Boston Celtics: 3 potential surprise opening night starters

Boston Celtics potential surprise starter #3: Dennis Schroder

When Dennis Schroder was signed, a prevailing tagline to the transaction was that he was willing to take a bench role in order to contribute in the most profound way he possibly can to the Cs.

That never meant that Schroder couldn’t play his way into the starting lineup, though, especially when injuries/COVID-19 protocols keep others out of the lineup.

Schroder has proven to be a good fit throughout the preseason slate, and had an extremely strong effort against the Miami Heat in the preseason finale. He tallied 13 points, six assists and four rebounds this past Friday at the FTX Arena.

Schroder intentionally trying to injure Jimmy Butler aside, the effort, which came in a start, was enough to give Ime Udoka an intriguing thought: doubling up on playmaking in the starting lineup with a Schroder-Marcus Smart backcourt.

Smart has never been given the full-time starting floor general job but was expected to be this season. If Schroder can have a say about it, perhaps he never does after getting an experimental start against New York Wednesday.

Udoka wants to put the best product on the floor and establish a culture of earning your minutes. Schroder could be the first success story of his Celtics tenure if given a chance to start.