With the In-Season Tournament firmly behind us, media attention will now turn toward the next big landmark in the NBA season: The All-Star Game. The Boston Celtics starting five can arguably all make a case for a spot on the Eastern Conference team.
However, in Kevin Pelton’s early All-Star predictions on ESPN.com, the Celtics will be represented by just one player, Jayson Tatum. Furthermore, ESPN currently doesn’t have Tatum making the All-Star starting five. Instead, he’s seen as a reserve, with his spot being filled by Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors.
That’s right, Pelton saw no room for Jaylen Brown or Kristaps Porzingis. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, who were both longshots anyway, are also expected to miss out. Here is how Pelton’s All-Star list shapes up.
- Tyrese Haliburton — Starter
- Tyrese Maxey — Starter
- Scottie Barnes — Starter
- Giannis Antetokounmpo — Starter
- Joel Embiid — Starter
- Damian Lillard — Reserves
- Donovan Mitchell — Reserves
- Jayson Tatum — Reserves
- Bam Adebayo — Reserves
- Jimmy Butler — Reserves
- Trae Young — Wild card
- Jalen Brunson — Wild card
To put this into context, the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Miami Heat have two players apiece. The Celtics have arguably the strongest starting lineup in the league and have one player. It would appear that Pelton believes the Celtics’ depth of talent has led to lesser impacts from their star players.
“As part of one of the NBA’s most talented starting fives, Tatum hasn’t had to be as ball-dominant as a year ago, seeing his usage rate drop from 33% to 30% — his lowest since 2019-20,” Pelton reasoned. “Tatum has taken advantage of the lighter load by making a career high 61% of his 2-point attempts and shooting nearly 50% from the field overall.”
However, this writer is inclined to disagree. Tatum’s shot profile is increasingly diverse. Brown is the most aggressive he’s been in a long time. Porzingis is arguably the most impactful player on the entire team. And White is the player Austin Reaves dreams of becoming.
To be fair, Pelton does have Porzingis and White as potential All-Star additions, but at present, he sees both of them missing out. Yet, it’s Brown who needs an All-Star selection the most. His supermax contract hasn’t even kicked in yet, and that price tag is already being used as a barometer to measure his performances. If he were to miss out on the All-Star team, the criticism would hit new and unwarranted heights.
We’re still a few months away from the All-Star break. There is plenty of basketball left to be played. Pelton’s predictions are subject to change. To imagine Boston’s championship-level roster being represented by just one player who didn’t even make the starting five is lunacy. I mean, we’re talking about a team that’s 16-5 on the season, a team that revamped their rotation and looks to be the biggest threat to the Denver Nuggets’ current crown.
At present, any discussion about All-Star selections feels premature. Yet, we all know how quickly the season passes by — it only feels like yesterday that it was Opening Night, and now we’re a quarter of the way through. Hopefully, by the time the All-Star weekend rolls around, there will be three members of the Celtics roster in attendance, and I’m not talking about the three-point or dunk contest.
