Celtics' Blueprint to Make Deep Run in 2024 NBA Playoffs
When the 2024 NBA playoffs arrive, the Boston Celtics should enter it as championship favorites.
They've earned that distinction with their best-in-basketball performance this season.
Of course, they've also learned in recent years that being on-paper favorites guarantees nothing. The Celtics seldom have trouble engineering a lengthy playoff run, but punctuating said trip with a title is a puzzle this core has yet to solve.
Could this be the season when that finally changes? Absolutely. For that to happen, though, the Celtics need to follow this three-step path to the championship podium.
Consistent Outside Shooting
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Talking heads can debate whether Boston is too reliant on the three-ball, but that chatter won't change this club's approach. The Celtics have shown an extreme adherence to the let-it-fly mentality, firing up more than three long-range looks per night than the next closest team in the category (42.6, compared to the Dallas Mavericks' 39.5, entering Wednesday night).
As one should expect, then, the accuracy of these outside looks goes a long way toward determining this group's fate. The Celtics have shot a scorching-hot 40.8 percent from the perimeter in their wins, but in their losses, that connection rate plummets to a frigid 31.8 percent.
Now, considering this club wins nearly 80 percent of its games, those deep-distance shots clearly find their mark more often than not. Should Boston ever stumble into a cold spell, though, its title dreams would be dashed in a hurry.
No one leans on the long-ball heavier than this bunch, so lights-out shooting is a must when building the Shamrocks' championship blueprint.
Keep Kristaps Porziņģis on the Court
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Credit the Celtics' front office for correctly gauging how much a healthy Kristaps Porziņģis could impact this club.
The shot-blocking, sweet-shooting big man has masterfully transitioned to this team and essentially made it almost unstoppable. Of the Celtics' 11-most utilized trios, per NBA.com, Porziņģis is a part of their three most efficient:
- Porziņģis, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White: 123.2 offensive rating, 108.1 defensive rating, plus-15.1 net rating
- Porziņģis, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White: 124.0 offensive rating, 109.3 defensive rating, plus-14.7 net rating
- Porziņģis, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown: 121.5 offensive rating, 109.6 defensive rating, plus-11.9 net rating
Clearly, Porziņģis has already become an integral part of this team, which could put his lengthy injury history under the microscope. The 7'2", 240-pounder has only reached the 70-game mark once in his nine-year career, and his appearance total has often landed well short of that.
He has held up relatively well this season, but that wouldn't be said for most players who've already missed 21 contests. The hope, though, is that his number of absences doesn't climb much farther, because it's virtually impossible to plot a championship path for Boston that doesn't have him heavily featured in it.
Come Through in the Clutch
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On the surface, it feels funny to suggest that crunch-time moments are remotely worrisome for this group when it's been among the Association's best clutch teams this season.
The Celtics have gone into clutch situations—final five minutes with a scoring margin of five points or less—30 times this season and come out of them with 20 wins and a dominant plus-20.4 net rating. In a vacuum, it'd be tough to even nitpick those numbers.
But franchises don't exist in a vacuum, of course. Past performances don't automatically escape our minds, so it's fair to wonder whether Boston's ability to hold up in nail-biters will continue when they've previously stumbled in major moments.
The Celtics have too often stagnated under the spotlight. Their ball movement ceases to exist, and they run isolation plays as if that's the only call in their playbook. If Boston reverts to those bad habits at literally the least opportune times, the Celtics could once again become their own worst enemies.
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