But even Hauser acknowledges his job in Boston.

“I know I’m capable of doing other things other than shooting a three,” Hauser said on Wednesday. “It’s just what I’m asked to do the most and that’s how I started to get on the floor in Boston, and tried to run with that and become as great of a shooter as I can each and every day and then also building off that, which the next phase to a shot is a shot fake and a drive, so I know I’m capable of it and when it presents itself, I try to take advantage.”

Hauser continued his tear from three that included a brush against Celtics history in Atlanta, where he launched six misses in rapid succession after starting the night 10-for-15 from three. He fell one short of Marcus Smart’s record 11 from the 2020 season, and subtracting those six heaves, Hauser combined to shoot 41-for-79 from deep to begin this month (51.9% 3PT). Defenses reacted, and in recent games he became a hub for screening, movement and passing out of pressure that changed the complexion of the Celtics’ offense. This month, they lead the league in offense with 121.9 points per 100 possessions and remain just beneath the Nuggets for No. 1 this season with 121.3.

Joe Mazzulla moved Hauser back into the starting lineup after his 5-for-7 three point shooting night in Sacramento, where he started the second half over Jordan Walsh, who had logged 20 starts where Boston went 15-5. The move felt bold at the time, Walsh’s defense emerging as a crucial component to that end of the ball while the Hauser lineup’s struggles on the boards led to them getting away from their opening night lineup after only two games. Hugo González replaced Hauser in Detroit, where the Celtics fell to 0-3, before Josh Minott and Walsh provided more physical looks at the four position in the months that followed. Hauser, playing with new groups, struggled offensively by his standards after the demotion, shooting 35.5% 3PT.

“We only went to it for two games. So it’s probably a small sample size on that,” Mazzulla said on Wednesday. “To me, I just think they’re playing well. I think our defense has gotten better, I think our offensive execution has gotten better, I think Sam’s ability to continue to play two-way basketball, his ability to defend at a high level and then it obviously allows us to spread the floor and play a little bit offensively. We have to be able to go to a bunch of different lineups, but that one’s playing well so far.”

After the Celtics avenged the previous week’s loss to the Pacers behind Hauser’s 17 points, six rebounds and three assists on 6-for-8 shooting (5-7 3PT), their latest and original starting lineup this year improved on its +20.5 net rating to begin the night. The Hauser group’s 129.8 offensive rating surpassed the Walsh one by 11.4 points per 100 possessions, while the lineup’s defensive rating improved by 5.9 points per 100 too. Most surprisingly, the Hauser lineup rebounds 5.1 percentage points better than the Walsh group (70.8 DREB%). Boston has now won 6-of-9 with Hauser in the starting lineup this month.

It looks like the answer for the fifth starting spot until something changes, or someone returns. Only Denver’s most-used Nikola Jokić (+20.1) rivals this one among units with 134+ minutes played together this year.

“When I got back to starting, we were like 35 games in and we figured out our identity and who we were going to be this year,” Hauser said. “And that first week or two of the season, we were just trying to figure it out and everybody was a in a different role and getting used to that and adjusting to it. And now, by this time of the season, everybody realizes how they can help this team in the best way possible and I think that’s probably the biggest change, honestly.”

And it hasn’t significantly diminished Walsh’s productivity. He told CLNS Media in Miami earlier this month that he looked at the move to the bench as a challenge rather than a demotion. Walsh immediately played his best game of the season, statistically, with 13 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back with the second unit in LA. And with the space, shooting and offensive movement Hauser allowed for through overpowering offensive showings earlier this month, it’s hard to imagine how the Celtics didn’t implement him with the starters sooner.

The team faced a difficult decision with Hauser among others over the season that they ultimately punted on with the Georges Niang salary dump. His slow start to the season continued to raise questions about his long-term standing in Boston given the team’s continued tax status. Now, like Anfernee Simons following his recent surge, it’s hard to imagine this year’s Celtics without Hauser playing alongside their best players. And back at his lifetime mark of 40% from three — his start to the season increasingly appears to have been an aberration.

He doesn’t care that it landed him on the bench. Though how he handled it might’ve served as a lesson for other Celtics who followed in losing their starting jobs.

“I don’t really care if I start or come off the bench,” Hauser said, reflecting on the change in Miami last week. “It doesn’t really matter to me, to be honest with you.”

The post Sam Hauser Emergence an Important Development for Celtics Playoff Hopes appeared first on CLNS Media.

The matchups featured strong play from Brown and Cunningham, both named All Stars on Monday, a decisive bench advantage for the Pistons and an ability by the Celtics to stay in games with the east’s top seed but not close them. Their competitiveness physically and on the boards kept them close similarly to the last Celtics-Pistons game, where Brown’s seven free throw misses plays a crucial role in Boston’s loss. Joe Mazzulla said the Celtics matched the Pistons’ physicality as he did after that night. Yet Detroit, again, flexed its status as the conference’s power.

