The Boston Celtics will be just fine without starting point guard Kemba Walker to start the season and have no need to worry about the point guard position.
Despite Kemba Walker more than likely not being available to start the season for the Boston Celtics due to his lingering knee injury, the team is going to be fine at the point guard position.
Starting a new season without your All-Star point guard is not ideal by any means. But with the positive reinforcements that the Celtics have made this offseason in regards to their point guard position allows the team to take things slow with Walker and get him as close to 100 percent as possible for this upcoming season (which is already just around the corner).
The signing of Jeff Teague is by far one of the best offseason decisions the Celtics have made. Bringing in an established veteran who is an ultimate playmaker to backup Walker and strengthen the second unit was at the top of the “to-do” list for Boston entering the 2020-21 season. They did just that by acquiring Teague.
Teague, a 12-year veteran, is a do it all type of player at this point in his career. More importantly, he is a player that the Celtics can feel comfortable with plugging into the starting lineup and allow him to run the floor. He’s a player that will defer from scoring to set up positive opportunities for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as they continue their ascent to stardom in their young careers.
But even with doing that, Teague is also experienced enough to understand when it’s his time to score and provide some offense for the team without taking shots away from Tatum and Brown, who are going to continue to be the main sources of offense for the Boston Celtics this season.
The Boston Celtics shouldn’t worry about their point guard position
With Walker’s delayed start to the season, rookie point guard Payton Pritchard may be expected to play earlier than possibly anticipated by the Boston Celtics. However, the Celtics feel confident in what they have with Pritchard at point guard. In doing so, the team signed Tremont Waters to another two-way contract which makes Pritchard the team’s third option to the position.
Similar to Teague, Pritchard is a do it all type of player. He can shoot and score as well as pass and make plays for his teammates. With Teague more than likely running with the starting unit, Pritchard is going to be a perfect fit and exactly what the Celtics’ second unit has been missing in a floor general.
Despite Waters being on another two-way contract, he should be in line to be in Boston more often than not this season. Although he envisioned himself as being part of the 15-man roster for the Celtics and worked hard this offseason to do so, Waters will have his opportunities to shine in Boston this season.
There is a lot of promise in Waters elevating his game to even higher heights than his impressive rookie season. Waters came into the league as a defensive standout point guard out of LSU and would end up transforming into the NBA G-League Rookie of the Year and made the All-NBA G-League Second Team last season.
When Walker is eventually healthy enough to play, the Celtics will have an outstanding three-headed monster point guard group in Walker, Teague, and Pritchard with an excellent reserve in Waters.