The Celtics have won four straight games without starting center Kristaps Porzingis and look to be cruising towards clinching the No. 1 seed in the East in the next two weeks. There aren’t many tough issues for Joe Mazzulla to tackle right now but it’s not too early to start looking ahead to the postseason in this week’s mailbag. If you have questions about the Celtics or NBA, email brobb@masslive.com or tweet @briantrobb
In your estimation, which Celtics player has been in a slump funk and needs to step up his game for the rest of the season and playoffs? — Ed H
It’s an interesting question that honestly left me stumped at first. On a team that has won 15 of their last 17 games, is there a single player that is slumping in that tretch? Or even just playing below expectations of late? I pulled up the splits since the All-Star Break to find out and was just blown away by how good everyone is playing. Incredibly, every single Celtics rotation player except for Payton Pritchard is shooting 40 percent or better from 3-point range since the All-Star Break (last 11 games). That’s just phenomenal balance and consistency.
So I guess if we really want to nitpick here, Payton Pritchard (35 percent shooting from 3 during that stretch) could pick it up a little bit, but that’s quite the stretch. This team is just an absolute force on offense right now and it’s why they are blowing most teams away with ease.
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Still have 1 roster spot available. who would be the best fit for what may be needed come postseason? — JLK
Howdy B Robb how is your Friday going? Do you see any free agents available that the Celtics could bring in on a ten day deal? — Carlo
It’s a wait-and-see game right now with the 15th roster spot. The Celtics are rolling obviously with four straight wins and a healthy squad outside of a minor injury for Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring strain) that has sidelined him for the past week. Seeing that adding any player to the roster right now will cost Boston’s ownership lots more in luxury tax penalties, there’s just no urgency to fill the slot.
The likely move right now for the Celtics is to play the waiting game. There’s no need to add bodies to rest guys so keeping an open slot makes sense so the team can adjust if a significant injury pops up in a certain part of the roster in the next few weeks. Given the lack of appealing names available on the buyout market right now, the team may bring aboard a younger player they like (with a contract that goes into next season) if there are no glaring needs to address. The only intriguing thing now is whether Boston will sign their 15th man right before the end of the regular season or a couple of weeks before to get them better acclimated to the roster. That won’t be necessary though if an in-house option (Neemias Queta?) ends up being the choice.
Hello Brian. When should they start resting their main guys? Should they get Walsh & JD Davison some run to end the year? Should the Jays only play the games against the bucks/enough to get their all nba/defense? — TruthFastino
The rest will probably start this week with five games in seven days looming. I’d be stunned if anyone in the rotation plays all five games of that brutal stretch. Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis will certainly be locks to sit out parts of the back-to-back (if Porzingis is even back yet). I don’t expect any real run for the young guys like Jordan Walsh or JD Davison until the team has homecourt advantage sewn up for the entire playoffs. Until then, look for Joe Mazzulla to stick with his top 10 or 11 guys, giving more run to Oshae Brissett or Svi Mykhailiuk if there are a few rotation players getting the night off.
Jayson Tatum hates to sit out games and hasn’t played under 74 games during a full season in his entire career, an impressive tribute to his durability. However, I’d expect him to get below that number this year with Boston expected to play potentially 8-10 meaningless games for the standings. Jaylen Brown has been more beat up on the injury front with some back issues so he will get some nights off or at least lighter minutes nights. Both guys will certainly want to keep their stamina up though so don’t look for any lengthy absences for either guy barring some type of injury.
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