Since Jayson Tatum has returned to the Celtics, they’ve been able to trot out some impressive, diverse lineups. But there’s one fairly obvious combo that they haven’t turned to much, but that has the potential to raise the team’s ceiling to a level that nobody else in the East, and maybe even the whole league, can match.
The combination of Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Neemias Queta gives Boston a ridiculous amount of two-way versatility that has been blowing opposing teams off the floor.
Zach Lowe chose this group as his most intriguing lineup combo in the NBA on his most recent podcast, and for good reason. So far, according to Databallr, that five-man combo has only played 29 minutes together, but they have a +54.3 net rating.
White, Pritchard, Queta, and the Jays are unguardable together
This lineup gives the Celtics a little bit of everything. Pritchard and White both have point guard skillsets; they can capably run the offense and be the lead ballhandlers in any actions. They can create their own shots as well as create for others.
At the same time, they can just as easily play off the ball, spread the floor, knock down catch-and-shoot threes, and attack closeouts. Whether they have the ball or not, they are a threat from any location on the floor.
Although they are wing players, the Jays obviously both share those skills. They attract a ton of defensive attention no matter where they are on the court, and they can easily create offense, go one-on-one in isolations, run pick-and-rolls, and eat teams alive in the midrange and on step-backs.
Having two offensive engines like that is essentially a cheat code, and the idea that the Celtics can put one, or both of them, off the ball is almost unfair to the defense. Add in the screen-setting and lob threat that Queta offers, and there’s just nowhere for defenders to hide or cheat. Sure, they can sag off Neemy, but that will create wide-open dribble-handoffs for knockdown shooters.
This lineup has no holes on defense either
The offense is completely unguardable, and the real kicker is that all five players are plus defenders. White, JB, and JT are all-defense caliber, Queta has become an excellent drop big and rim protector, and though undersized, Pritchard is a dog who can body up anyone and has great hands and quickness.
There are simply no holes in this lineup on either end of the floor. Joe Mazzulla hasn’t leaned on it a lot, but the results in the small sample size speak for themselves. Boston is likely saving this unit to bust out when things get dicey in the playoffs. They almost always have at least two of these players on the floor, and staggering them is a no-brainer - especially in the regular season.
But when the playoffs begin, and the Celtics want to ramp things up, this is going to be a deadly combination that can break games open and leave the opposition feeling helpless.