• Brown scored 13 of the Celtics’ 29 points in the first quarter while the Pistons held Derrick White scoreless to begin his 1-for-11 night. Brown’s efficiency waned after his 5-for-11 start, so even as the Celtics’ offensive rebounding and an early three-point shooting edge formed, they turned the ball over and lost the possession battle for the rest of the night. Detroit won 50-50 balls, limited Boston’s offensive boards after halftime and closed 7-of-17 from three. Jaden Ivey, Duncan Robinson and Harris beat Boston’s aggressive rotations on Cunningham, which didn’t force any turnovers on him. He finished with 14 assists.
• Sam Hauser’s success following the 10 threes he made over the Hawks continued through a 6-for-9 showing against Detroit that saw his screening, shooting and some activity inside the arc opening up the offense. The Pistons, however, put him in foul trouble and he sat from the nine minute mark of the third quarter until seven minutes remained in the fourth. Luka Garza also struggled with fouling, disrupting Boston’s rotation and calling for more Baylor Scheierman minutes and even a Xavier Tillman Sr. appearance. All of the Celtics’ starters won their  minutes by 7-12 points after trailing by eight at halftime.
• The intensity, pace and shot-making for stretches of Monday’s game resembled a playoff series like the previous matchups between the teams. Adding to Mazzulla’s recent sentiment of clutch time becoming a crap-shoot, Boston actually won those minutes by 1.3 points per possession, but allowed 127.3 points per 100 as their rebounding and rotations faltered late in the losses. They won the closing minutes, 10-8, and by 25 points per 100, with three missed free throws becoming the difference.
• Small ball became a factor in the loss as well, with the Pistons pulling their centers off the floor for a stretch as they had in prior games. The Celtics went to Scheierman, Hauser, Brown, White and Pritchard in those situations., which finished -83.3 per 100 in three minutes. A small but important segment of the game. Tillman’s group finished -2, also consequential in a one-point loss. The Pistons tested the Celtics’ depth.
• Despite the thin margins, the Pistons’ speed, tenacity and knowledge of the Celtics’ attack on both ends should’t go unnoticed. They routinely turned their turnovers into points, winning 20-5 on the fast break. Detroit took advantage of Boston’s aggressiveness on the offensive glass with those leak-outs and limited the Celtics outside of Brown with their switching. It was one of the stronger execution games against Boston this year, however much the Celtics will come away feeling like they keyed in on the right areas to win. There’s hope for a better result with this matchup in the playoffs, as Pritchard projected while comparing it to the Knicks’ upset of the Celtics last season, Detroit’s personnel as it stands will make doing so difficult.

The post Takeaways from Another Late Celtics Loss to the Pistons appeared first on CLNS Media.

Here’s what stood out to me from my stops in Miami and Atlanta on the trip.

• Simons scored the fifth-most points of his NBA career on Thursday in the manner the Celtics wanted him to going back to the summer — while also impacting defense and playing within the team construct. The scrutiny on Simons internally and overall sense that he’s inevitably gone before the deadline have both faded recently while he’s averaged 17.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 3.3 APG in January on 49.2% shooting from the field and 51.4% on eight attempts per game from three. What stood out most from his trip was how he drew extra defenders late in the Miami game and throughout his 14-point (5-10 FG) showing in Atlanta two nights later. Payton Pritchard sat out the win over the Hawks with ankle soreness, and Simons played in the fourth at the Heat over Pritchard while also cutting into Brown’s minutes.
• Speaking recently about the ups-and-downs of his acclimation to Boston, he’s expressed a desire to win and enjoyment in the process of tailoring his game toward winning basketball. Jaylen Brown said on the trip Simons is probably playing in a role below his talent level, but it’s become an important one for a Celtics team that has a difficult decision looming. Simons becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer when his $27.7 million deal expires. He’s been connected to salary dump moves, the Bucks and attempts to upgrade the front court. Those trade rumors, too, aren’t anything new, Simons said, who’s leaned on his Portland experiences to help him handle the challenges he’s faced with the Celtics. Increased defensive attention on him could unlock a new layer of Boston’s offense. Simons has fans in the Celtics organization, and the increasing sense that the team’s success this season may not lead to significant payroll or tax reduction is increasing my confidence that Simons could remain with the team past the deadline — but the team is still focused on its long term roster construction.
• Brown bounced back from missing the final seven minutes of the first half in Miami and producing his third least efficient game (37.5% FG) this season with a 41-point masterpiece performance in Atlanta where he did his work in three quarters. Mazzulla alluded to Simons’ play in explaining Brown appearing for his second-fewest first half minutes all season at the Heat, while Brown referenced playing behind Jayson Tatum in his reaction to the move. Still, he sounded deferential as he was following similar benchings at Brooklyn and against the Pacers, the Celtics’ other largest comeback win this season. Boston won all three games, and continue to embrace sacrifice and agile roles across the board with the results clearly affirming Joe Mazzulla’s ability to find the right lineup balance on any given night. As I’ve written, his ability to maneuver the minutes of his best players is a significant step in his coaching career. Elsewhere, Brown’s Wheeler High School retired his uniform near Atlanta, Brown discussed his old tweet about a teacher who predicted she’d look him up in jail one day and complained about officiating while mentioning that he’s studied referees and other players in the league who receive sizable free throw numbers each night. Brown generated 0 free throw attempts later that night in Miami before halftime but finished with seven before attempting 12 in three quarters at Atlanta. He ranks tied for 13th with 5.9 FTA per game.
• While Pritchard’s (ankle) absence on Saturday sounded like a load management night, his first game missed since Mar. 29, 2025, Josh Minott (ankle) sat out a sixth straight game with an unexplained sprain he suffered despite sitting out all but three minutes of the previous six games, effectively leaving him out of the last 12 since his last rotation minutes at Indiana. Minott appeared on the court at practices and shootarounds throughout the trip and Mazzulla acknowledged he’s progressing while taking things day-by-day. The Celtics still haven’t upgraded him from out and he faces an uphill battle toward playing again once he does return due to the resurgent play of Luka Garza and Jordan Walsh’s steadiness in the front court. Baylor Scheierman started twice this week in Brown and Pritchard’s absences.
• Sam Hauser’s outburst against the Hawks that rivaled his greatest game ever in Washington and nearly matched Marcus Smart’s single-game Celtics three point shooting record from 2020 devolved into a brief hunt for the tie that left him 10-for-21 from three. He started 8-for-10 before missing his first three looks in the fourth. His emergence into January as a starter alongside Simons’ rise went under the radar, but he’s averaging 14.0 PPG, shooting 45.1% from three and playing excellent defense this month. The Celtics have won 5-of-7 since he entered the starting lineup in Walsh’s place, with that starting group that began the season boasting a 126.7 offensive rating and 110.8 defensive rating (+15.9) in 20 games together.
• Walsh handled his move to the bench well, posting one of his best games of the season with the second unit in Los Angeles earlier this month and averaging 3.6 PPG and 5.1 RPG on 48% shooting (36.4% 3PT) in 18.0 MPG over his last eight appearances off the bench. Walsh discussed the move with CLNS Media, explaining that the change maintains his role off the bench: “Regardless of who I’m playing with, I’m solidifying myself as a defender, so that’s what I’m always gonna be doing. I don’t think much as changed. It’s just taking it as a challenge, not taking it as a demotion. I feel like I would’ve viewed it that way no matter where I was at (in my career), going from where I was to where I am now, I think it’s a challenge I have to accept and try to out-perform … (it’s) more minutes if you play good and that’s about it.”
• Mazzulla scaled back his focus on officiating himself following his illegal screen refrain from Indiana that the NBA backed up by stating in the last two minute report that Pascal Siakam should’ve been called for one before his game-winner on Monday. He said that wasn’t the message to the Celtics after the loss, but rather the stretches in the game that cost them, including the middle of the third quarter, turnovers, two-on-one reads and situational rebounding: “But from time-to-time, there are obviously moments where (commenting on officiating) happens … our techs are pretty low, so we’re not costing points. As long as we do what we need to do to stick to the process of winning and we’re not costing ourselves points, they handle it how they want to handle it. For the most part, I don’t think it’s taking away from our execution and our mentality toward the game, which I think is the most important thing.:”
• Kristaps Porziņģis greeted former Celtics teammates after missing his fifth straight game with Achilles tendonitis. He and several players and staff members chatted in a side room at State Farm Arena before he left the arena declining to speak with several media members, saying he would do so during the Hawks’ trip to Boston next month.

