Celtics Players Under Most Pressure Entering 2022-23 NBA Season
The Boston Celtics are trying to leave nothing to chance as they approach the 2022-23 NBA season.
After finishing the 2021-22 campaign just two wins shy of a title, they nevertheless got busy searching for upgrades over the summer. They swung a big deal for Malcolm Brogdon. They landed Danilo Gallinari in free agency. They even kicked the tires on a Kevin Durant mega-deal.
The overall message of the offseason is a simple one: Being really good isn't good enough.
The Celtics are striving for championship greatness in 2022-23, and the following three players will feel that pressure more than anyone.
Malcolm Brogdon
The Celtics won't outright position Malcolm Brogdon as their missing piece, but it's hard not to paint him in that light after his summer move to Beantown.
Boston parted with recent lottery selection Aaron Nesmith and a first-round pick to get Brogdon, who will be immediately tasked with perking up the club's passing and perimeter shooting.
He's skilled enough to help in those areas, while also contributing at the defensive end and even a bit on the glass. But can he stay healthy enough to make a difference? He played just 36 games in 2021-22 and hasn't cleared 60 games since 2018-19.
Given how few tradeable assets the Celtics have left, the Brogdon deal was their all-in move to chase the 2023 title. He has the tools to get this done, but he needs to stay on the floor and mold his game to fit with this group.
Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown seems like a centerpiece. Or at least Jayson Tatum's top co-star.
Brown made the All-Star Game in 2021-22 and had the numbers to warrant a second consecutive selection this past season. He's on a three-year run of averaging 20-plus points and has cleared three assists per night each of the past two campaigns, and he still might do his best work on the defensive end.
Again, you'd think Boston would treat him as a building block, yet it was his name that was floated in those Durant talks. Granted, it's hardly a slap in the face to be dangled for a generational talent like Durant, but Brown has arguably played his way into untouchable territory, and the Shamrocks didn't functionally make him untouchable.
That puts the onus on Brown to either prove Boston wrong or to play so well that he convinces someone else to pay a massive trade price to come get him. He still may have one big hurdle to clear, though, and that's the jump from really good to great. In order to complete that, he needs to really tighten his handles, improve his decision-making and sharpen his outside shot.
Payton Pritchard
Payton Pritchard impressed as a rookie but saw his playing time slashed as a sophomore. He had to fight tooth and nail for floor time, and coach Ime Udoka didn't always dial his number. That made it tricky for Pritchard to find his rhythm, and he entered the summer hoping to avoid a repeat of that process.
"My first goal is finding consistent minutes every night and gaining the trust where I can be out there 20 minutes a night or more without it fluctuating," he told reporters.
Considering Boston's offseason, fluctuation could remain the norm for Pritchard. Between Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White, the Celtics have other, better options to turn to at point guard.
It's on Pritchard to prove he deserves a regular rotation role, anyway. His three-ball is pure (career 41.2 percent), and he competes defensively, but it might take more than that to earn a spot in a guard group as loaded as this one.