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Boston Celtics review 2023-24. New culture, rotation, comparison, player efficiency, and prediction

Throughout the years, the Boston Celtics have always paid attention to equality. Boston drafted the first African American Player, employed the first African American Coach, and played the first all-black starting five. As we cited, the Celtics have won a record 17 NBA Championships.

What makes this even more remarkable is that they won the NBA title in eight straight seasons, from 1959 to 1966. However, their most recent victory was a long time ago, in 2008. Furthermore, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame consists of more than forty (41) former Celtics players, management, coaches, or staff.

Table of Contents

Boston Celtics Review 2023-24 – New Culture

Boston has one of the best rosters in the league, and their super starting lineup is not the only weapon they have. Since Joe Mazzulla joined the Celtics, many things have changed. He pays a lot of attention to the team’s intensity in practice, gives the second unit a chance to thrive and makes the starting lineup work harder.

Jayson Tatum described the intensity of the practices in such a manner – “Training routine has been hard as c#@p, I am not going to lie,” Tatum said. “We have had some two-a-days. However, it’s been good. Two-a-days, sometimes comprehended as the week of hell, is a term in sports to describe a practice that ensues twice a day – in the morning and in the afternoon or evening.

The Celtics record under J. Mazzulla last year was 57-25. On the 16th of February 2023, J. Mazzulla became the 19th Head Coach in Celtics history after replacing Ime Udoka. Many thought his inexperience could cause uneasiness about his readiness, and it sure did. However, the way J. Tatum and the rest of the squad supports him, it is clear that he has a voice in the locker room. Joe’s grandest advantage was his knowledge of the Boston culture. Also, it was not his first season working in the Celtics organization.

2019–2022 Boston Celtics (assistant)
2022–2023 Boston Celtics (interim head coach)
2023–now Boston Celtics (head coach)

Boston Celtics Review 2023-24 – Rotation

Boston has a much more dangerous rotation than in the previous few seasons. Kristaps “Unicorn” Porzingis and Jrue “The True” Holiday joined the crew, and new signings boosted the offensive element. Nevertheless, such losses as Malcolm Brogdon (BOS to POR), Grant Willimas (BOS to DAL), or Marcus Smart (BOS to MEM) are huge, but it looks like the Celtics play like they did not lose anything.

That is the current rotational situation in the Boston team:

PG – Jrue Holiday (PP), Payton Pritchard (PP), Derrick White (SP)
SG – Derrick White (PP), Jaylen Brown (PP), Jrue Holiday (SP)
SF – Jaylen Brown (SP), Jayson Tatum (PP), Sam Hauser (PP)
PF – Jayson Tatum (SP), Al Horford (PP), Kristaps Porzingis (PP)
C – Kristaps Porzingis (SP), Luke Kornet (PP), Al Horford (SP)

PP – Primary Position

SP – Secondary Position

Last year and before these changes, after the first 44 matches, the Celtics had a similar record of thirty-two wins and twelve losses (34/12). This digit has improved slightly this year, with thirty-four wins and ten losses (34/10).

Boston Celtics Review 2023-24 – Comparison

The comparison aspect also gives us more intel about the current possibilities of the Celtics team. This comparison section will cover both point guards – former and current.

Boston Celtics Review 2023-24 – Marcus Smart vs Jrue Holiday

Instead of a DPOY calibre player in M. Smart, the Celtics got themselves the 2021 NBA Champion J. Holiday. Jrue is also a defensive-minded player, and he adds more playmaking and shooting. To prove that, let us take a look at some statistics.

M. Smart averages 4,66 assists per game in his career, while the new Boston point guard averages 6,41. Nonetheless, defensively, they are both similar. M. Smart has 3 All-Defensive Team nominations and 1x DPOY award. J. Holiday never won the DPOY award but has 5 All-Defensive Team nominations. Shooting-wise, the stats look like this.

M. Smart’s and J. Holiday’s career comparison:

FG – 30,54% / FG – 45,98%
3pt – 31,93% / 3pt – 37,22%
FT – 77,03% / FT – 78,80%

Marcus Smart FG < 15,44% > FG Jrue Holiday

Marcus Smart 3pt < 5,29% > 3pt Jrue Holiday

Marcus Smart FT < 1,77% > FT Jrue Holiday

– shows that the player’s sums or percentages are lower.

– shows that the player’s sums or percentages are higher.

Boston Celtics Review 2023-24 – Robert Williams III vs Kristaps Porzingis

The situation is this. Robert Williams III was a solid centre with good defensive and rebounding abilities. The Celtics made a bold move when they traded for Jrue Holiday, which is outlandish. However, they lost a promising young centre in R. Williams III, M. Brogdon and two first-round picks.

But every basketball fan still cited that K. Porzingis will always be a better choice. The Boston Celtics have acquired the Latvian international from Washington. As part of the transaction, Memphis received guard Marcus Smart from Boston, and Washington obtained guard Tyus Jones from Memphis and forwards Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, in addition to the draft rights to the 35th overall pick in 2023 from Boston.

There is no need to compare the defensive capabilities because R. William’s biggest strength is his defence. He is only a one-time All-Defensive Team member, but after he comes back from his successful surgery to reconstruct a torn ligament in his right knee, he must be a solid defensive powerhouse for the Blazers. On the other hand, K. Porzingis is dominant offensively.

Let us review the defensive side of the spectrum to understand who has a more splendid impact.

R. Williams III’s and K. Porzingis’s career comparison:

REB – 6,33 / REB – 7,93
OFF REB – 2,25 / OFF REB – 1,81
DEF REB – 4,1 / DEF REB – 6,13
STL – 0,76 / STL – 0,71

Robert Williams III REB < 1,6 > REB Kristaps Porzingis

Robert Williams III OFF REB > 0,44 < OFF REB Kristaps Porzingis

Robert Williams III DEF REB < 2,03 > DEF REB Kristaps Porzingis

Robert Williams III STL > 0,05 < STL Kristaps Porzingis

– shows that the player’s sums or percentages are lower.

