons in the rotation for Cavaliers teams that have won titles. Though Oshae Brissett’s rise has limited opportunities as well, it’s obvious that he’s here to fill in in the event of an injury to someone in the rotation.
Stevens’ theoretical game, in contrast to Mykhailiuk’s, doesn’t exactly fit into a lineup as cleanly. He’s just not a very good shooter, and to make matters worse, he’s not a very eager one.
In just 28% of his three-point attempts, he has made the net, and in NBA games, he has never attempted more than 1.5 threes a contest. Simply said, defenses don’t have to worry about him, and in the NBA, where matchup exploitation is rampant, it can seriously impede your offensive.
Of course, it’s easier said than done. It takes more than just trying harder to improve from three-point range; it’s a complex art with countless factors. Stevens, however, presents a very fascinating image as a multi-positional combination wing/big who plays with intensity and defends, should the shot fall through. Those are the guys that every team needs. To really get there, Stevens just needs to command a bit more respect from the defense.
Please just keep shooting, Oshae Brissett
As the season has gone on, it has become more and more evident that Brissett is ranked first among the deep bench guys. Joe Mazzulla has called for Brissett first whenever a member of this team’s core rotation suffers an injury. When forced into action, he has performed admirably, playing with vigor and enthusiasm and occasionally producing some spectacular moves. As far as budget acquisitions go, this is about as good as it gets for a peripheral player in your rotation.
There’s still space for improvement. Paradoxically, we believe that Brissett ought to be more eager to take big shots considering his 28% three-point shooting percentage this season.
Brissett has demonstrated in the past that he can score points from distance at a respectable rate; in 2020–21, he reached a high of 42% on 5.4 tries per 36 minutes while playing for the Pacers. This season, his serious troubles have been the exception rather than the rule.
Naturally, there is only a sample size of 20 games, so it is unreasonable to expect him to perform on par with Sam Hauser. However, in the NBA, even mediocre three-point shooting has its uses. Defenses will have to take Brissett into consideration in a manner that isn’t the case with Stevens if he shows them that he’s prepared to let it fly. With how much quality the Celtics always have on the court, they will also be open shots. Oshae, go bomb it!
Luke Kornet: Make sure to grab a bag this winter.
The team’s reserve frontcourt appeared to be a clear area for development before to the season. Al Horford is elderly, Kristaps Porzingis has a history of injuries, and Luke Kornet didn’t seem to be a reliable backup. However, Kornet’s play has improved significantly this season; he no longer seems like the gimmicky, silly deep bench player of the previous year and more like a legitimate member of the starting lineup.
Prioritizing money in a professional sport might not seem like a particularly moral choice to fans. The ultimate objective and benchmark for success in the league system is team success.
Without a doubt, Kornet is as motivated as anybody else on this team to win the championship this year. But for players like as him, the chance to sign a multi-year contract with a guarantee is priceless. In a league where the wage cap is rapidly approaching, a player who has never earned more than $2.4 million in a season will be available for free agency. Two offseasons ago, 34-year-old JaVale McGee signed a three-year, $17 million contract. For a player like him, that’s a significant increase and priceless long-term stability for a career that could have terminated at any time up until now.
Right now, Kornet definitely has the appearance of a rotation center, which is encouraging for the Celtics in.
Win the Three-Point Shootout, Sam Hauser
Is this resolve the most important one on this list? Not at all. Would that be fun? Indeed, it would. Personally, I enjoy the three-point shootout. Seeing a skilled shooter establish a rhythm when firing off a rack is immensely therapeutic. You may argue that the Shootout is a more interesting event than the Slam-Dunk Contest, especially with a Celtic competing, given its declining popularity.
In the current NBA, when three-pointers are valued more than ever, the shootout has evolved into a star-driven competition. These days, Tatum or Brown are probably more likely to compete than Hauser, who might not have the name value to do so.
However, Hauser’s game—a skillful movement shooter with a lightning-fast release—is ideal for this. I would really want to see him win if he is there. He is a serious danger.