The post Celtics Road Notebook: Jaylen Brown, Anfernee Simons and Injury Update appeared first on CLNS Media.

Small ball and Joe Mazzulla’s increasing confidence in the star’s acclimation to the team’s defensive system, focus on the intangibles and the flat out need for Simons to save them in some circumstances bumped him to fifth after the win in Miami. The Celtics have struck the right balance recently between Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Simons, even getting away from a struggling Jaylen Brown in Miami to play Simons more late in the first half. But the most difficult decision regarding Simons awaits Boston in only 20 days at the deadline.

“That boy, he can play,” Brown said, who accepted the trade-off with Simons on Thursday. “He’s probably more talented than the role that he’s placed in, but I have hella respect for him to come out and play winning basketball and do what the team needs. Doesn’t complain, just brings good energy and just contributes in a positive way, but tonight, like any night, we’ve seen at times he can just really fill it up. So I think he’s learning, he’s growing, he’s coming into his own, he’s developing, but tonight was an example of that.”

Simons initially played a longer stint in the second quarter alongside Sam Hauser over Brown after the Celtics trailed by 11 points following a first quarter capped by three Simons threes. Brown turned the ball over twice and missed three short-mid rangers in the ensuing minutes and came off the floor less than five minutes into the frame. His 12:43 first half minutes marked his fewest since a win at Brooklyn where Mazzulla similarly went away from Brown in the first half, who acknowledged the move as performance based. Simons’ play forced the decision this time, Mazzulla said on Thursday.

But the real tradeoff came in the fourth after White and Pritchard combined for eight points through the first three quarters and Boston trailed by 10. Simons led a 9-4 run with White, Hauser, Hugo González and Neemias Queta before Luka Garza relieved Queta in foul trouble. Brown joined them for González after two more Simons buckets pushed the run to 13-7. Brown and Simons traded threes and the Celtics secured a lead they never surrendered with 4:45 left after Boston trailed by 19 points in the first quarter.

Though rare this season, Simons’ presence, offensive creation ability and shooting in moments where Brown or another scorer in front of him have made him an important layer to the team’s offense. That’s also left him marginalized in moments where they do, or Mazzulla has opted for more defensive or rebounding-oriented looks. The Celtics also directly challenged Simons to improve his defense over the summer, which he has.

“Just being coachable,” Simons said. “Having some humility on the things that you need to get better at, and just accepting the role, trying to be the best version at it and it’s got its ups-and-downs, but I think for the most part, I’m learning each and every game, just going with the flow and continuing to try to improve … it was definitely an adjustment. Usually you know exactly when you’re going into and coming out of the game, but sometimes here, he’s feeling out the game, and he’s feeling out what the game needs, and so you gotta be ready at any moment for your number to be called no matter if it’s the first quarter, second quarter and it might come down to the fourth quarter, so that just keeps you always on your toes and always locked into the game and being ready when your number’s called, which has been helpful.”

