Sports
Power Ranking Celtics' Roster Entering 2023-24 NBA Season – Bleacher Report
The Boston Celtics will enter the 2023-24 season with one of the NBA’s deepest, most talented rosters.
But how do the individual components of that roster compare to one another?
We’ll tackle that question power-ranking style by evaluating each of the 14 players on NBA contracts by ability, projected production and overall value to the team.
14. Svi Mykhailiuk
Boston’s most recent addition holds theoretical value as a floor-spacer, but his three-point shooting is too erratic—two seasons north of 40 percent shooting, three south of 34—for someone who brings little else to the table.
13. Luke Kornet
Kornet counts length and awareness among his greatest strengths, but for a 7’2″ center, he is lacking in the rebounding and finishing departments.
12. Dalton Banton
If Banton had a go-to offensive skill in the half-court game, he might jump a few spots just for how disruptive he can be as a 6’9″ head of the snake on defense. Since he doesn’t, he lands here due to some severe shooting limitations.
11. Jordan Walsh
Run this exercise after this season, and Walsh could be the highest climber on the roster. For now, though, he is a second-round rookie who might be too raw on offense to handle any meaningful minutes.
10. Payton Pritchard
Is Pritchard a 6’1″ shooting specialist, or is he a lead guard with a potent perimeter shot? New vacancies in the backcourt (i.e., the subtraction of Marcus Smart) should give Pritchard the chance to finally show what he can do in a regular role.
9. Oshae Brissett
Brissett’s motor and defensive versatility seem slightly more valuable than Pritchard’s shooting, but it’s close. Brissett desperately needs to find more offense than he had last season, when he averaged just 6.1 points per game on 38.6 percent shooting.
8. Sam Hauser
Hauser is a 6’8″ wing who has splashed 42 percent of his long-range looks across two NBA seasons. That’ll play in the modern game. To expand his role, though, he must diversify his offense a bit and prove he can consistently hold on up on defense.
7. Malcolm Brogdon
Brogdon sitting in the No. 7 spot might be the best evidence of Boston’s depth. He might start on a dozen other teams, but on the Celtics, he’s a super sixth man. Availability has increasingly been an issue, but when he plays, he brings solid defense, good-to-great shooting and sound decision-making.
6. Al Horford
Horford is fending off the aging process about as well as a 37-year-old pro hooper can. He isn’t quite as nimble or explosive at either end, but he remains supremely skilled and incredibly smart. There aren’t a lot of players who can match his combination of interior defense, offensive playmaking and outside shooting.
5. Robert Williams III
Promise Williams a clean bill of health, and he’d be locked into the top four with a non-zero chance of getting to No. 3. But since you can’t overlook his injury history—fewer than 40 games in three of five seasons—this is as bullish as you can be about the defensive playmaker.
4. Derrick White
Expectations are sky-high for White, who should get every opportunity to prove he can fill Marcus Smart’s shoes. White’s game has few holes, but Boston is relying on him to take his offensive output to a level he has never reached.
3. Kristaps Porziņģis
A healthy Porziņģis is a full-fledged difference-maker. Now, he isn’t always healthy, of course, but if he approaches the 65 games he played last season, he won’t have trouble cementing himself as Boston’s third-best player. He not only offers the unicorn blend of shot-blocking and perimeter shooting, he has also improved his off-the-dribble scoring.
2. Jaylen Brown
The recent recipient of the richest contract in NBA history might be barricaded behind Boston’s No. 1 player—who just might ink an even fatter deal next summer—but he is a no-brainer choice for No. 2. Sure, he could use tighter handles and better playmaking, but he is a legitimate three-level scorer with enough on-ball ability on defense to tackle multiple assignments.
1. Jayson Tatum
It is frightening—at least for the other 29 teams—to think Tatum could still take his game to a higher level, but at 25 years old, there’s a real chance we haven’t seen his best yet. And that’s saying plenty, since he’s been a top-six finisher in MVP voting each of the past two seasons.
