The Boston Celtics have one key game changer in their lineup.
Fresh off of an NBA title just a season ago, the Boston Celtics are looking to repeat as champions and raise a 19th banner in their arena. They’ve got a well-rounded squad.
Last season, the Celtics looked like a force throughout the entirety of the season. This year, there’s a bit of regular season slippage. They are 29-13 and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, though they are just 6-4 in their past ten games played.
Boston still remains a top team in the league, even if they’ve only got the third-best record (with the Houston Rockets closely trailing). They’ve got one “critical” star in their lineup that is an absolute game changer, too.
The Celtics have been up-and-down as of late, though they’ve still got the engine of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Outside of those two, the Celtics are well-built, though one key player has been in and out of the lineup.
Upon his arrival to the Celtics, and often throughout his career, remaining healthy has been a challenge for Porzingis. The team is significantly better when his healthy, though, as Chandler Parsons pointed out on “Run it Back.”
“He’s been in and out of the lineup, he’s a critical piece of this team moving forward,” Parsons explained. “I know their record is whatever with him in the line-up (10-8), it’s kind of like the Lakers thing with LeBron James and his plus-minus.”
The Celtics certainly are better with Porzingis, that much is no doubt. Getting him healthy for the playoffs — the most important stretch of the NBA calendar — is crucial for the club.
“The Celtics are a better team with Porzingis,” Parsons continued.
While there is some chatter regarding the Celtics given their current form, it’s easy to pitch solutions to their issues. Quite frankly, Boston is tailor-made for a title-contending team. They are elite on both sides of the ball and play with a distinct style and they won a title with a strong lineup.
Sure, there is some current slippage for the team, but there is no need to worry about them. Porzingis has only played in 18 of their 42 games and they will ramp things up come playoff time — when the games count.
The starting lineup should be set when the playoffs come as Porzingis rounds out the starting lineup perfectly. They’ve got a winning formula for a season ago, and it’s hard to imagine they’ve been figured out in the past year.
It’s hard to imagine Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla will make any big changes to the lineup or squad, given his history and how great of a bench boss he has been in the NBA.
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