While individual net ratings don’t always fully describe one player’s impact, particularly in comparison to others, Simons finished fourth in the NBA last month despite almost always playing with the Celtics’ second unit. Only González, White and Queta boast better net ratings than Simons’ +7.6 among the team’s regular contributors. That’s at least a sign that Simons has played winning minutes consistently, something Mazzulla stressed by emphasizing Simons’ defense, rather than offense, following the 39-point outbreak that marked the fourth-most ever by a Celtics bench player. It also sets up continued trade-offs between Simons and Pritchard for however long they’ll play together. Simons’ full fourth quarter stint on Thursday kept Pritchard on the bench for all but one second.

Both players bring different strengths to their lineups. Pritchard’s passing, short-to-mid range game and pick-and-roll prowess have helped the starters despite him struggling from three this season (33.6%). Simons spot up shooting ranks in the 77th percentile of NBA players (1.18 PPP) this season compared to Pritchard sitting around the 55th percentile (1.06 PPP). It’s difficult to compare their individual productivity since Pritchard often faces opposing starters while Simons said on Thursday that he routinely benefits from the pressure other Celtics players have faced around him.

“A lot of times in Portland, it was such a chess match to figure out where I can get some space at,” Simons said. “Obviously here, everybody is viable to go off for 30-40 and shoot the ball at a high clip, so you find yourself having a little bit more room when you’re driving the ball and some guys might stay, so you’re playing one-on-one against the guy, so that kind of spacing always is helpful when you got it going like that.”

The Celtics’ core starting four of Brown, Pritchard, White and Queta have posted a +7.3 net rating this season, though Simons’ three most common five-man groups have all posted offensive ratings over 120 and two of them exceeded 130. There’s overwhelming evidence the Celtics’ offense improves with Simons on the floor, but with three of the team’s five best players needing minutes at guard, one will often get left out unless Boston leans into three-guard lineups. They experimented with it some during the New Year’s west coast road trip, but it remains a -3.6 net rating through 33 games and 97 minutes, surprisingly due to a low 114 offensive rating.

The fact that White, Pritchard and Simons all defend despite giving up some size as a lineup makes it worth exploring more alongside more trade-off between Simons and the play-makers in front of him. Defensively, he’s allowing 1.00 point per possession, an average mark, faring good against spot up shooters and in isolation while struggling through screens. Pritchard has fared similarly, with a 1.06 defensive PPP that ranks in the 20th percentile. Defense no longer separates the two by a significant margin, and as an important decision toward building the next championship looms — the Celtics need to know what Simons can provide at his highest usage.

“That’s the NBA. I’ve been in trade rumors since my third year, every other week it’s something new,” Simons said last week. “So it’s just part of the NBA and you just gotta be where your feet are.”

The post Sitting Anfernee Simons Becoming More Difficult for Celtics as Deadline Nears appeared first on CLNS Media.

Jordan Walsh remained in a bench role for the sixth straight game where the Celtics have played .500 basketball, assuming 18:11 second half minutes to Scheierman’s 3:42. Walsh made all three shots he attempted inside the arc after halftime, recorded two of his three steals in the game and helped cut a six point deficit with six minutes remaining the fourth to two points with a pair of stops, breakout dunk and assist to Pritchard for a three.

Walsh has now appeared in 18.8 minutes per game from the second unit, averaging 4.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game alongside 0.7 steals. He’s shooting 10-for-22 from the field and 4-for-10 from three across that stretch even after he missed both attempts from deep on Monday. In 20 games as a starter, he posted 7.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 1.1 SPG on 60.4% FG (44.7% 3PT) while Boston won 15 of those games and Walsh’s defense emerged as the revelation of the season.

Yet it wasn’t his own poor performance or another player’s ascension internally that led to Walsh’s demotion. An illness knocked him out of last month’s win at Toronto and he missed the following game against the Pacers. Hugo González played well across that stretch, and Walsh started four more games, but his second half minutes dwindled across each before Hauser replaced him after halftime in Sacramento, then assumed Walsh’s role in the following game. González started the San Antonio game with Hauser out, Joe Mazzulla said, to match Walsh up with Victor Wembanyama off the bench.

“In the second half they went to more cross-matching,” Mazzulla said on Saturday. “So we just went to different lineups from there. I thought Jordan did a great job on Wembanyama. Once they went to their cross-matches, we have to be able to space the floor and make the two-on-one reads. I thought Baylor did a good job of that.”

Walsh held Wembanyama to 2-for-4 shooting and four points across 3:24 matched up against him, according to NBA tracking data. In his first game off the bench in LA, he continued slowing James Harden and held Kawhi Leonard to 1-for-5 shooting after Leonard emerged as an All-Star candidate in the weeks prior. That night, Walsh posted 13 points and 13 rebounds across 29:38, actually seeing more playing time in his move to the bench.

But the Celtics lost part of their identity with the move. The Walsh starting group posted a 118 offensive rating, 114 defensive rating and +4.2 net rating through 21 appearances. The Hauser lineup is +23.4 for the season, +19.3 over the last four games, and he found his shot (19-42 3PT, 45.2%) across that stretch while receiving praise from Mazzulla for his defense. But Walsh maintains the team’s best individual offensive rating this season (122.7) due in part to the power of playing with the starters.

Walsh’s offensive rebounding rate beats Hauser’s by nearly five percentage points. His effective shooting is 10 percentage point better for the season. Walsh’s 2.5 STL% also far exceeds Hauser’s 1.3% on a team that wants to force turnovers. Boston has forced the fewest turnovers per game (9.8) since moving Walsh to the bench. They ranked 24th with 13.3 in 21 games with their previous rotation.

