Getty Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard handles the ball during a game against the Houston Rockets.
The Boston Celtics are definitely a team with a well-defined core; Marcus Smart joins All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as the pillars. Behind them and the multitude of veterans that are there for support, though, the Celtics have a burgeoning youth movement.
And the team just made a major investment in it, according to a slew of November 1 reports.
Per CelticsBlog’s Keith Smith, the Celtics will pick up the third-year contract options for Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the team is similarly picking up the 2022-23 option on Romeo Langford.
Finally, big man Grant Williams is getting his fourth-year option picked up as well, as reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
All Four Players Have Shown Their Potential
Although the Celtics’ quartet of youngsters have all had their battles — from injuries to bouts with COVID-19 to being left out of the rotation — each has shown incredible potential at various junctures throughout their young careers.
Through six games this season, Williams has played some of his best basketball. He has already started in two games for Boston and is putting up 9.8 points per contest on 57.6% shooting and 50% from three-point range. Although his offensive rating is a ho-hum 108.4, it’s actually the best mark on the team among major minute-getters.
Langford, meanwhile, has averaged 6.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 steals over three games while posting an effective field goal percentage of 64.3. At times during the preseason, he looked like the Celtics’ best player.
Pritchard has struggled in the early going, but he had a standout rookie campaign for the Celtics in 2020-21. Over 66 games as a first-year pro, he logged 7.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in just over 19 minutes per game. He was also a 41.1% three-point shooter. Over the summer, he dropped 92 points in a Portland pro-am game.
As for Nesmith, the wing took advantage of some extra time late last season. Over a six-game stretch from April 28 to May 9, he averaged 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.8 steals per contest, while posting shooting splits of 64-58-88.
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Celtics Hammered for Switch-Heavy D
Sitting at 2-4 heading into Monday’s big game against the red-hot Chicago Bulls, the Celtics have work to do in multiple areas. However, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale has been particularly unimpressed with new coach Ime Udoka’s defensive strategy:
Udoka has them switching almost everything. There is a real 2020-21 Sacramento Kings feel to the frequency with which they swap assignments. The Celtics just happen to have the personnel to do it without seeming so aimless.
That’s not an endorsement. Switching so often has compromised the fundamentals of Boston’s defense. No team is fouling opponents at a higher rate, and the Celtics rank 21st in offensive rebounding percentage.
Boston is putting opponents on the foul line more than any other team in the league at 27.5 attempts per game. The team’s current defensive rating of 107.7 ranks 20th in the Association.
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