The Celtics’ stacked top-six has been a dominant force in the NBA this year. The signings of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday are propelling Boston to even greater levels as a team than in its recent — and highly successful — seasons without them.
However, if there is one fear that fans and media alike have about this edition of the Boston Celtics, it is a lack of depth. After all, there appeared to be a considerable reduction in talent level after Al Horford entered the lineup.
The Celtics have been without a number of key players throughout their most recent stretch of games, yet they haven’t missed a beat.
Holiday, the most recent Boston starter to be absent, is battling with a shoulder ailment. Payton Pritchard stepped in immediately to take his place. Pritchard had 20 points and nine assists in Friday’s victory over the Detroit Pistons, and he is averaging 19 points per game over his previous four games.
“[Pritchard] came in on fire, in the first half I was like ‘it’s his show, let him keep running it,’ he was playing well, making the right plays,” Brown told ESPN. “When we had our men moving like that, it was significant. We wish to empower our players to continue playing .
Porzingis has also been in and out of the lineup this season due to various injuries. During those intervals, fan favourite big man Luke Kornet has stepped up to play more minutes.
Sam Hauser has also contributed significantly as a catch-and-shoot forward who can also play defence.
Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics aren’t afraid to rely on their depth players to get the job done, and they’ve shown capable of fielding a nine or ten-man rotation even in the playoffs.