– shows that the player’s sums or percentages are higher.

It is a standoff, 2-2, but it is time to compare the offensive intel. We will not exclude 3pt because it is the player’s choice whether he chooses to shoot them or not.

FG – 71,51% / FG – 46,21%
3pt – 0% / 3pt – 35,08%
FT – 66,21% / FT – 83,62%

Robert Williams III FG > 25,3% < FG Kristaps Porzingis

Robert Williams III 3pt < 35,08% > 3pt Kristaps Porzingis

Robert Williams III FT < 17,41% > FT Kristaps Porzingis

– shows that the player’s sums or percentages are lower.

– shows that the player’s sums or percentages are higher.

Boston Celtics Review 2023-24 – Player Efficiency

The player efficiency table shows how much the players improved compared to last season. Player efficiency consists of three elements: points, rebounds, and assists. We will use a twelve-man rotation.

Jayson Tatum

PTS – 27.0 (2023-24) / PTS – 30.1 (2022-23) -(-3,1)
REB – 8.4 (2023-24) / REB – 8.8 (2022-23) -(-0,4)
AST – 4.4 (2023-24) / AST – 4.6 (2022-23) -(-0,2)

Jaylen Brown

PTS – 23.1 (2023-24) / PTS – 26.6 (2022-23) -(-3,5)
REB – 5.2 (2023-24) / REB – 6.9 (2022-23) -(-1,7)
AST – 3.6 (2023-24) / AST – 3.5 (2022-23) -(+0,1)

Kristaps Porzingis

PTS – 19.5 (2023-24) / PTS – 23.2 (2022-23) -(-3,7)
REB – 6.8 (2023-24) / REB – 8.4 (2022-23) -(-1,6)
AST – 2.0 (2023-24) / AST – 2.7 (2022-23) -(-0,7)

Jrue Holiday

PTS – 13.2 (2023-24) / PTS – 19.3 (2022-23) -(-6,1)
REB – 6.2 (2023-24) / REB – 5.1 (2022-23) -(+1,1)
AST – 4.6 (2023-24) / AST – 7.4 (2022-23) -(-2,8)

Derrick White

PTS – 16.0 (2023-24) / PTS – 12.4 (2022-23)-(+3,6)
REB – 4.1 (2023-24) / REB – 3.6 (2022-23) -(+0,5)
AST – 4.8 (2023-24) / AST – 3.9 (2022-23) -(+0,9)

Al Horford

PTS – 7.9 (2023-24) / PTS – 9.8 (2022-23) -(-1,9)
REB – 6.9 (2023-24) / REB – 6.2 (2022-23) -(+0,7)
AST – 2.8 (2023-24) / AST – 3.0 (2022-23) -(-0,2)

Payton Pritchard

PTS – 7.8 (2023-24) / PTS – 5.6 (2022-23)-(+2,2)
REB – 3.3 (2023-24) / REB – 1.8 (2022-23) -(+1,5)
AST – 3.0 (2023-24) / AST – 1.3 (2022-23) -(+1,7)

Sam Hauser

PTS – 8.1 (2023-24) / PTS – 6.4 (2022-23)-(+1,7)
REB – 3.7 (2023-24) / REB – 2.6 (2022-23) -(+1,1)
AST – 1.0 (2023-24) / AST – 0.9 (2022-23) -(+0,1)

Luke Kornet

PTS – 4.9 (2023-24) / PTS – 3.8 (2022-23)-(+1,1)
REB – 3.8 (2023-24) / REB – 2.9 (2022-23) -(+0,9)
AST – 0.9 (2023-24) / AST – 0.8 (2022-23) -(+0,1)

Svi Mykhailiuk

PTS – 2.3 (2023-24) / PTS – 10.6 (2022-23) -(-8,3)
REB – 0.9 (2023-24) / REB – 2.4 (2022-23) -(-1,5)
AST – 0.3 (2023-24) / AST – 2.7 (2022-23) -(-2,4)

Neemias Queta

PTS – 4.6 (2023-24) / PTS – 2.4 (2022-23)-(+2,2)
REB – 4.6 (2023-24) / REB – 2.2 (2022-23) -(+2,4)
AST – 0.4 (2023-24) / AST – 0.2 (2022-23) -(+0,2)

Lamar Stevens

PTS – 2.4 (2023-24) / PTS – 5.3 (2022-23) -(-2,9)
REB – 1.4 (2023-24) / REB – 3.3 (2022-23) -(-1,9)
AST – 0.4 (2023-24) / AST – 0.5 (2022-23) -(-0,1)

Boston Celtics Review 2023-24 – Conclusion & Prediction

According to our data, the Boston Celtics team is on the right track. Leaders do not reach their average norms, but all the rotational players have improved their stability and efficiency. The more guys step up, the more energy the main players will have during the regular season.

Five players out of 12 improved all their main basketball statistics – which is absolutely crazy. Four players, including two superstars – J. Tatum and K. Porzingis, have decreased in every department. However, this is not a problem for them because the goal should be to win the whole thing and not to collect individual awards.

We can notice these positive characteristics:

They improved their record.
New signings were logical and helped the team.
Derrick White enhanced every department.
Lower-rank players have stepped up their game.
More dangerous offensively.
The coach has time to prepare the team for the playoffs.

We can notice these negative characteristics:

Not as physical in the centre position as before.
From a points standpoint – superstars have diminished their stats, even though it should not be that meaningful.

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