The Celtics got the result they wanted Wednesday night, but the win came with a fresh concern attached.
Boston beat the Milwaukee Bucks 109-102 for its sixth victory of the season, yet Payton Pritchard exited in the second half with what the team called a right-eye abrasion and never returned. That left the Celtics dealing with another rotation issue on a night when Jayson Tatum was already out on a rest day.
Even with those absences, Boston found enough offense to hold off Milwaukee. Paul George and Derrick White carried much of the load, and White in particular had to steady the Celtics when the game tightened late. Milwaukee wiped out a 22-point deficit and briefly moved in front before White helped Boston wrest back control.
White closed with 24 points and seven assists, while George added 25 points and knocked down five three-pointers. Those two gave Boston the scoring punch it needed to survive a game that turned uncomfortable in a hurry.
Pritchard’s night was notable even before the eye issue surfaced. He had been listed on the injury report with a right-shoulder contusion, so simply getting him on the floor was a positive sign for Boston. The eye injury, though, became the bigger storyline once he left the game.
Now the timing matters. The Celtics open a four-game road trip Friday in Charlotte, and that stretch also includes games against Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Toronto. Boston has started the season with five straight home wins at TD Garden, but this next run comes away from that comfort.
That makes Pritchard’s status especially important. The Celtics have enough perimeter depth to adjust if he needs time, but his ballhandling and shooting are a meaningful part of what they do on offense.
Tatum’s return would obviously change things, but his availability for Friday shouldn’t be taken for granted until the team gives an update.
For now, Boston leaves Wednesday with the win and a new question to answer before the trip begins.
In Other News...
Derrick Whites Slump Is Still Bugging Celtics For One Big Reason
Derrick Whites long-range touch has been one of the quieter concerns around Boston early on, even as the Celtics have kept winning and the offense has stayed productive. His three-point percentage has trended down from 38.4% in recent seasons to 29.3% this year, a dip that stands out because so much of Bostons spacing and ball movement depends on guards and wings who can punish defenses from deep.
There is a reason the Celtics have not been knocked off course by it, though. Whites overall shooting from the field has improved, and Bostons offense remains strong enough to absorb a cold stretch from one of its most important perimeter pieces. The bigger question is what happens if White finds his previous form again, because even a modest rebound there would give an already dangerous attack another layer defenses have to account for. [Read more 🡒]
Paul George Concern Is Already Hanging Over Bostons Biggest Gamble
Bostons blockbuster swap of Jaylen Brown for Paul George brought instant star power, but it also brought the kind of long-view anxiety that tends to follow a veteran wing with mileage on the clock. George has been productive early, giving the Celtics the kind of two-way presence they were clearly chasing, yet the trade has already been framed around a bigger question than his opening weeks: how much can Boston ask of him before the season starts asking back?
That concern is especially pointed because the Celtics did not make this move for October alone. The real test is whether George can still look like himself when the games matter most in the spring, and some around the league are already wondering how carefully Boston will have to manage his workload to get there. For a team that pushed its chips in, the gamble is less about what George can do now than whether he can hold up long enough to make the deal look right when the playoffs arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Have A Fourth Quarter Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The Celtics have done plenty right through eight games to sit at 6-2, but the closing minutes keep undercutting the bigger picture. A team that has built leads early and often has not been nearly as secure when the game tightens up late, with opponents repeatedly finding room to chip away in the fourth quarter and turn comfortable margins into uneasy finishes.
The common thread has been hard to miss for anyone tracking the rotations and the defensive possessions that follow. Bostons late-game issues have shown up most clearly on the perimeter, where opponents have been able to generate the kind of looks that fuel comeback runs, and the lineup combinations used in those stretches are starting to draw scrutiny for whether they are holding up well enough when the legs get heavy. [Read more 🡒]