Javon Small, Jaylen Wells, Cedric Coward, Santi Aldama, Lawson Lovering, Jamal Shead, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Collin Murray-Boyles, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Craig Porter Jr., Tyrese Proctor, Dean Wade, Larry Nance Jr., and Jaylon Tyson.
Those are the 15 players who have gotten starting nods against the Boston Celtics through three preseason games. Just two of them, Wells and Aldama, project to be regular-season starters, according to ESPN’s depth charts.
In this time of uncertainty, when Celtics fans are trying to gauge and weigh their expectations for a new-look roster heading into the 2025-26 season, the Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, and Cleveland Cavaliers have given them nothing to go off of.
Cowardice to the highest degree.
The Celtics have done what they're supposed to do
It’s so frustrating because there’s been plenty to be excited about when watching these games without context. Boston’s rotation guys have looked really good so far -- dominant even. The Celtics have the highest net rating in first halves, by far, of any team in the NBA at 43.9.
They’ve built massive leads in every matchup (though the reserves fumbled the 27-point advantage in Toronto last week).
Newcomers like Anfernee Simons, Chris Boucher, and Josh Minott all look ready for consistent roles within Joe Mazzulla’s rotation. Whether it’s Simons’ scoring ability, Boucher’s versatile offensive game and high motor, or Minott’s sense for spacing and chaotic defense, each man possesses a skill that should help him fit into Boston’s plans this season.
You can add rookie wing Hugo Gonzalez to that list, too, as he’s hustled and been a defensive menace.
Even with all of these positives, it’s tough to feel more confident in this team now compared to a month ago because of the talent they’ve gone up against. Sure, they’ve taken care of business against lesser competition, but is it sustainable?
It’d be foolish to assume that Boucher, Minott, and Gonzalez can sustain their impressive play once they’re matched up against starter-level NBA talent. Simons gets a pass since he’s established himself in years past. This isn’t to say that they can’t, but we just don’t know yet.
It's not their fault, either. They can only play who's in front of them.
“We'll see. I mean, it's preseason," said Jaylen Brown on Monday. "We've been playing against — we haven't played against an actual team. They've been sitting a lot of their guys. So, preseason analytics is — when you get to the middle of the season, is obsolete.
Celtics success may mask glaring issues
As a whole, the Celtics’ preseason success to this point might be fool’s gold. They’ve outscored opponents with ease, but why? It might be because the margin for error against third-stringers is far greater.
For example, it hasn’t mattered that the Cs allow the fifth-most field-goal attempts and third-most three-point attempts per game when teams have shot just 32.9% from the field and 19.5% from deep against them.
These extra shot attempts tie back to Boston’s poor rebounding, something Mazzulla has shown clear frustration with throughout the exhibition slate.
His team ranks 28th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage, and it probably won’t get much better once the games start to count.
The Celtics lost significant frontcourt depth over the summer with Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet all heading to new homes. Plus, Jayson Tatum and his 8.7 rebounds per game are still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.
Maybe they’ll be able to make up for their glaring weakness on the glass in other ways, but for now, there hasn’t been any way to tell. Hopefully, the Raptors will do us all a favor and roll out a real lineup for Wednesday’s preseason finale at TD Garden.
It sure would be nice to see these Celtics play some real competition so that we can learn something.