Post-Trade Deadline Celtics Player Power Rankings

It's been a long week, so I haven't had time to write up my thoughts on the Celtics trade deadline. As you can imagine, I have plenty of them. I also have plenty of thoughts on the league in general, but I'll save that for potentially a separate piece later.

Here, I'll save the specific player comments for the rankings below, but looking at the team as a whole, it strikes me that GM Brad Stevens always seems to be a step ahead of the competition. While other teams were making moves for right now, Stevens was already making moves for next season, because he did his work for this season early. That's not to say that Jaden Springer can't be valuable this season, but in essentially trading Dalano Banton for Springer, the C's gave themselves $2 million more to play with for next season. Banton's 2024-25 salary is $2.2M, while Springer's is $4.02M. Because of the league's new salary rules, Stevens is going to have work harder to make trades next season, and getting that extra $2M will help give him wiggle room.

I am sad to see Banton and Lamar Stevens go. I do still really like both players, but they just weren't hitting their shots in the rare moments they got on the floor. You could see coach Joe Mazzulla bristle at the missed shots (Banton shot .125 from three in his brief time on the floor), and as the season wore on, Banton would be quickly yanked after missing even just one. That obviously wasn't great for Banton's development, but the C's are trying to win it all this year, so it's not exactly a development year. But neither him nor Stevens ever seemed to bristle at the lack of playing time, and the "Stay Ready" crew has really paid dividends. If there is one concern with the new acquisitions, it'll be keeping up those vibes. They seemed to be all smiles on the bench last night, and it should certainly help that they're coming in with clearly defined (ie, small) roles.

On to the rankings!

