Five things we want to see from the Celtics before 2025 ends originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

About the only thing that can slow down the Boston Celtics lately is the NBA schedule.

Boston had won five straight and 10 of its last 12 while screaming into the NBA Cup slowdown, a stretch that includes just two games in 11 nights. The Celtics stumbled in a visit to Milwaukee on Thursday, the only game they will play in a seven-day stretch. Things (finally) start to crank back up Monday with a visit from the East-leading Pistons, even if three more (agonizing) days off will follow.

Here are five things we’d like to see from the Celtics when things eventually kick back into high gear: 

The lasting image from Thursday’s loss in Milwaukee will be Wisconsin native Sam Hauser missing two quality looks from beyond the arc, then smoking an even more wide open layup off a solid cut to the basket on the very same possession. 

Hauser, now in the first year of a four-year, $45 million extension, is shooting career lows at 34.2 percent beyond the 3-point arc and 34.5 percent overall. He’s generating 101.2 points per 100 shot attempts, which is a staggering 27 points per 100 worse than his average over the last three seasons, per Cleaning the Glass data. 

After opening the 2025-26 season as a starter, Hauser is averaging just 22.3 minutes per game in a reserve role. The Celtics are 6.8 points per 100 possessions worse with Hauser on the court versus off, the worst on/off difference on the team among regulars this season. 

The good new is that it doesn’t feel possible that these shooting woes can persist. Hauser seems as exasperated as anyone when his shot isn’t falling. Defensively, he’s quietly held up well, holding opponents to 4.6 percent below expected output over the last 13 games. Hauser is defending well without fouling, ranking in the 93rd percentile in the NBA in fouls per shot attempt contested (7.3 percent). 

Hauser’s shooting woes were slightly masked when Derrick White and Payton Pritchard struggled to find their shots out of the gate. As those two start to settle in a bit, it’s time for Hauser to do the same.

Celtics rookie Hugo Gonzalez has played in six straight games and nine of Boston’s last 10. Boston is outscoring opponents by a team-best 16.3 points per 100 possessions during that stretch (the next closest is White, at +11.3). 

Gonzalez singlehandedly flipped the energy against the Knicks as Boston rallied out of an early hole to start the month with a win. He’s made 12 of 14 shots over his last four outings. Playing time is earned not given under Joe Mazzulla, but it feels like Gonzalez is making good things happen whenever he gets his opportunity. 

Gonzalez is generating steals on 3.3 percent of team plays, which ranks in the 99th percentile among wings, per Cleaning the Glass data. Only Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace generates more at that position (3.6 percent). That steal rate ranks Gonzalez fourth in the entire NBA behind only Alex Caruso (4.1), Wallace, and Miami’s Dru Smith (3.5). 

The Celtics have now played 217 total minutes without a pure center on the court. Boston owns a +8.7 net rating in that span while putting up a video game-like offensive rating of 133.6. That’s 12.2 points per 100 possessions higher than Boston’s No. 3 ranked offensive rating for the season. 

The question is whether that’s sustainable, and whether Boston is OK just trying to outgun opponents whenever Neemias Queta isn’t on the floor. The Celtics have leaned into the luxury of having Josh Minott and Jordan Walsh play center-like roles with their length and athleticism. But a 124.8 defensive rating in those minutes is less than ideal. 

Maybe the solution for Boston is as simple as letting president of basketball operations Brad Stevens tinker with the roster when trade season formally launches on December 15 (the day most players signed this offseason can officially be moved). 

We suspect Boston’s other veteran big men — Chris Boucher, Luka Garza, and Xavier Tillman — will get their occasional chances, and they must be ready to maximize them. Rookie two-way center Amari Williams could get time once he’s healed from a hand fracture. 

The bottom line is that, with Queta averaging 24 minutes per game, there’s another 24 minutes for this team to fill at the center spot. Going small has produced Boston’s best non-Queta basketball, but it gets clunky when the Celtics are struggling with their own offensive efficiency.

The Celtics rank 18th in the NBA in defensive rating while allowing 115 points per 100 possessions. That number has actually slid backwards a bit to 116.6 over the last 13 games, masked by Boston’s offensive output in that stretch. 

Boston lingering in the back half of the league actually feels like a bit of a surprise. The Celtics rank seventh in opponent effective field goal percentage (53.1) and eighth in opponent turnover rate (15.4 percent). They’ve actually defended the rim well despite their lack of size.

In fact, Boston has been hurt most by a rise in opponent 3-point success. Celtics opponents shot 35.4 percent last season (fourth-best in the NBA) and are up to 37.5 percent this year (24th overall). 

The Celtics have one of the best half-court defenses in the league, limiting opponents to a defensive rating of 96.5 points on first-shot defense, per Cleaning the Glass data. They’ve simply been hindered by an inability to secure rebounds and limit second-chance opportunities. 

Finishing off possessions and cooling opponents on the perimeter could go a long way toward Boston surging into the top half of the league in defensive rating. 

The Celtics have a league-best nine wins against teams over .500. They are just 6-3 against teams under that mark.

On one hand, it’s encouraging that the Celtics play their best basketball against top competition. Over the course of two weeks, they handed losses to the Pistons, Knicks, Magic, Cavaliers, and Raptors — five of the top seven teams in the East standings. But losses to the Bucks, Jazz, and Nets have left the Celtics in a crowded pack behind Detroit and New York in the East. 

Good teams don’t play with their food. They handle business against inferior opponents. The margins are simply too thin for the Celtics to downshift at all this season. They need to stay locked in regardless of who’s on the other side.

The Celtics play seven straight games against sub.-500 opponents from December 22 to January 5. They can either maintain their run up the East standings, or diminish how good they’ve been against the conference’s best.