Celtics Players Who Have to Elevate Their Game in 2023

Boston Celtics fans, brace yourselves for some nitpicking.

The Shamrocks have been so dominant to start the 2022-23 NBA season that the only way to really criticize this club is to dig deep enough to uncover otherwise unforeseen flaws.

Even amid this skid—five losses in six games entering Wednesday night—there are no obvious cracks in the armor of the defending Eastern Conference champions. There are, however, potential avenues to improvement if the following three players can sharpen their games in the new year.

Malcolm Brogdon

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LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 12: Boston Celtics Guard Malcolm Brogdon (13) shoots a shot during a NBA game between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Clippers on December 12, 2022 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

If your jaw drops at the mention of Malcolm Brogdon as anything other than the perfect missing piece for this club, that's understandable.

Overall, he's been awesome as the spark-plug leader of the second unit. He is mostly an ideal complementary support player. He is never been more accurate from three (45.1 percent) and only twice had a higher field-goal percentage (48.2). His numbers are a bit muted by a reduced role, but his per-36-minutes averages of 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists all fall in line with his career marks, per Basketball-Reference.

So, what's the gripe? Well, among the 10 Celtics who've logged 200-plus minutes, Brogdon has the worst net differential at minus-4.6 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.

Now, that split might most reflect the dominance of Boston's starters, but Brogdon could shrink that gap by offering more resistance on the defensive end. According to Dunks and Threes' defensive estimated plus-minus, Brogdon only lands in the 34th percentile on the game's less glamorous end.

Jaylen Brown

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Boston, MA - December 18: Boston Celtics SG Jaylen Brown reacts to the loss. The Celtics were defeated by the Orlando Magic, 95-92. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

If you scoffed at the mention of Brogdon, you might be livid about anything other than effusive praise for Jaylen Brown.

He's been an All-Star before and will almost certainly be All-Star-bound again. His standing as the second-best player on the league's best team might do the trick. If it doesn't, voters could throw support his way for posting personal-bests of 26.2 points and 7.5 rebounds. His 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals match his previous highs, too.

And yet, Boston has fared 3.0 points better per 100 possessions when Brown isn't on the floor, per NBA.com.

He's a touch leakier than normal at the defensive end, posting the second-highest defensive rating of his career, per Basketball-Reference. He's also shooting a career-worst 33.5 percent from three (he shot 39.7 percent just two seasons back) and committing a career-high 3.2 turnovers. Again, these are mostly minor gripes, but there are areas he could clean up.

Payton Pritchard

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 16: Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics reacts after hitting a three-point basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half at State Farm Arena on November 16, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

For the past two seasons, Payton Pritchard has done nearly everything in his power to fight for more floor time. So, it was a little head-scratching to watch him struggle for a regular rotation role.

Between last season's addition of Derrick White and this summer's trade for Brogdon, minutes figured to be hard to come by for Pritchard—and they have been. His 11.4 minutes per outing would easily be the fewest of his career.

That, alone, isn't the issue here. It's one thing to get squeezed out of a fully loaded backcourt. It's another to fail forcing the issue by underperforming when given the chance to play.

Pritchard is called upon to provide efficient shooting and a pinch of playmaking. He's never looked worse in either role. All three layers of his 38.6/34.0/70 shooting slash are career-lows, and this is the closest that his turnover percentage (13.8) has been to his assist percentage (15.6), per Basketball-Reference.

He looms as a logical trade candidate should the Celtics seek out frontcourt reinforcements, but that's only true if he's done enough to lure interested suitors. His sagging stat sheet can't be helping his trade value.