“I thought (Walsh) was tremendous,” Mazzulla said in LA after Hauser became a starter. “He didn’t move to the bench. We went with Sam because we knew what their lineups were gonna be, we wanted to get off to a great start on the offensive end. We knew what their coverages were. We got off to a quick start with some of their off-ball movements and it changed their matchups because we went with him, and I think that’s a testament to the guys that we’re always gonna do what gives us the best chance to win and everyone has embraced that. So for him to understand that … to even give us the production that he did, that just shows the mindset of the team.”

Walsh took Mazzulla’s benching as a personal challenge and looked more like himself at Indiana. There’s no reason he shouldn’t produce a similar impact with the second unit that he did with the start, and can always ride that into the closing unit as he did on Monday. Even after going away from him in second halves while he started, Mazzulla acknowledged his importance to the team. Scheierman rode a 10-point performance and strong closing stretch against San Antonio to a start on Monday, reflective of Mazzulla’s merit-based rotation approach this year.

There’s still some debate over what matters most this season, though. The Celtics seemed to find and develop something with the Walsh group, which stood among the league’s more balanced five-man lineups at its height (+8.5 for 12 games). Could that impact persist through Jayson Tatum’s return and become a factor next season? Boston needs to find those things out this year as much as they should continue along what’s become a sustainable path to contending in the East now.

“(Mazzulla) was challenging me to come in and try to be the guy that I was for a month,” Walsh said. “I definitely took that on as a challenge, but at the same time to me, starting, bench, it don’t matter. If I have a chance to come in and make an impact, that’s all that matters to me.”

The post Jordan Walsh Should Start Again for Celtics After Pacers Loss appeared first on CLNS Media.

The two games that the Celtics split on their recent west coast road trip became the most significant examples this season of teams adapting to a borderline MVP first half from Boston’s star in his new role. Prior to Portland, averaged 29.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game on 50.2% shooting (36.9% 3PT). He thrived in isolation and routinely reached his spots in the mid-range, where teams don’t guard as aggressively.

That real estate he operates from, geometrically, is a difficult one to defend, and for teams around the league, Boston’s decline from one of the league’s most lethal three-point threats proved challenging to adapt from. That’s changing, and Brown has shot below 50% in four of his last five games. Of course, the fifth was a 50-point masterpiece against the Clippers that arguably became the most dominant performance of his career.

“I think what ends up happening is when you do try to take him out of the game, he is a willing passer,” Billy Donovan said before Celtics-Bulls on Monday. “And when he does move the ball, he gets off of it and generally what it’s doing is it’s putting another player in a close-out situation and that player for them a lot of the times is either a guy that can shoot it or can put it on the floor and create. They have guys at positions that when the ball finds them, they can make the next play and they’re certainly capable enough to shoot it behind the line.”

Jamal Murray and the Nuggets watched Brown’s 50-point game before traveling to Boston on Wednesday and decided to show Brown crowds. They changed how they did so, however, trying to either keep a low help defender closer to the basket or later bringing one in from the perimeter late to decrease how much time Brown would have to make a decision. Of course, Brown could counter by getting off the ball quickly following his drives and by pulling up for jump shots. He scored 19 points on 8-for-17 shooting (3-5 3PT) with the game tied at 58 at the half.

That worked for David Adelman, who preferred to let Brown and others operate in transition rather than letting the ball spray around, which happened at times when Denver grew too aggressive in its traps. Brown, surprisingly, hasn’t seen many pick-and-roll traps this season despite his success and the Celtics producing 1.04 points per possession in those sets, which ranks in the 83rd percentile of the league. Among qualifiers, 20 star players have seen more traps as a percentage of team possessions than Brown, according to Synergy. He ranked in only the 33rd percentile of players who saw the defense commit to their pick-and-roll. Portland, Utah and even the Clippers, as Brown throttled them, took a different approach.

“The Clippers had both bigs up as well,” Joe Mazzulla noticed after the west coast road trip. “You’re seeing a trend, a little bit, around the league. One, I thought he handled it well … their aggressive pick-and-roll coverages and finding two-on-ones and having great screens and making a great seam read. In a game where a guy has 50, he obviously has incredible shot-making, but I thought there were some reads he made in small-small pick and roll, and with the five. He works those reads every single day and I thought he did a good job of fighting them throughout the trip.”

Brown lost his 30-point streak in Utah but managed 10 assists passing out of pressure in the Celtics win. And while Denver committed late help defense in the Nuggets’ win and played some matchup zone, the physicality of their switching bothered him most. Brown complained about the officiating following the game, and blamed no-calls for why some of his shots looked erratic, arguing he needs consistent calls game-to-game to decide how to attack. He also called himself capable of adapting to different officiating and coverages.

He’ll need to as defenses learn the advantages to playing him more physically and in crowds. Brown committed seven turnovers against Denver, one on an offensive foul where he tried to create separation in the mid-range. He missed two free throws and fell to 77.1% at the line this season. The Nuggets got away with switching center Zeke Nnaji onto him late, and Adelman credited it as one of the keys to the game. Sometimes, he also acknowledged, none of that matter. Brown finished strong in traffic routinely and shook off several Aaron Gordon bumps on one play where Brown finished with his floater .

