The Boston Celtics entered the All-Star break with a 39-16 record and are sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference. For the reigning champions, getting to the postseason healthy and clicking is more important than seeding. The Celtics have the best away record in the league and feel confident that they can beat anybody in a playoff series even without home-court advantage.
Therefore, the Celtics need to act with the playoffs in mind for the final two months of the season. This requires slight tweaks in the rotation.
A few players could benefit from playing fewer minutes down the stretch. The Celtics should consider reducing the minutes of Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis to keep them as fresh as possible for the playoffs.
The first Celtic who should get more playing time at their expense is Luke Kornet.
Luke Kornet passing. Love this guy. pic.twitter.com/55WnTE2jZB
— Jake Issenberg (@jakeissenberg) February 14, 2025
Luke Kornet is Having a Career Season With the Celtics
In his age-29 season, Kornet has truly blossomed into a quality center. For most of his career, the 7-foot-2 center has been on the fringes of rotations, including with the Celtics. This year, however, he has been a real difference-maker for Boston on both ends of the floor.
Kornet is currently playing a career-high 17.2 minutes per game. He has shown significant improvements offensively, displaying his passing skills more than he previously has. He continues to be a good finisher around the basket. He also adds a different offensive rebounding element to this team.
Defensively, he is a major deterrent around the basket with his size and length.
As a result, Kornet has the second-best on/off rating on the team. The Celtics are 6.2 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor and outscore their opponents by 13.6 points per 100 possessions when he is in the lineup.
Joe Mazzulla has experimented a lot more with two-big lineups this season. Kornet even started seven games for the Celtics. While Holiday, Horford, and Porzingis are given more rest down the stretch, Kornet should ideally play at least 20 minutes per game until the playoffs.