The Boston Celtics came up short in their 2022 NBA Finals series against a seasoned Golden State Warriors squad, losing in six games to end a postseason run even All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum’s father Justin wasn’t entirely sure was going to happen.
Monday morning quarterbacking would be too easy in an assessment of that postseason run, inflected with the frustration that the Celtics couldn’t quite get the job done at their precocious average age of 25.9. But if one takes a longer view of how each player playing for Boston in the 2022 NBA Playoffs in the context of what was expected of them in the postseason, the Celtics acquitted themselves well for the most part.
Let’s take a stab at assessing the full playoff roster that saw the floor this postseason.
Nik Stauskas – 1 point per game
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Good ole Sauce Castillo wasn’t asked to do much besides eat minutes in garbage time, and that he did well.
Given his minuscule responsibilities in the postseason, we can’t give him less than a B, but would have rated his play higher if he exceeded expectations even a little.
Grade: B
Malik Fitts – 0.9 points per game
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
As with Stauskas, the expectations for Fitts were virtually non-existent save for garbage-time fill-ins, which he did as well as anyone with.
We’ll give him the tiniest boost over his backcourt deep rotation teammate for his notable bench presence, however.
Grade: B+
Juwan Morgan – 0.3 rebounds per game
Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
As with his other deep rotation compatriots, the bar was low for Morgan.
Even still, he did little with his minimal opportunities, so we had to ding him ever so slightly.
Grade: C
Sam Hauser – 0.7 points per game
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
There was perhaps a bit more hope that Hauser might be able to help the team a bit more than the rest of his deep rotation teammates given he’d played 26 games with the team in the regular season.
But we will be generous given a poorly-timed shoulder injury, even if he did disappoint a bit in his limited run.
Grade: C+
Luke Kornet – 0.8 points per game
John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
The Green Kornet has been to the postseason with Boston before — and did noticeably worse this time around.
Some of that is a product of a shrunken role, but apart from a few flashes did not do much to highlight growth as a postseason player.
Grade: C-
Aaron Nesmith – 3.2 points, 2.6 rebounds per game
Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Nesmith saw his role shrink a bit once it became clear that the team was going to need to shorten its rotation to succeed, but still managed to have an impact in the postseason in the limited run he managed to get.
That role shrunk further as the Celtics got deeper in the playoffs, but Nesmith’s energy never flagged.
Grade: C
Daniel Theis – 4.3 points, 3.3 rebounds per game
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The return of Theis at the trade deadline was more than just a touching footnote to the season as the German center was a real help in the regular season.
He became increasingly unplayable as Boston went deeper in the postseason due to familiar weaknesses and physical limitations he deserves a little blame for, but by now we know where Theis works and where he doesn’t.
Grade: C-
Payton Pritchard – 4.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists per game
Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
As was the case with both Theis and Nesmith, Pritchard’s playability in the postseason diminished as Boston advanced, but he did well with the run he had early on.
He also learned that he’ll need to keep adding to his game if he wants to stick with a team that has title aspirations.
Grade: C
Grant Williams – 8.6 points, 3.8 points per game
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but Williams saw his effectiveness wane with the Celtics as they advanced in the playoffs, even if he did have some brilliant moments.
And on one hand, the Tennessee product had more responsibility than he had in the prior two postseasons and clearly took steps forward — but he still has steps to go towards becoming a reliable postseason option for the team.
Grade: C+
Derrick White – 8.5 points, 3 rebounds, 2.7 assists per game
Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
While you can’t get the full picture of what White added to the team from his counting stats alone, what one can see is that the former Spurs guard needs to get comfortable in his new home to help at the level he’s needed.
Like Williams, D-White showed out a few times in the postseason but disappeared in the Finals. With an improved shot and confidence with it, we expect better results, but given expectations, we can’t grade him too highly.
Grade: C
Robert Williams III – 7.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2.2 blocks per game
Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
Timelord could have called it a season when he tore his meniscus but chose to keep fighting through considerable pain. And even still, he managed to be one of Boston’s most imposing players on defense and effective options on offense.
Given the context and level of expectation one should have given his health, we had to rate the Texas A&M product highly.
Grade: A
Marcus Smart – 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.2 points per game
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The Celtics never would have gotten to where they were without Smart stepping into the role of starting point guard and owning it in the regular season, but the wheels fell off a bit in the postseason, especially the Finals.
It wasn’t the best postseason of his career, but the Flower Mound native played through multiple injuries, within his role, and stepped up when he had to until the Dubs made life hard for everyone.
Grade: B-
Al Horford – 12 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 blocks per game
Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
Horford’s numbers for a starting center at any age are impressive, and that most big men are out of the league by the time they are 35 makes it all the more impressive.
Like most of his teammates, he also ran out of gas in the Finals, but still put up a fight even as his game began to betray him.
Grade: A-
Jaylen Brown – 23. points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.1 steals per game
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Brown was often the best player on the floor for Boston early in the postseason and was the team’s most reliable source of offense in the Finals.
We will lament the disappearance of his handle in the playoffs until he gets it back again, but apart from that and the many turnovers it created, we have to rate his postseason performance well.
Grade: A-
Jayson Tatum – 25.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.2 steals per game
Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
Despite his Finals disappearing act, Tatum led his team in postseason scoring in the 2022 NBA Playoffs — and what’s more, led the team in assists as well.
There’s lots to be critical of in terms of what went wrong on his watch, but his growth as a player this season (and playoffs) has been nothing short of phenomenal. Filter out disappointment and one is left with a very solid playoff run to build on in the future.
Grade: B+
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
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