Celtics' Way-Too-Early Overreactions After 1st Week of 2023-24 Season
The Boston Celtics may have finally cracked the code.
After continually coming close in recent seasons but never capturing the NBA crown, the Celtics went all-in this offseason and might finally be enroute to winning the jackpot prize.
Boston, which filled out a big four this summer by adding Kristaps Porziņģis and Jrue Holiday to team with incumbent stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, looks unbeatable at the moment. The undefeated Celtics, who blitzed the Indiana Pacers by an absurd 51 points Wednesday night, have trounced the opposition by 20.1 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
They look awesome at the moment, but is what they're doing sustainable? To help answer that question, we'll decipher whether three early takes on this team are overreactions or not.
Kristaps Porziņģis Was This Offseason's Most Impactful Addition
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No matter how high the Celtics set their internal bar for Porziņģis, it's hard to imagine he hasn't cleared it with ease. He has simultaneously improved the offense's spacing and perked it up with his own shot-creation. On defense, he has been an active presence on the glass and an intimidating paint protector.
He has looked like, frankly, the missing piece to Boston's championship puzzle. You could argue his impact on the title race makes him the most significant offseason addition in the entire Association.
Verdict: Overreaction
Look, Porziņģis has been phenomenal, and everything he's doing is sustainable—so long as he stays healthy. If he's upright, he'll make his presence felt on both ends of the floor.
Still, there are too many other candidates for the summer's top addition to label him as such. Between players like Damian Lillard, rookie Victor Wembanyama and even Porziņģis' own teammate, Holiday, there were too many major moves this offseason to think this is the one with the greatest league-wide effect.
The Bench Is Brutal
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While Boston's first five has been tremendous, the second unit has been anything but.
Sam Hauser and Al Horford have sub-40 field-goal percentages. Payton Pritchard has a sub-25 connection rate from three. Al Horford has more turnovers than assists. This looks like a bench group that won't be trustworthy come playoff time.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
Things won't be this bad all season, but you can tell the Shamrocks had limited funds to fill out the roster past the top six. They have scoring specialists, hustlers, shooters and defenders, but few players who bring multiple strengths inside the lines—and almost none who threatens an opposing defense off the dribble.
Horford will help hold things together a bit, but this looks like a reserve unit that should be deployed in staggered sets with multiple starters also on the floor. Luckily, the Celtics happen to start five different players who can elevate the effectiveness of players around them.
Derrick White Is Making a Leap
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In case it wasn't obvious when Boston gave up a first-round pick and a future pick swap to get Derrick White at the 2022 trade deadline, the Celtics are big believers in his game. It's hard to believe they would've done the Marcus Smart deal without having a pretty good idea White had more to his game.
So far, he's making good on that hope. He's averaging a solid 15.8 points with a ridiculous 64.7/57.9/80 shooting slash, plus 4.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals and blocks each. Only Tatum, a perennial MVP candidate, has topped White's plus-18 plus/minus average.
Verdict: Overreaction
Make no mistake, White can be this good. Sure, his shooting rates will fall, but the ability to contribute in all facets on either end of the floor is absolutely in his wheelhouse.
The question is whether he can keep being this good one night after the next. He hasn't to this point at his career. Inconsistency has plagued him, both in terms of his shooting but also his offensive assertiveness. It'll take more than four games of absurdly hot shooting to buy into the idea the 29-year-old is actually taking his game to a new level.