1. Jayson Tatum (last time: 1): He's still mentioned on the fringes of the MVP conversation, but he's infuriatingly never featured in it. The month that could really change is March. The C's spend the bulk of March on the road, and they'll need Tatum to be in his superstar bag. If the C's can maintain or expand upon their four-game lead over every other team in the NBA, and it's because Tatum is putting up big numbers in road wins in March, it's going to get hard to deny him at least his first top-three MVP finish (he finished fourth last year).
2. Jaylen Brown (2): Jaylen had a very strange seven-game homestand. He shot .494/.063/.833. He put up 7.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, which is really high for him (his career averages are 5.2 and 2.4 respectively), but just 16.0 points per game, which is very low for him, even by this season's standards. More than that though, there were no "Jaylen takeover" games. The C's need those sometimes, but for whatever reason, they didn't come on the homestand.
3. Kristaps Porzingis (5): He's been very clutch lately, and the team is getting better at finding him in his spots. In the team's four February games, his Usage % is up to a season-high 30%. He should have made the All-Star team over Scottie Barnes. Teams with 19-33 records like Toronto don't deserve All-Stars (they're easily the worst team to have an All-Star this season), and teams that are four games better than every other team in the NBA deserve to have three All-Stars. I get why Adam Silver wants an All-Star from Toronto, but he let the marketing side get in the way of rewarding winning players on great teams. It's too bad, but such is life.
4. Derrick White (3): Not only is he still not shooting well, but lately, a lot of his early-game threes seem forced and outside the rhythm of the offense. Last night, the C's stagnated on offense in the first quarter after he put up a couple of ill-advised threes, and the Wizards were able to take a 33-25 lead shortly thereafter. It took the C's most of the rest of the next two-plus quarters to shake that run before building a consistent lead in the fourth quarter.
5. Jrue Holiday (4): He's remained great, but I do worry about him in games where the opponent has a very quick guard or they like to run a lot. It seems like he'd prefer to play slower. It's definitely something I'm monitoring.
6. Al Horford (6): When he's properly rested, he's still a top-100 player. His game Tuesday against Atlanta was a sight to behold. Speaking of rest – while the C's don't get him for at least one leg of a back-to-back, they don't have many impactful back-to-backs left. The team has played nine of its 14 back-to-backs already, and of the remaining five, one is Washington and Detroit, and the final two have Detroit and Charlotte on of the legs of it. This week, the home and home vs. Brooklyn will be big to win to help the narratives and momentum going into the All-Star break, but it should be doable without Al in one of them. The hardest one will be at Portland and at Utah on March 11th and 12th. Given Utah's size, hopefully he'll suit up for that game.
7. Payton Pritchard (8): Nearly across the board, he's averaging career bests in his shooting and per game stats. He's also averaging career bests in the more objective "per 36 minutes" stats in terms of rebounds and assists. In other words, he's just getting better, period. He's picking his spots to distribute instead of always putting up a shot when he gets the ball, and his activity on the boards is exemplary.
8. Sam Hauser (7): He's had a little bit of a shooting slump, which is worrisome, because the team has been home, and he typically shoots far better at home than on the road. That's what I'm keying in on these next two months – Hauser's road shooting percentage. To consistently get 20 minutes per game in the playoffs he'll have to shoot better on the road. Otherwise, he leaves the door open to the C's playing more double-big lineups.
9. Luke Kornet (10): Always solid in his minutes, but with Xavier Tillman now in the fold, and Neemias Queta on the verge of getting his contract converted to a full contract so he can play in the playoffs, this spot may rotate more. Consider this the spot for the third big behind Porzingis and Horford, and it could rotate given the matchups, but Kornet has been the de facto choice.
10. Oshae Brissett (12): He should be playing more, and it worries me that he's not. I can't see Mazzulla trusting him much in the playoffs if he won't play him in a regular season game vs. Washington. But Brissett is always hustling, and always trying to get the ball to the hoop, and the C's constantly need both of those things. Shooting 4-for-19 from three in January didn't help his cause. He'll have to do better.
11. Xavier Tillman (n/a): I don't think it's a lock that Tillman will play every night. But I've always liked him. I didn't have him in my trade targets piece because I didn't think the Grizzlies would get rid of him. But in trading both him and Steven Adams, it seems like next season they'll play less double-big lineups, and keep Jaren Jackson Jr. at the 5 more frequently. Either that, or they're really confident that Brandon Clarke will be healthy next season. Tillman will help on defense, but he can also be a facsimile of Porzingis in the middle of a zone, as Tillman is an excellent passer. I looked this up. Since Tillman entered the league in the 2020-21 season, there have been 98 players 6'8" or taller who have played in at least 25 games and averaged less than 25 minutes per game. Consistent role players, in other words. Of them, Tillman's 2.8 assists per game ranks 21st. Maybe that doesn't blow your skirt up, but that number is right in line with Porzingis and Kornet, and it's better than other bigs who were potential targets or former C's like Andre Drummond, Danilo Gallinari, Simone Fontecchio, Robert Williams III, and Daniel Theis. I think Tillman will make a positive impact here.
12. Neemias Queta (11): Speaking of positive, Queta seems to make a positive impact whenever he's called upon. My bet is the team doesn't sign anyone on the buyout market, and converts his contract to a full-season contract, so he can be insurance against injuries during the playoffs.
13. Svi Mykhailiuk (13): I thought it was telling that even though his salary is comparable to that of Lamar Stevens and Dalano Banton, Mykhailiuk was the one that the C's held onto. He's never afraid to shoot.
14. Jaden Springer (n/a): I will be honest, he worried me a little when he was on Philadelphia. Like Pritchard, he's always active, but he seems much stouter and stronger, and as such could perhaps cover small forwards in a way that Pritchard struggles to. Other than that, I can't see much of a role for him on this year's squad, but high-energy guys who play stout defense are always needed, and with the C's getting Tillman, it was clear that the last need was a fourth guard. It was clear the team didn't think Banton could be it. Perhaps Springer can be.
15. Jordan Walsh (15): He seems like a winning player. I've been struck by how unselfish he has been with the ball in the very little playing time he's received. I would be jacking up shots, but he's tried to make the right play. I doubt we see him in the playoffs, but it seems like he has the tools to be an NBA player.
16. JD Davison (16): Despite the improvement in the G League, I think the same may not be true for Davison. I'll keep rooting for him though, because he is fun to watch.
17. Drew Peterson (n/a): I saw him on the bench during a time out last night, and I said, "oh ya, that guy." He's only played three minutes this season.