An All-Star Case for All 5 Celtics Starters

It’s that time of year again to start filling out your NBA All-Star ballots, and we’re here to tell you why your Eastern Conference section should be marked entirely in Green.

The league tipped off its fan-voting campaign Tuesday morning, which will lead up to the 73^rd annual All-Star Game on Feb. 18 in Indianapolis. Simultaneously, the Celtics’ marketing team launched their own campaign to send all five of their starters to Indy which, as optimistic as it sounds, is an entirely valid proposition.

Boston’s rotation of Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Jayson Tatum, and Derrick White has undoubtedly been the most lethal starting five in the league, boasting a 14-1 record together. When they’re all on the floor, those five guys have also recorded a net rating of plus-19.6, which is the best mark in the league among all five-man rotations that have logged at least 250 minutes.

Individually, they’ve each stood out in their own way to make an All-Star case, which we’ve laid out in detail below.

Adding two proven scorers in Porzingis and Holiday into the starting rotation has balanced Boston’s scoring attack, meaning its other stars have had to sacrifice some of their shooting volume in order to maximize the lineup’s potential. Brown has been at the forefront of accepting such a sacrifice. However, while his scoring has dipped slightly as a result, his game has only grown stronger and he should be in line to make his third career All-Star appearance.

Brown is averaging 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists (career-high), and 1.2 steals (career-high) per game. He’s also shooting 47.7 percent from the field, including 34.2 percent from 3-point range. However, his traditional stats don’t tell the whole story of his impact, as the eye test has shown, especially on the defensive end.

JB has been vocal about making a push for the All-Defensive team this season, and he’s backed it up by being one of the most efficient shot-defenders in the league. His defensive field-goal percentage of 40.9 percent is by far the best of his career, and his defensive field-goal expected output is at minus-6.2 percent, which is the best mark among any Eastern Conference wing.

On the topic of defense, Jrue Holiday has been Boston’s anchor on that end and is one of the key reasons why it owns the best team defensive rating in the East at 109.2. Holiday’s impact, much like Brown’s, has been defined less by the numbers and more by the responsibility that he has taken on in guarding the opposition’s best scorers regardless of position.

Holiday, also seeking his third All-Star nod, has been a jack-of-all-trades on the offensive end; he’s capable of stepping into either a scoring or a playmaking role whenever needed. He’s averaging 12.3 points, a career-high 6.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from deep, and 82.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t taken much time to find his flow within Boston’s offense and is having by far the most efficient season of his career. The 7-foot-3 big man is averaging 18.9 points per game despite attempting just 12.2 field goals per game, giving him a shooting clip of 52.4 percent from the field. He’s also shooting 65.9 percent from 2-point range, which is exactly 10 percentage points higher than the career-high he set last season (55.9 percent).

Porzingis has been by far the most efficient post scorer in the East among players with at least one such attempt per game, averaging 1.38 points per possession. His teammate, Tatum, is in second place at 1.22 PPP.

KP has also provided a strong post presence on the defensive end, where he’s averaging 1.6 blocks per game.

Put all that together, and he’s making a very strong case for his second All-Star bid.

Tatum should be an All-Star shoo-in for the fifth consecutive year and should also once again be in line to be named a starter.

Despite Boston’s major additions, Tatum’s stats haven’t taken much of a hit. He’s averaging 27.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, while shooting career-bests of 48.3 percent from the field and 58.5 percent from 2-point range.

The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month is one of three players leaguewide averaging at least 27 points and eight rebounds, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Joel Embiid.

Taking into account that he is the best player on the best team in the league should make JT an automatic selection as an All-Star starter.

If there’s an unsung hero for this team, it’s Derrick White. And opposing coaches have started to take notice as they have begun to comment consistently on how underrated he is due to his unique size and versatility.

So far this season, White has averaged 15.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field, 41.9 percent from 3-point range, and 88.7 percent from the free-throw line. Every one of those numbers is a career-high except for one: his scoring average is 0.1 PPG lower than his career-best mark of 15.4.

The 2022-23 All-Defense selectee has continued his success on that end of the court as the only guard in the league averaging at least one steal and one block per game.

White is the lone player on this list without a prior All-Star selection, but that should no longer be the case come February.