Boston Celtics: 3 players who could see increased roles today vs. OKC
By Mark Nilon
In today’s outing against the Oklahoma City Thunder, we expect these three Boston Celtics players to see increased roles in their first scrimmage of the Disney bubble.
Though the resumption of the regular season is still a week away, the wait to see your beloved Boston Celtics take to the hardwood for some NBA action is finally over. Today marks the team’s first of their three scrimmages in the Disney bubble.
So far, the scrimmages that have already taken place have been quite entertaining and, frankly, just what the doctor ordered in terms of healing boredom for basketball fans. Now, for those devout to the shamrocks, today’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder could serve as their antidote.
Coming into Orlando, Boston is seen as one of the top teams in the running to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy come the conclusion of this season. With the fifth-best record in NBA (43-21) coupled with their impressive star power of Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Marcus Smart at their disposal, it’s hard to argue why.
However, as we mentioned, before we get back into the swing of things and actually see teams start on the path towards the 73rd NBA Finals, they must get through these preliminary scrimmages to brush off the rust that’s accumulated over four months of rest and play through any potential hiccups that may initially come about.
Heading into today’s exhibition, there will be many storylines to follow. For us, our focus will be on the 16 active players that’ll be on the team’s bench, and how they look in their first game back.
As we saw with the Denver Nuggets earlier this week, roles could be tweaked and/ or altered during these scrimmages in order to see how certain players look in certain situations. With this in mind, it wouldn’t surprise us if we saw Brad Stevens get creative and bestow amplified roles to players who typically are used as secondary options or role players.
As for which player could be in line for increased roles today against OKC… the Houdini’s got you covered: