Paul George looks like the kind of piece the Celtics should love on paper. He can shoot it, defend, and make plays, and he’s shown he can slide into a supporting role while still taking over when the moment calls for it. The problem is simple: none of that helps Boston if he’s not available.
That’s where the real danger sits for the Celtics. George has carried durability questions for years, and the trend has only gotten worse lately.
Since the 2018-19 season, he has topped 60 games only once, when he appeared in 74 for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2023-24. Even if you strip out his 25-game suspension from last season and assume he played every one of those missed games - which was highly unlikely anyway - he still would have reached only 62 games.
For Celtics fans still unhappy about the team trading Jaylen Brown to get him, that issue may be the loudest complaint of all. Brown has never played fewer than 60 games in a full season, while George is basically at the point where missing a big chunk of the year feels more likely than not. That’s a risky bet for a team with championship expectations.
Boston is leaning heavily on George, and that’s a shaky place to be when there’s no guarantee he’ll even be on the floor for the next stretch of games. The fit with Jayson Tatum makes sense, but the margin for error gets thin fast if either of them is unavailable.
The Celtics also don’t have an obvious answer waiting behind him. Derrick White showed last season that he can’t really be counted on as a No. 2 option when the shooting goes sideways.
Payton Pritchard has mostly been a bench player in his NBA career, and while there’s plenty of excitement about what he might do next season, asking him to become a regular go-to scorer is a lot. Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, and Hugo Gonzalez aren’t built for that role right now either.
George can still help. He’s 36, and he’s still good enough to matter.
He should fit well next to Tatum and give Boston a real two-way presence. But the Celtics are also taking on a real possibility that this move could backfire in a major way, especially when you factor in the decision to move Brown to get him.
In the end, Boston’s season is going to come down in large part to George staying healthy. And that’s the part the Celtics and their fans probably shouldn’t feel all that comfortable about.
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For Boston, the bigger issue is less about one individual deal than the way it sharpens the picture in the East. A deeper, more adaptable Cavaliers group gives Cleveland another layer heading into the upcoming season, and the Celtics know those are the kinds of additions that can swing playoff matchups and complicate the road through the conference. [Read more 🡒]
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Garza, meanwhile, has already seen one of the more unusual sides of that approach. After a viral clip showed Mazzulla boxing with Jayson Tatum, Garza said hed be interested in getting in on those sessions too, a sign that the coachs style is resonating in more ways than one. As Boston looks ahead to the new season, these little offseason details keep reinforcing that Mazzulla is trying to shape more than just the playbook. [Read more 🡒]
Derrick White Just Spotlighted A Real Celtics Offensive Dilemma
Derrick Whites value to Boston has never really been in doubt, but last season offered a clearer look at how much the Celtics ask him to do when the offense shifts around Jayson Tatum. White had to create more of his own looks, and while his shot-making took a hit, his defensive impact and all-around usefulness still kept him central to what Boston wanted to be.
With Tatum back, the fit should look more familiar for White, and that matters for a player whose best work often comes when he can play a cleaner, more balanced role. For the Celtics, the bigger question is less about Whites place in the rotation and more about how much the offense can restore the version of him that fits best alongside their stars. [Read more 🡒]