In case any singular person on earth didn't know, Jayson Tatum will start for the Boston Celtics on opening night. The two most likely teammates joining him in the starting lineup are Paul George and Derrick White. What will be interesting is seeing who gets the last two starting spots.
That certainly came into question when they opted to start Mitchell Robinson and Jordan Walsh alongside those three. It's not that that's a bad starting five or anything, but it definitely begs the question of who the last two starters will be.
In all fairness, it's not like Boston can go wrong no matter who they pick to start next to Tatum, White, and George. It's just that by starting Robinson and Walsh, it gives the impression that they really could star just about anyone.
Even more telling is that while Tatum played the whole quarter, the rest of the Celtics' first five were replaced by the likes of Baylor Scheierman, Neemias Queta, Sam Hauser, and Payton Pritchard. It all feels like Joe Mazzulla and co. are deciphering who fits best with Tatum primarily.
And why wouldn't they? Tatum is their best player of course, but spanning years now, Boston has unsurprisingly played better when is on the floor. That's why it's imperative to figure out who on the roster fits best with him.
Celtics have a really fun mix of players to match with Tatum
Boston's roster is different this season, most noted by the loss of Jaylen Brown. However, it's worth noting that besides incorporating new additions George, Robinson, and Mike Conley Jr., this is also the first full season their army of young two-way wings get to play next to Tatum.
He has plentiful experience playing next to Pritchard, Queta and Hauser, but now we get to see how he does next to Walsh, Scheierman, and Hugo Gonzalez. He'll also get to see how he does next to Ron Harper Jr., though he got the night off.
An underrated strength of Tatum's is that he is a pretty adaptable player who helps players play at their finest. It's why fans should be looking forward to how Hauser fares this season, as those two play amazingly together.
It should be fun to see which Celtics lineups with Tatum work best. It will come as no surprise if the players he is already familiar with prove to be the best fit, but it is fun to think about the prospect of teammates he's not so familiar with proving to be even better.
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