Celtics regular season player grades

The 82-game regular season is behind us. While the Celtics enjoy some time off, it’s time to time to hand out report cards for the regular season.

I have a complicated relationship with grades and report cards. My 10th grade geometry teacher failed me despite being one point away from the supposed inflexible “passing” mark of 60. On the other hand, in my first year at university, my introduction to astronomy professor passed me despite being further away than I’d like to admit from turning in an actual passing grade. Do I follow in the footsteps of grace like my astronomy professor or do I take out my teenage trauma on the 2024-2025 Boston Celtics? Let’s find out.

Jayson Tatum: A

This feels self-explanatory. Last season, Jayson Tatum was the best player on the best team in the league. The standard and expectations have been set. Anything short of another top-five season would have fallen short of the standard and expectations set by Tatum himself. And he delivered by getting even better this season.

Tatum gave the Celtics his routine high-volume scoring season, but what sets this season apart from last season is his progression as a decision-maker and offensive engine. Tatum posted a career-high six assists per game and 7.1 assists per game over the final 20 games of the regular season. Tatum was, as usual, a great defender all season long. And of course, Tatum was his customary durable self and played 72 games. It’s hard to poke holes in a guy who led the team in points, rebounds, and assists on the way to 61 wins. The only reason I didn’t give Tatum an A+ is because of the 2-4 bad shots he takes every game.

Jaylen Brown: B-

The hot take here could be that Jaylen Brown had the worst season of his career relative to expectations. Coming off an All-NBA season and a tremendous playoffs where he earned Finals and Eastern Conference Finals MVP awards. Jaylen had his least efficient scoring season since the 2018-2019 season, and his lowest scoring efficiency since he became the clear #2 on the Celtics.

Jaylen had the best defensive season of his career last season. His defense regressed this season. This season, Jaylen played the fewest games of his career. He played less in the 2020-2021 season, but that was a 72-game season. I think it’s fair to say that Jaylen Brown did not meet the expectations of a player who just won Finals MVP and is on a supermax contract. Part of this was out of Jaylen’s control, though. Jaylen battled a hip injury earlier in the season and is battling a knee injury as we head into the playoffs. This impacted his production.

On the other hand, Jaylen also had the best passing and playmaking season of his career. Jaylen Brown, having a season where he averaged 4.5 assists per game, was not something I thought was in the range of outcomes for him as a player. But Jaylen continues his outlier development arc by continuing to work on his weaknesses. Despite Jaylen not scoring the ball as efficiently as expected, this boost in playmaking was a boon for the Celtics offense, and offset the scoring efficiency decline. I think this playmaking improvement will benefit the Celtics in the playoffs, as giving the Celtics more ways to create advantages on offense is more impactful than Jaylen’s individual scoring efficiency being down.

I hate to ding Jaylen when I think the dip in scoring production was health-related, but the numbers are the numbers.

Derrick White: A-

Derrick White. The perfect role player yet again. I dinged Derrick slightly because I thought his defense wasn’t quite as good as last season. But other than that, Derrick gave the Celtics 76 games on 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 60.6% true shooting. Only 34 players reached the mark of 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. And of those players, Derrick was 11th in scoring efficiency. Derrick has become Tatum Lite. He gives you everything you need and is both willing and able to play a variety of different roles. Do you need D White to scale up and give you 20 or more points? No problem, he did that 17 times this season. Do you need him to take a step back offensively and focus on playmaking, rebounding, and defense? No problem, there were 15 games where Derrick had less than 10 field goal attempts, and 18 games in which Derrick had at least seven assists. Derrick White fits on this Celtics team the same way I’ll be fitting on my couch to watch twelve hours of playoff basketball on Saturday. Perfectly.

Kristaps Porzingis: B

I can hear the argument for giving Kristaps Porzingis an A because we expected him to miss half the season, and in the half-season that he played, he played some magnificent basketball. Kristaps Porzingis was one of the league’s best rim protectors, holding opponents to a league-best 48% on shots within six feet, and provided ridiculous scoring pop on the other end. The 19.5 points on 61.8% true shooting was a soothing blend of volume and efficiency for the Celtics offense. But it’s the different ways those points found their way onto the box score that make Porzingis special. 29-foot bombs, post-ups, and free throws. Three very distinct ways to generate points for the Boston Celtics. This gives the Celts an unfair amount of offensive versatility. On the other hand, it’s hard to give someone full credit for only turning up to half the semester. I wish I could have pulled off a B for turning up to half of my classes.

Jrue Holiday: B+

Jrue Holiday will turn 35 shortly after the Celtics are hopefully lifting another Larry O’Brien trophy. After the performance Jrue gave the Celtics in last year’s playoffs, and to Team USA in the Paris Olympics, the 62 games he gave to the Celtics this season were all we needed to see. Sure, it would have been nice if Jrue continued to shoot 60% from the corners like he did last season. But Jrue’s 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on 56.5% true shooting were plenty to help the Celtics cruise to 61 wins. When you pair that satisfactory offensive production with Jrue’s sturdy and consistent guiding hand on defense, at age 34, the man deserves a B+.

Al Horford: A+

Where would the Boston Celtics be without Al Horford? 60 games played at 38 years old. 42 starts for number 42, as Big Al held down the fort until Kristaps Porzingis returned. Al would get an A+ just for his performance against the Lakers in TD Garden. The Lakers’ decision to target Horford in that game baffles me to this day. Al Horford is, somehow, primed for yet another big playoff run.

Payton Pritchard: A

When someone is the front runner for the Sixth Man of the Year award, and they’re only making $7 million per year, they’re getting an A in my class. Payton Pritchard just had the best season of his career and was a driving force behind the Celtics getting to 61 wins. Pritchard’s ability to scale up his role allowed the Celtics to strategically rest any of their top six rotation players throughout the season. Not only that, Pritchard turned in his best defensive season to date, and continues to provide plus-rebounding at the guard position.

Luke Kornet: A+

Luke Kornet should be considered one of the Celtics’ great development stories. Kornet has morphed from a finesse, spacing big man to a pick-and-roll wizard who protects the rim and destroys opponents on the offensive glass. Kornet ranks 9th in the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage, collecting 13.4% of opponent misses. Luke Kornet has melded his mind with Jayson Tatum on the way to the second-best pick-and-roll combination in the league behind only Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Luke Kornet provides the Celtics with another wave of rim protection behind Kristaps Porzingis. Luke Kornet is on a minimum contract.

Sam Hauser: B+

Early in the season, Sam Hauser was in and out of the lineup with a back injury, struggling on defense, and in a shooting slump. Hauser missed seven of the first 28 games and was shooting 37.3% from three.

Despite the slow start, Hauser finished the season with 71 games played and a three-point percentage of 41.6%, maintaining his streak of shooting above 40% from three in every season of basketball for which we have statistics for Sam Hauser. From his first season of college basketball, through his fourth year as a pro, Hauser has been above 40% from three. As impressive as the 41.6% mark is, it is the lowest mark as a Celtic. An astounding reminder that Sam Hauser is one of the league’s premier snipers.

Others receiving votes:

Neemias Queta: A-

Quetta acquitted himself nicely as the fourth big man in the Celtics rotation.

Baylor Scheierman: B+

Scheierman’s late-season surge was impressive. I’m a believer in his future as a rotation player.

Jordan Walsh: B-

I’m not giving anyone anything lower than a B- on a team that just won 61 games, coming off a championship. So, Jordan can thank his teammates for this one. I’m still holding out hope here on Walsh Island, though.