With the Boston Celtics losers of three consecutive games, including a nail-biter against the New York Knicks at TD Garden on Thursday night, perhaps it’s time for the front office to consider a few potential roster additions before the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline.
Boston has allowed over 110 points per game through the cold streak, one of which came against an Orlando Magic (19-29) squad far beyond playoff contention. And while the recent struggles could be attributed to minor details such as Joe Mazzulla’s timeout management, the Celtics’ ability to limit the cost of turnovers or even Jaylen Brown’s failure to show up in clutch moments, one thing is for sure: Boston has tiptoed the line of concern.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls (22-16), who most likely won’t give anyone problems in the Eastern Conference, are reportedly set to part ways with guard Alex Caruso, according to Alex Quinn of CBS Sports. Caruso, 28, while not flashy in the box score, has proven to be among the feistiest and most efficient defenders in the league with a 109.9 defensive rating through 42 games played so far. And you can never have too much defensive depth, right? FiveThirtyEight’s Defensive RAPTOR rated Caruso (+5.6) as the NBA’s best defensive player among all positions.
Caruso has also averaged just 4.4 field goal attempts but has shot a high efficiency. He?s hit 38.7% of his shots from beyond the arc, just second to teammate Patrick Williams (41%) for the team lead.
In Boston, 6-foot-1 backup guard Payton Pritchard has struggled just to remain on the floor. The Oregon product has rummaged for minutes off the bench, and unlike Caruso, is vastly undersized and inefficient on the defensive end. Pritchard has notched a 114.6 defensive rating through 34 games to go along with a career-low 12.7 minutes per contest.
Offensively, Pritchard’s took a dip. When drafted back in 2020, Pritchard appeared to have the outside shooting potential necessary to fill a valuable void in Boston’s depth. Yet, that hasn’t been the case in year three. He shot just 33.3% — a career-worst — from 3-point range on 2.8 attempts.
Plus, with some teams around the league reportedly having already expressed interest in Pritchard, the argument for keeping him in Boston has further diminished.