Boston Celtics: Starting lineup with Derrick White graded an A+

The Boston Celtics starting lineup is once again firing on all cylinders in 2022-23 after catching fire last season when the calendar year flipped from 2021 to 2022 — though the current first five under interim head coach Joe Mazzulla that’s dominating the league is not the same as the one suspended head coach Ime Udoka deployed.

With Robert Williams III out for the first three months of the season, Mazzulla pivoted to making the Cs an offensive juggernaut by adding another ball-handler who isn’t afraid to take the 3-ball to the starting lineup in Derrick White.

Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey lauded the new Boston Celtics starting lineup in a piece grading every NBA team’s most used lineups, giving the White-Marcus Smart-Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum-Al Horford quintet an A+ grade:

"“For the second year in a row, the Boston Celtics have one of the game’s best lineups, and it’s essentially just a downsized version of the one that dominated the second half of last season.”“Smart’s defense and playmaking, the scoring and switchability of Brown and Tatum and the general fill-in-the-gaps game of Horford were in the 2021-22 lineup. The difference is a boost in playmaking and perimeter defense that White provides in place of Robert Williams III.”“This group can create and shoot from all five positions (something most other teams aspire to) and can switch 1 through 5 on the other end.”Grade: A+"

The Boston Celtics could use a different lineup come playoff time

While Joe Mazzulla’s insertion of Derrick White into the starting lineup was a brilliant adjustment — one that was certainly less expected than replacing Robert Williams III in the first five with Luke Kornet or Blake Griffin — it is not one that is guaranteed to last. Come playoff time, the Boston Celtics could look to ensure Williams and his elite rim-protection starts off games the right way defensively, which could force a tough decision for Mazzulla.

On one hand, Mazzulla could bring back the double-big lineup that took the world by storm, pairing Williams and Al Horford. The other option would be to stagger his two centers and have Horford come off the bench.

Neither qualify as terrible hands to have.