“You gotta hold your ground with him,” Adelman said. “He’s so strong and he gets to his spots … I thought (Nnaji) did a good job of staying down on his pump fakes, he took the physicality of the off arm and just stood his ground. I thought he was active with his hands at the right times. If somebody brings the ball down, that’s when you can really attack the ball and we did that, and I also thought guys, they timed up when we brought a second body. They have so much shooting out there, it’s gotta be at the right time where he’s spinning in his move or he’s countering, whatever it may be. I just thought the team in general did a really good job into the second half on him, but Zeke Nnaji stood out to me.”

Teams appear increasingly willing to body Brown and get away with it. They succeeded earlier this season in part, Brown fell below 30th through the end of November in free throw attempts per game before he sounded off on his totals after the Celtics’ loss in Minnesota. He attempted roughly 10 per game after through his own adjustments and those by the officials. Into early January, he’s settled at 7.2 per night, 16th in the league, while driving 17.8 times per game, which ranks third.

Elite mid-range shooting continues to counteract that and defensive coverages that still typically shy away from taking away those shots while trying to prioritize rim protection and taking away the three. So Brown has thrived, shooting 46.6% on mid-range attempts while taking the most in the league alongside DeMar DeRozan. That’s down to 35.7% over the last six games going back to Portland, however, and with more pressure surely on the way, Brown and the team’s ability to absorb it could become the biggest determiner of how Boston finishes the season.

“He had 50 last game, so don’t give him no space to operate freely,” Murray said. “When he drives, I was trying to tell the bigs, just go, just help, because he’s going to score and he’s very, very capable of doing so. I thought in the second half and the fourth quarter, we did a good job of just corralling him when he did get in the paint, making it tough for not just him, but everybody. Derrick White was shooting great pull-up threes, Pritchard’s attacking downhill. I think as a team we packed the paint a lot and we did a better job rebounding in the fourth.”

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Joe Mazzulla saw Simons’ flaws correcting to the point that he became a 20+ minute contributor in nine of the team’s last 12 games, finishing fourth in December +/- (+128) and a positive in nine of those games. He’s now averaging 13.5 points per game on 43.3% shooting and 39.6% from three less than one month from the NBA Trade Deadline, when the Celtics will make a decision on whether to retain him through at least the end of the season. Boston’s coaching staff sounded satisfied with his progress in recent weeks to the point where they began utilizing three guard lineups again to increase his playing time.

“What you see from him is what you get,” Mazzulla said. “Just a guy that has come in with a great attitude, he’s happy to be here, wants to do whatever it takes to win and has an understanding in that, but also super confident. There are some games where that run that’s he been on in his stint has separated the game for us, but where he’s really been the most consistent is the defensive end, the physicality on the defensive end, executing our schemes, executing our schemes … playing with a level of physicality. That’s where he’s been at his best, so he just comes up every day, wants to work, wants to play hard, wants to win, so he’ll do what it takes.”

Simons arrived early to Boston over the offseason to begin acclimating to the Celtics’ system and improving his defense with assistant coach Ross McMains and received an early challenge from Mazzulla, who told Simons that the experience might not go how he wants without Simons impacting the defensive end. Since, he’s ranked in the 47th percentile among NBA defenders, according to Synergy, and rated good against spot up shooters (55th), pick-and-roll ball handlers (75th) and in isolation (49th). Opponents have shot 92-for 210 (43.8%) with Simons as the primary defender, compared to 47.1% last season. He finished in the 20th percentile defensively with Portland last year.

But it’s the offensive impact that’s perhaps more impressive given the change in Simons’ role from primary option, starter and leading scorer on the Blazers to a fourth option in the Boston ball-handling hierarchy. He’s finding pockets to play, shoot and make quick decisions in the flow of the offense, and currently sits in the 73rd percentile of spot up shooters and 80th percentile of pick-and-roll ball handlers. That’s while shooting relatively inefficiently himself. He has a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, and scores 20.5 points per 36 minutes, which only slightly trails his Portland productivity.

“I’m just trying to find the ways I can impact the game. Obviously, I know I can come in and be aggressive and try to score the ball,” Simons said. “Just the little things, whether it’s crashing the glass or guarding my man, it’s been fun implementing myself into this culture that’s been and the expectations that have been set already as well too. Like I said, it’s been fun. We’re almost halfway through the season and I feel like I’ve grown so much in a lot of areas, mentally, how to approach each and every game, the attention to detail and the intensity that we play each and every night. That’s the standard that’s been set and I’ve been pretty pleased with myself and the team, how much we’ve been taking on that challenge. It’s been showing.”

Mazzulla called Simons’ transition to Boston seamless on Monday. He shot 40% from three through the end of November. His involvement varied though, playing only eight minutes in the second half of a win over the Magic after scoring 25 points in the first half. He has six games where he reached 20 points in a contract season, something he impressively put aside while not trying to step on Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard’s toes. When he played a limited role in Orlando, he called it an opportunity to look in the mirror. Mazzulla and the coaching staff called for more aggressiveness from him, and searched for comfortable sets for him to score from.

Yet despite how smoothly Simons fit into a new role in the first half, the challenges still exist in retaining him long-term. Without moving Sam Hauser or shaving down other contracts on the roster, Boston will need to embrace a $40 million tax bill alongside a $200 million payroll to keep Simons on the roster through the end of the season. They have some flexibility to re-sign him with 11 players signed at roughly $30 million below the first apron. They could make Simons a competitive offer below that figure annually, though it would leave them with limited flexibility to sign another center to agree to long-term contracts with Jordan Walsh and Neemias Queta, among others.

