Biggest Stories and What to Watch For Entering Celtics Second Half

BOSTON — The Celtics returned from the all-star break without missing a beat, Jayson Tatum transitioning from his scoring burst prior into a classic passing performance — his fourth career triple-double. Jaylen Brown added to the movement in his touches, Boston posting 33 assists on 43 baskets to defeat the 76ers, 124-104. Payton Pritchard returned to his early season scoring prowess, posting 28 points for the third time this season by hitting five threes in his first eight minutes and finishing 8-of-15 from deep. Boston now plays eight of its next games at TD Garden, beginning on Sunday against the Knicks.

The dominant win, another resembling the average night for Boston in 2023-24, inspires confidence that the second half will feature far fewer disappointments and frustrations.

Here’s what else to watch for in the second half…

1. Jaylen Brown & Jrue Holiday’s health: Brown dealt with lower body and shoulder ailments in the first half of the season that visibly limited his burst. Holiday missed the final four games before the break with a shoulder ailment. Both returned on Thursday and looked relatively fresh Brown finishing 7-of-13 and Holiday going 3-for-6 (2-3 3PT). They’ll both likely headline the need for rest and management down the stretch alongside Al Horford, but neither player’s absence lingering beyond all-star is a positive.
2. Brown and Jayson Tatum’s rotations: With Tatum’s latest exceptional performance featuring him receiving full first and third quarter rotations, which Brown’s absence allowed him to also do in back-to-back 30 point games before the break, Joe Mazzulla faces another difficult lineup decision. Tatum obviously benefits from the extended flow, rhythm and shot attempts those longer stretches of playing time provide him. They often come at the cost of Brown’s offense early in halves, and getting the latter going in his past routine led the Celtics to reverse their rotations earlier in the year after Tatum thrived playing full first quarters to begin the season. What’s working should stay for now, and when Tatum’s minutes need scaling back or other needed adjustments arise, Mazzulla can shift their rotations game-to-game or even in-game after halftime.
3. Kristaps Porzingis’ fit: Porzingis’ return coincided with the Celtics’ most inconsistent stretch of play this season in January. His performances rarely lack individually, but allowed for fewer Pritchard takeovers off the bench, larger lineups and an offense more oriented around setting up his mismatches. Boston slowed down heavily that month, the only sign of his presence throwing things off other than a swing in opponent three-point luck. Now, he’s surging and it’s translating to winning — 7-of-8 since the Houston loss when he’s played — Porzingis averaging 20.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.3 SPG and 2.1 BPG on 47.9% shooting (41.5% 3PT) over this recent stretch. They’re going to need him this postseason.
4. Cavs chase: The Cavs won their ninth games over their last 10 to begin the second half, staying 5.5 games ahead of the Celtics in the standings as they have for most of this month. Their lone loss over that stretch: 112-105 at home to Boston, who’s mostly controlled their three matchups this season. Cleveland traded for De’Andre Hunter at the deadline to reinforce their improving forward depth that already featured Max Strus, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill and rookie Jaylon Tyson. Cleveland will also reportedly sign Javonte Green this weekend after his Pelicans buyout. The Celtics and Cavs meet for the final time next Friday at TD Garden and with 26 games remaining, the Cavs have a 94.9% chance to finish as the one seed, according to Basketball Reference. The Celtics have downplayed the race, saying they’re more focused on themselves and peaking at the right time. Boston leads New York for the No. 2 seed by 2.5 games, playing them for the third time in Boston on Sunday with a chance to clinch the tiebreaker.
5. Home court: After losing at home only four times last season, the Celtics started 17-10 at TD Garden, tied with Orlando for only the 11th-best home record in the NBA. They lost to Sacramento, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas badly before the break and nearly blew a game late against New Orleans, but routine wins over Chicago and San Antonio showed the Celtics getting back to themselves as the calendar turned to February. That stretch didn’t provide them many home games period, never mind extended stretches at the Garden, and while players have struggled to identify the issue at home, whether sky high expectations from the crowd, opponents inspired by the atmosphere, or pressure they place on themselves, they need upcoming games against New York, Cleveland and even Philadelphia in Boston.
6. Is Philadelphia done? It doesn’t look like the Lonnie Walker IV signing will prove enough to revive a rapidly dying Sixers season. One month ago, a late surge, full health and Joel Embiid’s best in a play-in tournament sounded like enough to secure Philadelphia the seventh or eight seed, and potentially line them up against a Celtics team they played well through two meetings. That all but died on Thursday with another lackluster Embiid and Paul George night, falling to 7-7 when their big three plays and six straight losses going back before the break. Brooklyn could’ve passed them for the 11th seed with a win, Chicago still sits ahead of them by 1.5 games in the playoff picture and Embiid reminded everyone he’ll likely need surgery to address his knee issue. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if they decide to make the move soon. Especially as they owe their first round pick to the Thunder top-six protected — from the Al Horford deal.
7. Torrey Craig’s role: At full health, aside from Xavier Tillman Sr.’s knee swelling, Craig did not play on Thursday until the final eight minutes. There, he blocked three shots and grabbed an offensive rebounding, showing his defensive prowess after hitting a pair of threes in his debut last Wednesday. Mazzulla said they’ll rely on his experience and play him through his acclimation to the Celtics’ system. His role appears similar to Oshae Brissett’s last year — DNP-CD at full health, next up when someone’s out.
8. Rest: If the top seed isn’t the focus, I’d expect to see more rest and load management later in the season. Tatum hasn’t sat since Dec. 12, and his minutes load increased significantly before the break. He’s shown he can handle the extra burden, but it shouldn’t be necessary in the regular season where they can avoid it. Less important than planned off nights, the Celtics shutting down games before the fourth quarter like they did on Thursday allows for some de-facto load management, though Mazzulla could do a better job getting players out of blowouts earlier. Tatum and Brown exited three minutes into the fourth in Philadelphia with Boston ahead by 22 points.
9. More double-big looks: The Celtics have more lineup flexibility now with Sam Hauser healthier and Craig on the roster, but they’re going to continue relying on double-big looks. Mazzulla said on 98.5 that they expected to do that last postseason, but it never happened due in large part to Porzingis’ injury. He learned about flexibility through that experience and stressed that they don’t want to end up in a position where they haven’t tried something they need to use later. That’s led to three-guard lineups, Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta sharing the floor together and even some triple-big looks in garbage time. Utilizing size stems from Mazzulla’s obsession with winning the offensive rebounding battle, but it’s also led to better rim protection with Porzingis anchoring the middle. He and Kornet have played well together if the Celtics want two seven-footers on the floor. More often, Horford will play the four into the playoffs. Kornet, who performed spectacularly, dunking twice on Thursday, looks like a near playoff rotation lock.
10. Payton Pritchard: Pritchard said in Miami before the break he expects there’ll be nights where he shoots less and the matchups go away from him. It happened more often with fewer minutes and offensive responsibilities in the preceding weeks, but he showed the early season explosions are still there with his beatdown on the Sixers. Those will come when teams play away from him and others to crowd Brown and Tatum, which Philadelphia went all-in on before playing zone to open more opportunities late. The Celtics surged to third in three-point shooting in the 10 games before the break, hitting 37%, and Pritchard led a 24-for-54 (44.4%) effort on Thursday. He leads the league in bench points and assists, and should win sixth man of the year.