The Boston Celtics recently passed the halfway mark of the 2023-24 regular season and long-time NBA scout Jeff Nelson’s prognosis back in early October still sticks:
The Celtics are the team to be beat in the East, maybe the entire NBA.
True, that was a bad loss on Saturday night against the L.A. Clippers. But those happen in the NBA, according to long-time NBA scout, now with the Phoenix Suns, Jeff Nelson.
Nelson, of Bradford, was all-in on Celtics after the acquired Jrue Holiday, basically replacing Marcus Smart, just before the start of the 2023-24 season.
Not much has changed.
“I stressed ‘If they stay healthy’ and that still stands today,” said Nelson. “There is always a question mark with [Kristaps] Porzingis, but he’s been relatively healthy [playing in 32 of 44 games]. The Celtics are a better team than they were a year ago, which shows in their record at home, which is important in the playoffs for series that go seven games.”
Nelson believes the Celtics got some help from the other teams in the Eastern Conference, all of which appear to have gone down a peg or two.
“Will the Bucks be better with Doc Rivers? Maybe. But it’s going to take some time for it all to mesh. By then the Celtics might be too far ahead in the East,” said Nelson. “The Sixers look very good with [Joel] Embiid, but he’s playing a lot more minutes in the regular season. In my opinion, if that continues, he’s going to be too worn down for the playoffs.”
The Miami Heat and New York Knicks just can’t match up with the Celtics length, said Nelson.
That being said, Nelson believes the Celtics still have some work to do as the season continues.
One is the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown need to stop being uber-focused on outside shooting and doing more of what makes them special, which is easy baskets in the “paint.”
“The loss to the Denver hurt a little bit because Tatum and Brown combined to shoot two-for-seventeen from the three-point line and had only five free throws,” said Nelson. “I realize that is the Celtics offensive philosophy, getting up a lot of three-pointers, but that might not work all of the time, especially against the better defensive teams in the playoffs.”
As for beating the Nuggets or the Clippers in June, the Celtics may need to upgrade the bench a bit.
“Sam Hauser, Peyton Pritchard and Luke Kornet have been pretty good, sometimes good,” said Nelson. “But to the absolute favorites to win a title, with no weaknesses, they may need another ‘three’ who can shoot the three-pointer; and guard well. They don’t have that guy.”
Interesting, one potential player of that ilk is former Celtic Gordon Hayward, who may be “bought out” of his final year with the Hornets and available. Many contending teams would consider a trade for Bulls’ Alex Caruso, but the price tag would probably be too high.
“Miami made a nice trade for [Terry] Rozier, which will make them better, but it’s not enough to get by Philadelphia, Milwaukee or, especially Boston,” said Nelson. “The Celtics are elite, the best team in the East, no question. But the finals could be a tougher road. They are in good position and I expect Brad Stevens to get them in better position very soon.”
You can email Bill Burt at [email protected].