Michael Scotto on Tuesday reported that the Celtics don’t have a mandate to duck the tax and don’t want to part with a first-round pick to move off Simons’ contract. The Nets can absorb the greatest percentage of his expiring salary, Boston only needing to shed $13 million to avoid the tax entirely and reset their repeater clock. They could also take back multiple Brooklyn players in the deal, including Day’Ron Sharpe, who they’ve had past interest in. The move, however, would mostly amount to a salary dump and take away a critical player from the team’s core this season. There’s no straightforward path to acquiring anyone nearly as talented as him with the mid-level.

There is a way to utilize his salary, and an additional one, to make an aggressive addition and one that could help long-term. The Celtics don’t have significant assets, and they’re only able to trade their 2026, 2027 and 2031 first-rounders unprotected in the near term. Scotto reported their interest in Ivica Zubac, a potential long-term answer at starting center who would inevitably cost multiple first-rounders if LA even considered moving on.

It’d be an exciting addition now and for when Jayson Tatum returns. It’d also leave a hole in the guard depth and only leave his fit next to both Tatum and Brown to the imagination. If Simons wants to win, sees Boston as a home and would potentially return on a lower average annual deal, the Celtics should consider keeping him. Though going to free agency, as summers as recent as last year’s have shown, never comes with any certainty.

““He came in with just an open mind of what do I have to do to get on the floor?” Mazzulla said. “What do I need to do to play? What do you need from me? How can I help?”

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“It’s nothing he’s doing wrong,” Mazzulla told reporters in Sacramento. “We can go to so many things and I think you saw what Sam was able to do in the first half. Coming out of a halftime and making a change I think can throw a team off. I thought that’s one of the reasons we went on a run was Neemy (Queta’s) defense and our offense is obviously different with Sam out there on the floor. So it’s really just taking any advantage we can with the entire roster that we have and just trying to win segments of the game, and go on runs and catch the opponents off-guard with different matchups and different opportunities.”

Only one play stood out from Walsh’s opening rotation in Sacramento, an out of control driving layup miss that turned into a 17-12 deficit following a Kings basket the other way. Mazzulla called timeout and inserted Hauser, who reached 30 minutes in the win while Walsh’s involvement reached its lowest point since the opening weeks of the season. That raises questions about his starting job entering the road trip finale in LA on Saturday.

Since the Toronto game, Walsh logged only 19 minutes at Indiana and 10 minutes at Portland after picking up multiple early fouls in each game. He appeared for only three minutes after halftime in Utah, but he has started his last 20 appearances. Boston won 15 of those games. But his continued decline in role in Sacramento called into question whether the Celtics could alter their starting lineup. Hugo González thrived over the past two weeks in a similar role, Anfernee Simons emerged in more three-guard combinations and Hauser is 14 for his last 27 (51.9% 3PT) from three.

It’s unclear why Walsh’s role diminished further beyond his battle with an illness last week. The Celtics drew even or lost his minutes in the previous eight games, and his last breakout performance came in an uncompetitive loss at Milwaukee. Since, he averaged 4.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game with 0.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game on defense. Walsh shot 45% from the field (9-20) and 33.3% from three (4-12) over his last seven games. In the six before that, he posted 15.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 2.0 SPG while hitting 34-of-44 shots he attempted, appearing indispensable.

Walsh’s emergence came with promise, as his age and limited opportunity projected sustainable growth, though Josh Minott shined in a similar spot earlier this season before moving to the bench and eventually out of the rotation. The Celtics’ constantly changing lineups and rotations made it more likely Walsh would exit the starting unit again rather than stay in it all year and beyond. Minott’s exited the lineup at halftime at Philadelphia on Nov. 11. Walsh started the second half and Minott moved to the bench the following game after Boston won 5-of-9 with him playing next to Queta while the team thrived in their minuets.

Luka Garza more recently replaced Minott in the rotation after he returned to playing effective center minutes on the night Walsh fell ill on Dec. 7. The Celtics previously used a mix of Minott, Walsh and González in small ball units that thrived offensively, helped the team become the league’s top offense in December despite lapsing defensively. That’s another area where Walsh lost an opportunity to impact the game.

And González’ rise could threaten his main one, as his rebounding, on-ball defense and subtle signs of offensive creation ability increased his minutes recently. González closed the Toronto and Miami games, played all but 22 seconds in Boston’s biggest comeback win of this season over Indiana and averaged 6.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.1 SPG and shot 52.8% from the field in the win. He’s 15-for-38 from three this season (39.5%), though that only amounts to 1.4 attempts per game. Walsh remains 45.1% on 51 attempts. Hauser improved to 37.9% 3PT this week.

Mazzulla may not opt to change things after the Celtics won 3-of-4 to begin their longest road trip of the season. Walsh already lasted twice as long with the starters than Minott did, and his lineup won their minutes by 4.1 points per 100 possessions in 19 games together, with a 118.5 offense rating that’d rank sixth and 114.4 defensive rating in line with the team’s overall productivity — which admittedly leaves some to be desired (15th). Mazzulla also played Walsh for only three minutes after halftime in Brooklyn in favor of Hauser, who closed and thrived late in that win. Yet Walsh still started four days later at home against the Nets.

The Celtics have embraced competition all season. Recently, Garza cut into Queta’s minutes in four of the last six games. Baylor Scheierman played more minutes than Hauser and González at Indiana. González, a rookie, already replaced a champion in Hauser three games into the season at Detroit for one night. Mazzulla even benched Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard to spark the Pacers comeback. There’s an emerging identity and cohesion between Simons, González, Hauser and Garza (+7.2 in 44 mins, 110-103) that Mazzulla may want to maintain, though it’s worth at least watching for a change on Saturday at the Clippers — especially with a massive defensive matchup against a scorching Kawhi Leonard available for the fifth starter.

