After falling short of banner number 18 following three straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances, this summer

the Boston Celtics made the bold and splashy decision to execute a blockbuster trade that brought star big Kristaps

Porzingis to eastern Massachusetts.

Despite this obvious upgrade to their starting lineup, however, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey believes the club’s sore spot

within their first five unit still resides within their frontcourt, as he labeled whoever earns the lead center role between

Robert Williams III and Al Horford as the C’s “weakest link.”

“Despite coach Joe Mazzulla’s hesitance to use jumbo, two-big lineups last season, starting Porziņģis and burying one of

Horford or Williams as the third string center feels unlikely. And whichever one starts alongside KP will almost certainly be

the weak link in this starting five. But this is one of those situations where the term “weak” is relative,” Bailey wrote.

“Horford is 37 years old, and Williams has struggled with durability throughout his career, but both are good players who’ll

raise the Celtics’ defensive ceiling. They’re just not on the same level as three players who’ll contend for All-Star nods in

2023-24 (Porziņģis, Brown and Tatum) and one of the game’s best defensive guards in Derrick White.”

Though such a label may generally possess negative connotations, this specific distinction should not have anyone believing

either of these aforementioned players is anywhere close to a negative asset for the Celtics, and Bailey himself seeming made

the effort to suggest this within his reasoning.

However, in a five-man rotation stacked with three proven stars and a steady, two-way backcourt presence like Derrick

White, each will undoubtedly be viewed as the lesser of the bunch.

Nevertheless, both Robert Williams III and Al Horford have proven to be sensational contributors for Boston throughout

their respective tenures, and, last season, finished first and fourth, respectively, on the team in net rating out of those who

logged 800 or more minutes.

---

Robert Williams Working on Jumper

Coming into year six of his NBA career, Robert Williams III appears to be working toward adding another element to his

game, as NBA trainer Aaron Miller recently posted a video to his personal Twitter account of the Celtics big cashing in on

mid-to-long range jump shots during his offseason workouts.

Throughout his time with the Celtics, Williams has established himself as more of an old-school, rim-running and paint-

protecting pivot presence who has shied away from expanding his offensive placement beyond the paint. During his five

NBA seasons, the 25-year-old has attempted a total of 69 shots from outside the painted area, cashing in on just 26 of them (a 37.6% clip).

Adding a consistent jumper to his game would only make Williams an even more tantalizing presence on the hardwood,

even if such an attribute is used more as a decoy than anything else.

---

Celtics Legend Sticks Up for Jaylen Brown

Following Jaylen Brown’s historic $304 million contract extension to remain with the Celtics long-term, critics started to

voice their negative opinions on the club’s decision, with ESPN’s Zach Lowe even revealing that multiple executives told him

it may not be wise for Boston to the wing that much considering, in their eyes at least, he isn’t even the second best player on

the team.

“I’ve had a couple of people in opposing front offices tell me something along the lines of ‘Are the Celtics really gonna pay

their third or fourth or fifth best player all this money?’” Lowe said on the July 25 episode of “The Lowe Post” podcast.

Upon hearing such rumblings, Celtics legend Kevin Garnett came to the defense of the two-time All-Star and recently

established All-NBA talent, questioning the concept of how one could suggest Brown to be ranked so low within his own

team’s pecking order.