Bring in the patio furniture and tape the windows. The Celtics are loaded for bear.
Just before the start of Week 4 of the NFL season yesterday, football at least temporarily went poof. News broke that the Celtics had acquired guard Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers for a package including guard Malcolm Brogdon, center Robert Williams III, and a pair of first-round draft picks (in 2024 and 2029).
Just like the Milwaukee Bucks’ acquisition of Damian Lillard created a ripple effect that sent Holiday to Boston, as surefire a sign as any that the NBA Eastern Conference is now officially an arms race.
Lillard, remember, wouldn’t come to Boston.
Thankfully, Holiday would – and with a chip undoubtedly resting on his shoulder after helping the Bucks win the 2021 NBA title.
Translation: This is going to get good.
Now, let’s make something clear here: if and when Milwaukee and Boston meet in the playoffs – and let’s hope they do – Milwaukee will have two of three best players in the series in Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. But the Celtics might very well have the next three in Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and, now, Holiday.
Last week, immediately after the Lillard trade, Milwaukee became the odds-on favorite to win the NBA title. Yesterday, our friends at the DraftKings Sportsbook had the Celtics and Bucks tied atop the list of all NBA contenders. In between now and then, chances are those odds will fluctuate – especially during the NBA trade deadline and buyout window.
Does that make this deal a slam dunk for the Celtics? Not necessarily. There are pluses and minuses to every deal, which we’ll explore briefly here.
But make no mistake.
Boston is going all in on the 2023-24 season. Yes, the Celtics are loaded.
Holiday is a great fit for just about any contender
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 15: Jrue Holiday #21 of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket against the Boston Celtics during the third quarter in Game Seven of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals at TD Garden on May 15, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Effectively, Holiday will replace Marcus Smart, but the shuffling of bodies for the Celtics really has been about so much more. Since the end of last season, the Celtics have discarded Smart, Grant Williams, Robert Williams and Brogdon for Porzingis and, now, Holiday. Boston got the two best players in the deal, horses for the proverbial ponies.
One longtime NBA evaluator described Holiday with the following message: “High character, great defender, clutch. He’s not a true point guard but doesn’t need to be. He will also be a massive help for Joe [Mazzulla, the Celtics coach] in the locker room. Will always say what needs to be said, to whom it needs to be said to.”
If this sounds like Holiday is a leader, however, it raises some questions about the Celtics’ motives.
Could this affect the dynamic for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as leaders?
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – MAY 05: Jayson Tatum #0 and Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics celebrate against the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter in game three of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 05, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
At this stage, it’s an entirely fair question. Part of the appeal of dealing away Smart was to clear the path for Tatum and Brown – in that order – to fully grow as superstars and leaders. That simply wasn’t going to happen as long as they had to share space with Smart, who preceded them in the birth order.
Does that affect the dynamic with regard to Tatum and Brown? Or, because Holiday is a newcomer who already has a championship under his belt, does he become more like Al Horford, whose role in the locker room feels more like that of a senior advisor?
Speaking of Horford …
Does the departure of Robert Williams leave the Celtics short in the frontcourt?
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 19: Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat shoots over Robert Williams III #44 of the Boston Celtics during the first quarter in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 19, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Perhaps. Williams became a defensive force during the 2022-23 season, but it felt like he regressed some last season on the defensive end while his offensive game remained virtually nonexistent.
There is also the matter of Williams’ history of injuries and unavailability, which limited him to 35 games last season. Still, between the aged Horford and the brittle Porzingis, the Celtics have remaining questions about the durability of their frontcourt.
If Horford and Porzingis are both healthy, the former can still defend and the latter can block shots and serve as a sizable obstacle on the perimeter and in the paint, but their health is hardly guaranteed.
Who will start? More importantly, who will finish?
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – MAY 11: Malcolm Brogdon #13, Jaylen Brown #7, Jayson Tatum #0, Al Horford #42 and Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics talk against the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter in game six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 11, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
With the departure of Smart, the combinations for the Celtics suddenly get much less worrisome – and potentially much clearer. Certainly, Horford could still factor in depending on matchups, but Boston’s best five feels like Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday and Derrick White.
One thing to keep an eye on? Ball handling under pressure. This has been a problem for the Celtics in past postseason, particularly when the offense ran through Tatum and Brown.
How Holiday affects that dynamic remains to be seen, but the Celtics may now have the single best lineup in the NBA when fully healthy. That definitely counts for something.
Have the Celtics sacrificed too much defensively?
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 11: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the Washington Wizards defends against Bennedict Mathurin #00 of the Indiana Pacers in the second quarter at Capital One Arena on February 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Remember, the Celtics didn’t lose to the Miami Heat last year because they lacked talent. They lost because they lacked poise.
There seemed to be locker room division about the team’s identity change from that of a suffocating defense to bombs-away offense, and we all know that any championship team needs to be both. Smart, Robert Williams and Grant Williams were all good, versatile defenders, though all three came with offensive limitations.
The new Celtics certainly have capable defenders – none among Tatum, Brown, Holiday, White, Horford and Porzingis qualify as defensive liabilities – but the team now feels like more of a scoring team than a defending team.
In the playoffs, of course, they’ll have to do both.
