Big Changes Celtics Must Make to Compete for NBA Championship in the Playoffs

At times during the 2022-23 NBA season, it felt inevitable that the Boston Celtics would capture a championship.

It...uh...doesn't exactly feel that way at the moment.

Entering Wednesday, Boston has gone just 5-5 and posted the 12th-best net rating since the All-Star break, per NBA.com. During this stretch, the Shamrocks have failed to crack the top 10 in efficiency on either end of the floor.

How can the Celtics get back on their title track? Making the following three changes would help.

More Minutes for Malcolm Brogdon

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ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 11: Malcolm Brogdon #13 of the Boston Celtics goes to the basket during the game on March 11, 2023 at State Farm Arena 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)

Malcolm Brogdon has been presumably everything Boston hoped he would be.

His 48.5 field-goal percentage matches the second-highest of his career. His league-leading 45.6 three-point percentage easily outperforms his previous personal-best splash rate. He has more than twice as many assists as turnovers.

There's just one part of his stat line that is a bit of a head-scratcher: His 25.8 minutes per game, or the fewest of his career. He's also only sixth on the team in clutch minutes—the final five minutes with a scoring margin of five points or less—despite being a 58.8/50/93.8 shooter in those situations, per NBA.com.

Is this really all that Boston wants out of its $22.6 million player? For a team that can have trouble with focus, effort and execution, you'd think it would want an on-court leader like Brogdon to get as much floor time as possible.

Cut into Marcus Smart's Floor Time

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CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 06: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics brings the ball up court during the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 06, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Marcus Smart has been Boston's emotional leader since shortly after his arrival as the No. 6 pick of the 2014 draft. He's been their starting point guard since last season.

Cutting into his court time would be an uncomfortable conversation, but it's probably one Boston needs to have anyway.

He simply hasn't been the same since returning from an 11-game absence with a sprained ankle. Prior to that point, he was averaging 7.2 assists and shooting 42.2 percent from the field. Since then, though, he's down to just 3.8 assists and 37.9 percent shooting.

He has shot worse than 34 percent in four of his last five outings. He had as many or more turnovers as assists in three of those five games. Boston has too much guard depth to deal with production this poor.

Get Grant Williams Back in the Rotation

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CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 06: Grant Williams #12 of the Boston Celtics waits for a free throw during the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 06, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Grant Williams has often been an indispensable piece of Boston's rotation for most of this season and last.

However, with his shooting in a funk and his elbow hurting, he suddenly is no longer guaranteed to even make it off the bench. He has been left on the bench in two of the team's last eight games and only topped 18 minutes once in this stretch.

While players have to earn their minutes, Boston has to give him a better opportunity. The Celtics simply don't have the frontcourt depth—with or without a healthy Robert Williams III—to leave Grant Williams on the bench.

Playoff opponents will game-plan Blake Griffin, Mike Muscala or Luke Kornet off the floor in a hurry. Grant Williams won't suffer the same fate. It would help if his shooting perked back up, obviously, but he can hold his own defensively and find other ways to contribute on offense. He is too important to this team's championship formula to leave him stranded on the sideline.