One Area of Improvement for each Boston Celtics Player: Guards

One specific area each guard on the Boston Celtics roster could improve.

🫖 Taylor’s Tea Time

☕ The Tea: Lonnie Walker IV is expected to be waived after the Boston Celtics training camp, per Shams Charania and Zach Harper.

“Those sources say the 25-year-old guard will be brought in on an Exhibit 10 contract, which allows Boston to give Walker a bonus if he is waived after training camp and plays for the team’s G League affiliate in Maine. I’m told there’s a chance Walker is waived after camp to keep Boston’s 15th roster spot open going into the season.”

🗣️ Taylor: I know that a lot of Celtics fans are excited about potentially adding Walker to the rotation for next season. However, waiving him after training camp is a logical move. Unless Walker blows everyone away over the next few weeks, his role in Joe Mazzulla’s roster would likely be limited.

Boston has also ensured Walker would receive a bonus for spending time in Maine if he doesn’t make the primary roster. If the Celtics waive Walker and funnel him to the G-League, he will be an unrestricted free agent who is free to discuss terms with any other team. However, if he’s still available later in the season, and Brad Stevens hasn’t found a better option to fill the 15th roster spot, the C’s could sign him to a minimum deal. The additional months without him on the roster would save considerable tax penalties, too.

☕ The Tea: Some members of the Celtics roster have begun arriving in Boston and getting some work in with the franchise. Payton Pritchard appears to be the most notable name so far.

🗣️ Taylor: Love it. The earlier everyone can get back into the city, the earlier they can begin working on whatever tweaks the coaching staff has in store. Mazzulla will know the team can’t stand still. Some new wrinkles, plays and ideas will undoubtedly be on the docket during training camp. If everyone is working out together in the next few weeks, the team can jump on that preparation.

One Area of Improvement for each Boston Celtics Player: Guards

Side note: I’ve kept JD Davison out of this piece, as I’m only focusing on players under a full-time contract…There will be a separate piece for the G-League brigade.

Derrick White | Keep improving as a screener

Mazzulla likes to use his guards as screeners in the half-court. Running inverted screens is a reliable way to create mismatches, force defensive movement and potentially create gaps to either drive or exploit.

White is a reliable three-level scorer. He can operate as a pick-and-pop threat. He can attack via stampede cuts if he pops and receives the pass. He has the playmaking and processing speed to be a valuable inverted short-roll creator. And he shot 72.5% of his attempts at the rim last season, per The Basketball Index.

Boston runs a screen-heavy offense. Staggers, drags, single high PnR, Angle PnR, Zoom, UCLA, cross, wedge, slice — the list goes on and on.

The more screening options they have at their disposal, the better. Since joining the Celtics roster, White has proven to be a valuable inverted screening option. He led all Celtics guards with a 3% screen share last season (Jrue Holiday and Payton Pritchard accounted for 2% each).

Opposing defenses will be looking to stifle Boston’s half-court offense next season. With Kristaps Porzingis sidelined for the opening months, Mazzulla may rely on his guards to help create some separation or force mismatches as inverted screeners. White can help bridge that gap, especially if he’s been working on his screen positioning this summer.

Jrue Holiday | Finishing around the rim

Holiday shot 64% within four feet of the basket last season, ranking him in the 67th percentile among guards. When he’s getting downhill to attack the rim, he’s a reliable scoring threat. However, if Mazzulla is going to continue asking him to reside in the dunker spot, some improvements within four feet of the basket feels like a fair ask.

Holiday’s strength and positional versatility make him the ideal inverted dunker spot threat — we saw how effective he was along the baseline during the NBA Finals series against the Dallas Mavericks.

If Holiday can add some new wrinkles to his interior game, he could quickly see his FG% around the rim take a jump — the same way Payton Pritchard did last season after adding bump creation and Nash dribbles to his skillset.

Holiday has proven he can score out of the post, as shown in the above clip. Adding some up-and-under moves, reverse finishes off one foot, and potentially fadeaway jumpers could all help make him an even bigger threat in the dunker spot.

Of course, positioning him down low is more about manipulating the opponent’s rim protection and having a small situated in the paint. Nevertheless, if Holiday is going to spend time in the dunker spot, it makes sense for him to add some scoring moves in that position.

Payton Pritchard | Off-ball movement

Pritchard is an excellent perimeter shooter. He averaged 39% from 3-point range last season on a career-high 4.7 attempts per night. Despite Prtichard’s floor spacing and shooting ability, his off-ball movement was minimal.

According to The Basketball Index, Pritchard averaged 0.5 points per 75 possessions when scoring via movement and had a “movement attack rate” of 0%. However, when he did receive the ball after cutting into space, he shot 75%.

Adding some additional movement scoring into his game could unlock a lot for Pritchard. His 75% conversion rate on movement shots should be explored with a larger sample size. More than that, though, additional movement should open up driving lanes for him to probe, which could help improve his on-ball creation and playmaking.

Take the above-split action, for example. Imagine if Pritchard was coming off a shallow cut before the split occurred, allowing him to curl into the DHO…Perhaps the jump pass to the weakside corner wouldn’t have been necessary. Maybe he could have squared his hips and got a shot up. Even this example is limited.

The more movement Pritchard can add to his game, the more fluid Boston’s second unit will be.

Jaden Springer | Earn minutes

Springer had a solid showing in Boston’s opening game at the Las Vegas Summer League. He was so good that he got shut down for the remainder of the tournament. The coaching staff had seen enough.

Despite his strong showing in Vegas, Springer will begin the season at the back of Boston’s guard rotation. Earning minutes won’t come easy. Nevertheless, with his current contract entering its final year and an unrestricted free agency looming for next summer, Springer must begin showcasing what he can.

Sam Cassell highly recommended the Celtics acquire Springer. They went out and got their man for pennies on the dollar. Nevertheless, there’s a difference between getting a player and putting them in a position to succeed.

It’s hard to envision where minutes will come from for Springer, especially if the Celtics keep Lonnie Walker IV beyond his current Exhibit 10 deal. If Mazzulla wants to add another high-level point-of-attack defender to his rotation, Springer will be ready to rise to the challenge. He may need to improve his off-ball scoring and tertiary passing ability, though.

That’s all for today; catch y’all tomorrow for a look at Boston’s wings….And there may be a podcast/YouTube episode email sent out between now and then — so keep your eyes peeled :)