With the Boston Celtics widely seen as at worst among the favorites to win the NBA’s 2024 championship if not THE favorite to win it all, a lot is riding on how this season plays out for several heavy-minutes players on the Celtics’ roster.
And while the impact of subpar play may weigh heavier on some of the team’s fringier players in terms of their future with the ball club and in the league, other players shoulder a far greater load, their performance potentially affecting the futures of not only their careers but their teammates as well. Bleacher Report’s Adam Fromal identified three such players on every team in the league earlier this month.
Let’s take a look at the Celtics he sees as having the most to prove in 2023-24.
New episode of the @CelticsLab Podcast ☘️🧪🎧@SouichiTerada helps us sort through all of the over/under win totals from around the NBA for 2023-24
Sponsored by: @FDSportsbook https://t.co/noBOCWHtjS
— Dr. Justin Quinn (@justinquinnn) October 20, 2023
Jayson Tatum
“Jayson Tatum is unquestionably one of the 10 best players in basketball, but he’s dangerously close to developing a—largely undeserved—reputation for regular-season excellence followed by premature postseason exits,” suggests Fromal.
“Since Tatum arrived in (Boston), he’s experienced three losses in the Eastern Conference Finals, one disappointing outcome in the NBA Finals, and two playoff trips that fell short of the penultimate stage. Fantastic as he’s been individually, that empty ring finger only grows more prominent with the passage of time.”
Jaylen Brown
“This isn’t even about Jaylen Brown struggling to create high-quality looks off the bounce,” writes the B/R analyst. “It’s just about his massive contract.”
“When he agreed to a record five-year, $303.7 million supermax extension in July, he ratcheted up the pressure he’ll face on a nightly basis to come through not just as a celestial companion for Tatum but also as a do-it-yourself superstar.”
Kristaps Porzingis
“The Celtics didn’t exactly empty the coffers to land Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards (their part of the three-team deal sent Marcus Smart, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and Julian Phillips out for Porzingis, Marcus Sasser, and a 2024 first-rounder),” observes Fromal.
“However, the Latvian 7-footer needs to be the piece capable of helping Boston end a title drought that stretches back to Kevin Garnett’s impassioned screams in ’08.”
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
