New Year’s resolutions for the Boston Celtics (Part 1)

December is over and a busy year is coming to an end. boston celtics basketball.From a stunning midseason turnaround NBA Finals Heartbroken to a red-hot start to the Revenge Tour, 2022 has brought it all to the Celtics and their fans. The rest of the average Joe has plans to eat better and hit the gym, so see if you can set some goals for each member of your team as you turn the page. Let’s. In 2023.

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JD Davison: Developing an NBA-Level Jumper

Davison is effectively the default and the best prospect on the Celtics roster at the moment. A 6-foot-3 hyper-athlete in the point guard position with a penchant for bold dunks and some quality playmaking chops, he’s the kind of player it’s easy to dream of becoming a future NBA contributor. is.

But before Davison is ready to help the NBA roster, there’s work to be done. That means he needs to develop his jump shot. As we’ve seen time and time again, it’s difficult for a guard to have success without a fairly reliable jumper, and shooting remains the biggest hole in Davison’s game. With only a 30% percentage, he now has nearly the same record from NBA distance in the G League.

Davison is far from contributing to the Celtics or any other organization. Thankfully, he gets the rare opportunity to hone his skills with reps on a regular basis in Maine. Flesh out a viable jumper should be at the top of the list.

Mfiondu Kabengele, Justin Jackson: Ready

It may not be the most exciting task, but for players like Kabengele and Jackson, the most valuable attribute it brings to this Celtics roster is preparation. He made just one NBA game while spending most of the season with the G League Celtics. Jackson, meanwhile, sits at the back of the big league team’s bench, limiting his short garbage-time appearances to just 14 so far. Even when completely or almost completely healthy, the Celtics have no room to play.

Both have one advantage. It’s about being a little more veteran than your average benched NBA player. In offseason acquisitions, Brad Stevens and his office at the front have prioritized journeyman players who have some experience at the NBA level and are in their athletic prime. Boasting his 269 NBA appearances (61 starts) at the age of 27, Jackson fits that bill. Two years younger, Kabengele hasn’t played much (52 games, zero starts), but he’s been in the NBA system for four years, and the last two he’s spent a lot of time in his league. I’ve been through In other words, they are both slightly known quantities, which can be an advantage in terms of depth.

The Celtics could very well be in bigger trouble if either were forced into a bigger role. The best thing you can do right now is prepare for when that moment comes.

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Noah Vonley: Bringing another skill to the table

After making a bit of a buzz in the offseason as one of Stevens’ revival project acquisitions, Vonley quickly slipped out of the mix in Boston’s rotation. Since the start of the regular season, he’s largely resigned behind the bench, with Blake Griffin and Luke Cornette playing reserve frontcourt minutes after the core piece (especially before the return of Robert Williams III). has received many of the

What’s the difference between Vonley and that big guy? Versatility. Neither are optimal 30-minute-a-night players, but they’ve carved out a useful niche that buys them time on the court. Griffin is a crafty veteran who fits right in on the offense, knocks down threes, moves the basketball, and delivers size and toughness.Cornette, on the other hand, is a giant, with rim protection values ​​and his signature unconventional shot contest It helps him contribute to the defensive side of the court.

Vonley needs to find his niche. He’s a big, tough rebounder, but there are a dozen players like that, and he doesn’t really stand out enough to warrant a lot of playing time. Doing could go a long way in getting him back on the court. One possibility: A practical 3-pointer that he flashed from time to time (admittedly at low volume) since his one-off season in Indiana It’s about piecing shots together.

Payton Pritchard: Improve your scoring ability

For the Celtics third-year guard, this might be easier said than done. You can only expect so much growth from a player playing such an inconsistent role within a team. With the trio of Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White healthy, there’s no room for Pritchard to see the court regularly. Finding rhythm in such situations is understandably difficult.

That said, opportunity or not, it’s safe to say that we haven’t seen Pritchard at his best this season too often. He set career lows from across the floor, including his 33% mark from behind the arc, which is well behind his 40%-plus rate in each of his first two years. doing. Except in mid-November, when he averaged his 10 points per game on 57% shots from the field in four straight games, he hasn’t moved the needle as an offensive presence this year. . A petite guard with an inherent cap on defense.

Pritchard has had an unusual experience compared to most first-round picks in the NBA. He quickly excelled as a rookie, but as the team’s rapid growth and hopes of an increasingly imminent championship kept him out of rotation spots, his playing time became less and less in his young NBA career. It’s possible, but unlikely, that the best basketball player of his career won’t come to the Celtics. That said, all he can do now is make the most of the status quo, and returning to the level he’s accustomed to as an offensive presence will give him the chance to contribute as the regular season progresses.

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Sam Hauser: overcoming a slump

With his rise to full-time rotation player status, Sam Hauser inevitably faced one of the realities of playing regularly in the NBA.

December was a tough month for a 25-year-old. In 14 appearances, he shot just 33% from the field, including a 28% mark from behind the three-point arc. Generally acquitted himself on the defense, even in the face of increased attention from opposing attacks.

But these three are important. His three-point shooting is his NBA skill par excellence, and while he’s not useless in other aspects of the game, it’s his ability to break through defenses from long range that makes him stand out on the court. The Celtics need him knocking down those threes to maximize his utility on the court. This 28% shooting version of him is pretty hard to justify.

Hauser has a long track record of success as a sniper. He has had success as a three-pointer his shooter at every level, making his 44% of his 3-pointers a fair amount in his four-year starter career in college. It’s a testament to his skill that even after a full month of underperformance as a shooter, he’s still connecting in his 40% of his year’s three-shots.

There is no reason to think his poor December was more than cold. It’s up to Hauser to find the reset button and start 2023 better than its predecessor.

Blake Griffin: Keeping Old Bones Fresh

One of the most pleasant surprises of the first half of the season was the signing of Griffin late in the offseason to fill the void left by Robert Williams III’s recovery from knee surgery. Interim coach Joe Mazzura, a true protégé of Brad Stevens, placed Griffin on a part-time basis in case he wanted to keep the team’s rotation. Does Al Horford need a night off on his second night in a row?He’s started eight games this season, six of which he’s just plugging in for the Celtics-winning Griffin.

Griffin’s agenda for 2023 might be simple: keep doing what you’re doing. He’s carved out a huge niche for himself as a part-time rotation his player, stepping up and filling holes in the lineup without overdoing it in the process. He shoots 50% from the field, 63% of which he shoots at the rim (with 3 dunks!). Age and a long history of injuries ended Griffin’s days as an NBA star, but this newly reborn version showed he could contribute to winning basketball.

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Luke Cornette: Can you rediscover the 3-point shot?

Like Griffin, Kornet has done a nice little job as a big reserve for this team. Mazura and the Celtics have crafted the best season of his career from inside the arc, as his 2-point shooting percentage this year is nearly 70% of his (with a tiny sample size, of course). defender.

But I’ve always (perhaps overly) been intrigued by Kornet’s potential as a shooter. Spent two NBA seasons as a near-average three-point shooter with solid volume in unlucky numbers. new york knicks team. Perhaps the jumper was a little too long to be a realistic hope, but Daniel Theiss’ level of “you can knock it down if you leave it open” feels like it could be achieved with something jumbo-sized.

That concludes Part 1 of the Celtics New Year’s Resolutions. Back in 2023, we’re talking about the core rotation of the team. In the meantime, what do you think the Celtics reserves should be working on in the second half of the season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.