The Boston Celtics are penciled to have a successful title defense this year. However, with the emergence of other Eastern Conference rivals, like the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s a safe bet that repeating won’t be a walk in the park. Prior to the 2024-25 season, the team basically decided to stick with their championship core.
Fast forward to the trade deadline, the Celtics decided to stay pat. The lone roster moves they made were signing Torrey Craig on the buyout market and parting ways with Jaden Springer, along with some second-round draft picks in exchange for a 2031 second-round draft pick.
With a proven core already in place, it was understandable not to make any major roster changes. However, that doesn’t mean the Celtics’ roster armor shows no kinks. In fact, the Boston Celtics’ fatal flaw that must be fixed after the 2025 NBA All-Star break has to be Kristaps Porzingis’ questionable health.
Kristaps Porzingis’ availability has been suspect this season
In last season’s playoffs, everyone witnessed the importance of Kristaps Porzingis’ return for the NBA Finals. After falling to injury against the Miami Heat in the first round, Porzingis emerged as the team’s x-factor against the Dallas Mavericks in the championship stage. He averaged 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game in the NBA Finals.
It’s safe to say that his size, length, and rim protection were the final piece to the Celtics’ championship puzzle.
This year, Boston is expected to defend their championship, especially with their core intact. However, the downside has been that Porzingis’ lingering injuries have been an issue once more. Earlier into the 2024-25 season, the Latvian big man has already missed a lot of time after going under the knife to repair an ankle injury that he played through at the 2024 NBA Finals. Although he has returned to action this year, Porzingis is once again out due to an illness.
Thus far, Porzingis has already missed a total of 29 games. Although Boston has been doing fine without their All-Star center, they’re going to need him to be more available once the playoffs roll by.
An aging Al Horford
What makes Porzingis’ availability crucial is the team’s relatively thin frontcourt. Last year, the Celtics were lucky enough to have Al Horford fill in the shoes of an injured KP. Given that the Latvian center has been injured a lot lately, Boston is once again banking on Horford to fill the void. However, the Dominican Republic center isn’t getting any younger.
At already 38 years old, the 6-foot-9 big man is already showing signs of wear and tear. In fact, this year, Horford is putting up only 8.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. Those are by far the worst numbers of his NBA career.
Although his sheer drop can only be attributed to Father Time, which is ultimately natural, having him serve as the main backup center isn’t exactly ideal if the team is aiming for a successful title defense. Make no mistake, Horford is still doing relatively well for his age and role. However, having him fill the shoes of Porzingis on a nightly basis does open up a glaring hole in the frontcourt for the Celtics. It’s basically a tough ask from a 38-year-old who was surrounded by retirement rumors after winning his first NBA championship.
Joe Mazzulla will need to keep on maximizing his bench
Outside of Porzingis and Horford, the Celtics still have other centers, including Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta, and Xavier Tillman Sr. All big men certainly have their strengths, as Joe Mazzulla often deploys them depending on matchups. In fact, all of them have shown bright moments for the team whenever called upon.
Tillman was an undersized big man, who played an instrumental role at last year’s NBA Finals en route to a title. On the other hand, Kornet is a 7-foot-2 big man who brings in some much-needed size for the reserves. He provided productive minutes in the team’s 110-103 win over the Denver Nuggets. As a starter for that night, he tallied 8 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. Queta also shined bright in the victory, tallying 8 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Apart from several big men ready to answer the call, Mazzulla even went as far as experimenting with buyout market acquisition Torrey Craig at the center position against the Toronto Raptors. Craig tallied 4 points and 3 rebounds in the 111-101 victory against the Raptors, as Boston’s starting center. Although unorthodox, the Celtics are going to need all the healthy hands on deck for a successful title defense.
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