Catching up on the weeks Celtics news
It's been a busy one.
I’ve been inconsistent this week. My apologies. My best friend, who now lives in Los Angeles, is visiting, and we rarely see each other. So, as you can imagine, we’ve been rolling back the years. This week was also my younger brother’s 18th birthday—which is the equivalent of turning 21 in the States in terms of drinking, etc. As such, I’ve been tied up with commitments that have taken me away from basketball. I’m back to normal now.
I’m rarely unplugged from the Celticsverse for more than a few hours at a time. Usually, I’ll have my ear to the ground and try to stay on top of things as best I can. Of course, that’s not always possible. This week has been one of those times.
So, I thought we could do something different for today's newsletter. It would seem there’s a decent amount of news to get through, so why not do it together? I’ll look at each major story and give my take. Nothing super deep in terms of analysis, but sometimes, taking a more casual approach is fun. It is Friday, after all.
Charles Lee to interview with the Charlotte Hornets
The Celtics knew Lee would likely get another shot at a head coaching gig. He was a finalist in coaching searches by the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors before agreeing to join Joe Mazzulla’s staff. He also had multiple assistant coaching gigs available to him before he opted to team up with the Celtics, per Wojnarowski’s reporting at the time.
Boston found itself in this position last season, too—around this same time of year, I might add. Damon Stoudamire left the Celtics bench toward the middle of March 2023 after accepting the head coaching gig with Georgia Tech University. His absence left a gaping hole in Mazzulla’s assistant coaching staff. Fortunately, Lee would likely remain with the Celtics until the end of the season, regardless of whether he was the successful candidate for the Hornets job.
Steve Clifford will see out the remaining few games of Charlotte’s schedule before moving into a front office role. Having Lee join the franchise after his second championship as an assistant coach would likely appeal to a team looking to develop an identity and rebuild itself into a playoff contender.
That appeal is likely to go both ways. The Hornets have some exciting young talent on their roster. LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams will be the primary young core. Miles Bridges’ future needs to be a genuine discussion. Grant Williams could emerge as a long-term piece. And Aleksej Pokuševski has significant untapped potential. From a coaching and development standpoint, there’s a lot to like about the Hornets.
Jaylen Brown’s left hand injury
“I think I got a sprain or a strain on a ligament in my hand,” Brown told the media after Wednesday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. “But I think it’s fine, something I’m not really concerned with going forward. It bothered me a little bit tonight. Part of it is playing through it because it gives you more information, but I think it’s nothing to be concerned about.”
Rest him. There are six games left in the regular-season schedule. There is nothing left to play for. At this point, it’s safer to shut Brown down for the next week or two than it is to let him keep building some momentum. It may be just a sprain right now, but that doesn’t mean it can’t deteriorate with further stress and contact.
The playoffs are as much about health as they are about matchups and talent. You could be the deepest team in the world. If Injuries start knocking guys out of the rotation, your chances of winning a chip start to decline. The Celtics didn’t secure the best record in the NBA for nothing.
Now, Brown might not want to sit out. As
posted on Twitter — sorry, I mean X — this may be a case of Boston saving one of their stars from himself.
Brown is a crucial component to the Celtics’ chances of success this season. His aggression when attacking the rim, his ability to counter in the mid-range, his presence as a catch-and-shoot threat from deep and his elite on-ball defense have cemented him as arguably the best second option in the NBA.
The Celtics need Brown healthy. They’ve come into too many postseasons with a player carrying an injury — including Brown during the 2021 playoff run that saw the Celtics get swept by the Brooklyn Nets and a sea of change sweep over the franchise in the months that followed.
If Joe Mazzulla can get his team into the playoffs with a clean bill of health, he will be giving his team the best chance of succeeding. Rest, Brown, now; reap the rewards later.
The Celtics cement the best record in the NBA
This has felt like a foregone conclusion for weeks. Home-court advantage will certainly play a part during the latter stages of the postseason. The TD Garden is not where opposing teams will want to play a game seven. Still, I believe regular-season success can provide a springboard but cannot provide guarantees.
Mazzulla’s team needs to stay locked in. The coaching staff needs to make adjustments on the fly and game-to-game.
If the season was to end today, the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks would face each other in the play-in tournament with the winner facing the loser of the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers. That means the Celtics will likely face Miami or Philly in the opening round.
That’s a tough first task. But if you want to generate some quick momentum and prove you’re the juggernaut everyone believes you to be; there would be no better way than dispatching Embiid and the Sixers or the team that beat you in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Rajon Rondo makes his retirement official
We haven’t seen Rondo on the court since he left the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been considering Rondo as retired. He’s made no attempt to fight his way back into the league — at least not publicly. We haven’t seen him going through the G-League like Isaiah Thomas did recently.
We haven’t seen him declaring his desire to return to the NBA. To be honest, we haven’t really seen him at all. Still, hearing Rondo make his retirement official still kinda stung. The first NBA jersey I purchased with my own money was Rondo’s. I wore it every chance I got. I hooped in it whenever possible.
“Yeah, I’m done. I can’t. I’d rather spend time with my kids,” Rondo said. “What a time, it was definitely something that I never took for granted when I was in the game. I loved every minute of it, and I appreciate the brotherhood that I was able to share and bond and grow with over the years. I’ve learned so much in this game and it’s made me the man who I am today… It was worth the sacrifice of me getting to where I wanted to be in life.”
I’m excited to see what Rondo does next. He’s always struck me as an elite basketball mind. Perhaps he moves into coaching or stays in the game in some way. Still, it’s a sign that you’re getting older when more and more of your favorite players are out of the league.
Jrue Holiday becomes extension eligible
On April 1, Jrue Holiday became eligible to sign a contract extension with the Celtics. He has a player option for next season worth $37.3 million. Usually, veteran stars tend to opt out of their player options in search of some additional financial security.
“I’d like to be here,” Holiday told MassLive’s Brian Robb in January. “I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable, loving the guys, loving the organization and loving the city.”
He continued.
“My last extension was during the course of the year. I think that we can do both, talk about it and as well as prepare for games and prepare for what the future is.”
Holiday has been exceptional for the Celtics this season. He isn’t putting the numbers up some had hoped for, but in truth, that’s more to do with his role within the team, than it is an indicator of decline. Holiday’s defensive versatility, playmaking, off-ball movement, and tertiary scoring have all been huge pluses this season.
If there’s a way for the Celtics to make the money work and keep him around on a long-term, lower-cap-hit contract, I can’t see why Brad Stevens wouldn’t explore the possibility. However, this roster is only going to continue getting more expensive. There has to be a line in the sand at some point. Still, with the championship window firmly open, I don’t anticipate the front office dragging their heels — at least not in the short term.
An almost-end-of-season livestream
I’m taking a short sabbatical from podcasting. Right now, I’m working on ensuring this newsletter is up to the standard I want it to be (among some other things in the background.) That means figuring out a good system for myself in my day-to-day and finally knuckling down on social media to help this thing continue to grow. So, you should expect a new logo, a publication banner, and whatever else I can think of in the coming weeks. Along with (hopefully) some additional content and some big pushes for growth.
A lot of these changes will be more prominent next season, but I’m laying the groundwork now.
Nevertheless, in my absence, Will Weir and Greg Meneikis continued the “Green With Envy” live stream that takes place every Thursday. Here’s yesterday’s episode if you missed it and wanted some additional Celtics content to enjoy.
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Catch everyone tomorrow!