How Celtics Can Solve Their Biggest Questions as Playoffs Approach
The Boston Celtics have enjoyed a charmed existence for much of the 2022-23 NBA season.
But lately—mere weeks ahead of the postseason's opening tip—the Shamrocks haven't quite been themselves. Entering Wednesday, they've dropped four of their last give games and seen both the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets surpass them in winning percentage.
You won't hear any alarms blaring in Boston, but there are clearly some areas to clean up ahead of the playoffs.
Clean Up Late-Game Execution
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Since the All-Star break, the Celtics have logged a league-high 38 minutes in clutch situations (final five minutes with a margin of five points or less), per NBA.com. They've had an awfully hard time putting anything in the basket during those major moments.
Collectively, Boston has shot just 34.4 percent on clutch field goals and 24.2 percent on clutch threes. The Celtics actually have more clutch fouls (25) than field goals (22) during this stretch.
They can't create separation when they need it most. They have lost these 38 minutes by three points. They've also gone to at least one overtime period in four of their last nine games, losing three of them.
It'd be one thing if a certain player was disproportionately to blame, but these struggles are almost universal. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Grant Williams have all attempted at least five clutch field goals in this stretch, and all are shooting sub-40 percent from the field and sub-30 percent from three.
Find the Right Role for Grant Williams
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Grant Williams' season—a contract year, you may have heard—has been less of a roller coaster than an exciting ascent followed by a single, swift, steep decline.
From October through December, he was connecting on 51.7 percent of his field goals and 44.3 percent of his threes. Ever since the calendar flipped to 2023, though, those conversion rates have plummeted to 38.5 and 36.6, respectively.
The 24-year-old once had a firm grip on a rotation spot, but he was recently benched for a big game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. His suddenly evolving role can't help with trying to rediscover his rhythm. For that matter, neither can the ligament strain in his shooting elbow that The Athletic's Jared Weiss reported he suffered in mid-February.
Boston has to find a way to help Williams snap out of this. The frontcourt rotation doesn't really work without him, and that would be true even with a healthy Robert Williams III manning the middle.
Regain Their Outside Touch
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The three-point shot is a massive part of this offense. Only the Golden State Warriors have fired up more long-range looks than Boston's 42.1 per game.
Since the Celtics have such dynamic off-the-dribble attackers in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Malcolm Brogdon, they're almost unbeatable when the outside shooters are keeping opposing defenses honest. In fact, they've gone a perfect 25-0 when shooting 40-plus percent from three, per StatHead Basketball.
However, Boston's shooters have gone cold of late. The Celtics were the league's seventh-best three-point shooting team before the break, but they've since slipped to 15th. That goes a long way toward explaining how this club fell from third to 17th in offensive efficiency over this same stretch.
Are the Celtics stuck in a fluky cold stretch? Or is this more indicative of the roster they have? Answer that question, and you'll find out how big of a worry Boston's splash rate will be come playoff time.
