After a primary season the place all went nicely for Jrue Vacation within the Celtics uniform, the second act was a disappointment. His particular person performances and collective affect went downhill from 2023–24 to 2024–25, and regardless of his finest effort, he couldn’t replicate the footprint he had final yr. That being stated, what had been the foundation causes behind this underperforming season? Wanting again, there have been each contextual causes and particular person causes.
A brand new therapy
Vacation this season needed to take care of a brand new therapy from opposing defenses. Certainly, beginning in December 2024 with the Memphis Grizzlies, groups started to contemplate Vacation a non-shooting risk and invited him to shoot from past the arc. Due to this fact, his 3-point quantity stored rising, with 51% of his shot makes an attempt coming from that space. Nevertheless, the capturing effectivity dropped drastically. Even earlier than he injured his finger, Vacation’s capturing accuracy was far beneath what he delivered the earlier yr, and opposing groups stored capitalizing on that.
The earlier season, he was thought-about lethal from the corners, with 60% accuracy from there. This season, on an even bigger quantity, he made solely 30% of his makes an attempt from the nook through the common season. Whereas his actual stage is probably going someplace between these two marks, his lack of ability to show opposing defenses improper price the Celtics their spacing with him on the ground. Within the 15 video games the Celtics misplaced whereas he performed, he shot 19% from past the arc on greater than 5 makes an attempt per sport.
This capturing droop had an apparent offensive affect—however not solely. The difficulty compelled Joe Mazzulla and his teaching employees to present extra clutch minutes and 4th-quarter tasks to Payton Pritchard. Offensively, it was an incredible increase and an awesome various to take care of the Jrue capturing enigma. Nevertheless, with Pritchard on the ground, the Celtics’ unbreakable protection grew to become a bit extra shaky. Groups often go after the sixth Man of the 12 months—and regardless of his finest effort and relentless work—he’s nonetheless a 6’1” guard who might be focused. The Celtics’ defensive ranking was 110.2 factors per 100 possessions with Jrue Vacation on the ground, 112.8 with Payton Pritchard as a substitute. It’s nonetheless good, however not as elite.
Whereas the capturing is regarding—however may bounce again, as a result of that’s how variance works—what is perhaps trickier to take care of is his lack of ability to drive or create from the conditions the place opponents left him open. His driving, which I assumed was again in opposition to the Magic, is definitely gone for good. He wasn’t in a position to drive—neither in opposition to Jalen Brunson and the Knicks, nor when attacking the area defenses gave him. In his final season in Milwaukee, he drove greater than 11 occasions per sport. Final season, greater than 6. This season, there have been fewer than 5 drives per sport. With the accidents piling up, possibly Vacation doesn’t have the juice to drive each day anymore.
Due to this new therapy, Jrue Vacation’s capturing instability and declining well being had been expensive for the Celtics—and is also problematic this summer time when Brad Stevens affords him to different groups. Nonetheless, whereas the offense is puzzling, the protection stays elite, and he’s nonetheless one of the crucial versatile gamers within the NBA.
Can he nonetheless assist a staff win?
Going into the offseason, that would be the query the opposite 29 basic managers will probably be asking themselves when Jrue Vacation’s 4-year, $134,400,000 contract. With the brand new CBA, Vacation’s deal accounts for round 20% of the league cap till 2027–28, when he will probably be 37 years outdated. But, regardless of the contract, the capturing enigma, and the accidents, Jrue Vacation may nonetheless be a optimistic participant in a aggressive atmosphere because of his skill to do all the pieces. He’s a guard who can play both with or with out the ball. He can display, go on the transfer, and play within the dunker spot when wanted. He may really be the very best dunker-spot guard within the NBA.
Defensively, he can nonetheless tackle the very best opposing ball-handler, match up with a middle, and play the quarterback in the midst of a zone protection. All these ability units make him a useful participant in a profitable atmosphere. That’s in all probability why the Celtics ought to be capable of commerce him this offseason. However due to his contract and his age, the commerce may price the Celtics different property from Brad Stevens to make the deal extra interesting to the opposite staff.
Picture by Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe through Getty Photos
However this final season, the Jrue Vacation commerce through the 2023 offseason will stay successful. He got here and tailored completely to a brand new function. With him, the Celtics had been in a position to lastly attain the highest and win the 18th. His contract extension, nevertheless, is perhaps questionable—however this belongs to the previous. Now, each the Boston Celtics and Jrue Vacation have to maneuver ahead, and this is perhaps the top of a brief, but profitable, partnership.
