Boston Celtics DVOA, Stats, & NBA Rankings

Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (back) has been ruled out ahead of Thursday's game against the Washington Wizards. He was downgraded to questionable earlier in the day and now he'll sit out due to a lower back issue. The injury isn't considered to be serious, so Hauser should be back in the mix within a few days. The absence of Hauser should mean more minutes for Jordan Walsh, Xavier Tillman Sr., and Luke Kornet on Thursday. Tillman probably has the highest upside out of the three players for Thursday's slate. He finished with seven rebounds in 17 minutes during the season opener.

Boston Celtics small forward Sam Hauser is listed as questionable for Thursday night's game against the Washington Wizards with lower-back pain. Hauser was able to log 24 minutes in Tuesday night's thrashing of the New York Knicks and put up 10 points while going 2-for-7 from deep. Those numbers are in line with what Hauser produced off the bench for Boston last season and aren't fully a beneficiary of garbage time. If Hauser is ruled out for Thursday's game, expect Xavier Tillman Sr. to get a bit more shooting volume at the forward position, though his scoring threats are more likely to happen in the interior rather than from deep. It's possible that Payton Pritchard may see more of an uptick in three-point attempts to make up for Hauser's absence if he is indeed ruled out. Fantasy managers should target Pritchard over Tillman if there's a choice between the two.

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (foot) has been ruled out for the team's season opener against the New York Knicks on Tuesday. The star big man has been rehabbing from surgery on his foot and is not ready to take the floor just yet. There hasn't been a specific timetable reported, so fantasy managers will have to monitor his status in the meantime. Al Horford will take on some more minutes while the other opportunities will likely be spread between Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman Sr., and maybe even Neemias Queta. Horford and Kornet are likely the better streamers to start the season.

Boston Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown has let it be known that he is in great shape ahead of the 2024-25 NBA campaign. Speaking during the Celtics' media day, Brown noted that "this is the best he's ever felt" and "this summer was the hardest he has ever worked." Brown had plenty of time to invest in improving himself as a player after being left off the Team USA Olympics team. After being named the NBA Finals MVP in 2024, he appears to be gearing up for a big regular season, which should excite fantasy managers.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum spent some of the offseason working on his shooting, telling the media on Tuesday that he has worked through "a few mechanical things" on his jumper with trainer Drew Hanlen. Tatum has developed into one of the best scorers in the league, but his numbers dipped in 2023-24. The five-time All-Star went from averaging 30 points a night to getting 26.9 points. Tatum shot a career-low 28.3 percent from three-point range in the 2024 playoffs and couldn't get anything to fall from deep at the Paris Olympics. The Celtics star enters the new season after signing the biggest extension in NBA history and is expected to be out to prove his worth after being largely overlooked by Team USA in the summer.