Sports
Celtics Players Under Most Pressure Entering 2023-24 NBA Season – Bleacher Report
The Boston Celtics will take a championship-caliber roster into the 2023-24 NBA season and all of the highest of high-end expectations that come along with it.
This core has come close enough to a title run you could almost hear the celebratory sounds of a championship ride. But despite playing in three of the past four Eastern Conference finals—and the 2021-22 NBA Finals—this group still awaits its championship breakthrough.
That will put pressure on every single Celtics player in the upcoming campaign, but the following three Shamrocks will feel the heat more than most.
Jaylen Brown shouldn’t have much to prove at this point of his career. Not when he’s a two-time All-Star and recent All-NBA selection who has entrenched himself among the Association’s top two-way talents.
But an offseason boost to his bank account—the richest contract signed in league history—puts a unique spotlight around him. Being really good is no longer good enough.
Greatness is no longer the hope; it’s the expectation. One more leap might move Brown into that tier, but it’s the hardest jump to make in this league. It means either eliminating flaws or minimizing them to the point of being nearly indecipherable. Brown’s limitations—namely as a shot-creator and playmaker—became a little too obvious in the most recent conference finals, during which he posted a grisly 41.8/16.3/66.7 shooting and totaled 12 turnovers in the final two tilts.
He won’t justify the historic pay raise in a single season, but tightening his handle, upping his efficiency and improving his defensive consistency would loudly hint he’ll wind up earning his keep. If he can’t make those improvements, though, Boston’s season could fall short of championship expectations and spark yet another round of debates about the long-term viability of the Brown-Jayson Tatum tandem.
Boston’s primary objective this offseason was transforming this championship-hopeful roster into an actual champion. Kristaps Porziņģis was by far the most significant addition it made—at the cost of emotional leader and defensive dynamo, Marcus Smart.
Porziņģis has faced pressure before—as the potential savior of the New York Knicks and later as Luka Dončić’s sidekick—but this is a new level of heat.
Porziņģis played a great 2022-23 season (thanks, in large part, to finally staying healthy), but there effectively no stakes. It was encouraging to see him play well (23.2 points on 49.8/38.5/85.1 shooting, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks), but the Washington Wizards were headed nowhere regardless how he played.
His stats could lose some volume, but their significance will be greatly enhanced. If he shines as a third scorer, lights-out shooter and paint protector, he could be the missing piece of Boston’s championship puzzle. But if his old injury issues resurface or he regresses as an on-ball scorer, the Celtics could discover they still haven’t cracked the code.
Since arriving in Boston at the 2022 trade deadline, Derrick White has almost always impressed in a support role.
But Smart’s subtraction changes the assignment for White—and the grading scale attached to it. For the Celtics to trade away their starting point guard and not bring in another guard of that caliber to replace him, clearly they’re comfortable with their incumbents picking up the slack.
Williams will be tasked with that challenge more than anyone. He feels like a lock for both the starting and closing lineups, which means he won’t be able to pick his spots any longer. Boston is counting on consistency from him on both ends, and it doesn’t have much of a backup plan if this doesn’t work. Malcolm Brogdon has struggled with injuries throughout his career, and Payton Pritchard has yet to prove he’s more than a shooting specialist.
White has talent, but he’s carrying more weight than he ever has in his career. His defensive assignments will be more challenging. His offensive responsibilities will be greater. Boston thinks he can handle it—it never would’ve done the Smart deal if it didn’t—but a big chunk of its championship plan hinges on being right in that belief.