“The guys have an understanding of the process of winning every night and they stick together in that,” Mazzulla said after Celtics-Pacers. “And there’s not an agenda to who that is We need Jordan to help us win games and to get better and better, so I think there’s a trust factor in each other and a clear understanding that winning is the most important thing. That may look different on every night, but at the same time, he’s one of the guys that has helped us get to where we are today, so we need him to continue to get better and better.”

The post Jordan Walsh Benched After Halftime in Celtics Win over Kings appeared first on CLNS Media.

As teams around the league began wondering whether the Thunder began a 2010s Warriors, or better, run with their championship in June, the Celtics transitioned eras about as smoothly as they could’ve following a devastating second round exit in May. They have less concern about Oklahoma City than the Thunder’s rivals in the west, one emerging as a compelling threat in San Antonio. The Celtics’ main priority remains returning Jayson Tatum to the floor in 2026. But wins in 20-of-29 have raised hopes of a better season than many anticipated.

Regardless of what happens on the floor, however, three things will define the Celtics’ 2026 fortunes: Tatum’s recovery, the franchise’s continued drafting-and-development and the spending commitment from new ownership.

Boston shed over $200 million in salary and luxury tax over the summer with trades that now look wise in retrospect. Kristaps Porziņģis struggled with his POTS condition to begin the season in Atlanta and Jrue Holiday missed the last 20 Trail Blazers game with a calf injury. Offseason departure Al Horford struggled early with Golden State. While Luke Kornet has thrived in San Antonio, Neemias Queta arguably performed better in Boston and missed far less time.

Now just over one month stands between the Celtics and the Feb. 5 trade deadline, where they’ll potentially address team needs and their salary situation. While Boston stands in position to slide below the first apron this offseason, when it’ll matter more and grant them the full mid-level exception. They can keep this roster together and await Tatum’s return as their post-deadline addition, but it will cost them $200 million in salary and $39.5 million in luxury tax as it stands. Brad Stevens said last month he won’t place a ceiling on this group and would be willing to add if it makes sense. Bill Chisholm noted that Boston will go for it in a reasonable way going forward.

The expectation, given the Celtics’ current situation, is that the team could add if it benefits them beyond 2025-26. Even if Tatum returns this year, he’ll need time, perhaps more than would be left in 2026, to return to form.

The more important story from this season will become how many players they can carry forward from it as significant contributors on the next championship contender. Queta emerged as a stable starter through every game so far, and has one year left on his contract. Jordan Walsh’s emergence as a starter, shot-maker and star-stopping defender proved the story of this year so far, and he’s extension-eligible with a non-guarantee for 2026-27. Boston can rip up Queta, Walsh or Josh Minott’s contracts and use their mid-level money to sign any of them to a long-term contract if they decide to.

It’ll still take more time to decide who would be worth doing that for while forgoing the final, minimum contract years they all have before free agency two summers from now. Meanwhile, after seemingly landing one of the steals of the 2025 draft in Hugo González, who has surpassed anyone’s play among the depth wings lately, Boston has an important pair of drafts ahead before they potentially owe the Spurs a pick swap and will send their 2029 first to Portland outright from the Jrue Holiday deal. It’s difficult to imagine the Celtics sending out future firsts given that reality.

So two questions loom large with Jaylen Brown and Derrick White only strengthening their security in Boston while leading a stellar start to the season: would the Celtics utilize Anfernee Simons or Sam Hauser’s contracts to either add to the team or subtract salary? They declined to move either for the latter purpose over the summer, and it’s unclear what market exists for either after they rode ups-and-downs alongside inconsistent opportunities in the first half of the season. If the team doesn’t see a future for Simons here, they may want to explore, again, what they could bring back to Boston before he would likely depart this offseason.

Of course, they could also attempt to keep Simons for less than his $27.7 million current salary. That may prove wishful thinking, especially in tandem with the bench role the team would continue to utilize him if the current roster remains.

Along with their record in 2025, which matched their 2023 mark and only missed 2024 by five games, the presence of Tatum, Brown, Joe Mazzulla and Stevens’ front office will continue to make Boston one of the more stable situations in the league. Their path back to contention status is uncertain, but they’re hardly alone in that.

The hardest parts are complete: finding the two star, building an organizational philosophy and structure, along with a coach who continues to get the best out of the roster. Health, particularly Tatum’s, alongside what happens in the west will play parts in the Celtics’ future that they won’t control. But after a devastating finish to the 2024-25 repeat attempt, one that could continue to hurt for years to come, they’ve put themselves in position to bounce back quickly when Tatum fully recovers from his Achilles tear.

And in terms of dates to look forward to — many welcomes back to Boston returning players from the championship core — no night will surpass the first Tatum game. And the first week or two that follow will send a strong signal about how far this franchise is from raising another banner only 18 months yet seemingly a world away from their last.

The post What to Watch for in New Year from the Celtics appeared first on CLNS Media.

Episode Topics:
00:00 Celtics beat Jazz
1:30 Derrick White makes history
5:40 Payton Pritchard bounces back – 18 points, 6 assists
10:40 PrizePicks11:50 Jaylen Brown streak ends in the perfect way
16:30 Anfernee Simons is trending UP
18:50 Luka Garza continues to rise
20:40 Closing thoughts

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