Trading Jaylen Brown for Paul George didn't exactly light up the Boston Celtics fanbase. It's not just that George is no longer the superstar he once was, but his age and injury history made fans grimace at the acquisition. There's actually a lot to like about how George will fit into Mazzulla Ball, but that won't change the fact that Boston will conserve George as much as possible.
In other words, they will put him on the same plan they put Al Horford on in his last three years in Boston. There hasn't been any intel confirming this, but given George's injury-prone nature, Boston will need players to step up on his rest days, just as they did with Horford.
There are three Celtics who could fill in for George on his rest days.
Hugo Gonzalez
The Celtics didn't explore the duo of Tatum and Gonzalez much last season, but that is sure to change, as evidenced by Boston's refusal to include Gonzalez in their Giannis talks with Milwaukee. Anyway, after Gonzalez had an electric rookie season in Boston, combining the youngster with Tatum could create some chaos.
Gonzalez made himself stand out by playing all-out basketball from Day 1. At the same time, he proved he had a high IQ for a player as young as he was. The Celtics clearly believe Gonzalez can be something special for them down the line. The first step towards him becoming that is getting more familiar with Tatum.
What better way to do that than to start him next to Tatum when George has the night off?
Sam Hauser
Hauser doesn't need much of an introduction because he's the most proven of these three options. It's likely he will start when George rests, since he got the promotion after Tatum went down last season. In fact, he kept it even when Tatum came back.
Hauser and Tatum have proven to have good chemistry because the former gives the latter the sharpshooting he's needed when they are on the floor. There's no reason to think such chemistry will stop in its tracks this season.
Of the three options, pairing Tatum and Hauser has the lowest ceiling, but it is also the most proven. If it ain't broke, Mazzulla has good reason to see this pairing through whenever they are undermanned.
Jordan Walsh
Walsh is probably the least likely of these three to get the nod, but he showed last season how much of a pain he was on the defensive side of the ball because of his lankiness and wingspan. It proved to be so useful that Boston put him on quick guards because Walsh had the foot speed and long arms to blanket them.
Offensively, Walsh is more of a question mark, but he proved how good a cutter he was last season. If the Celtics have enough floor spacing, or believe Tatum's gravity opens up opportunities for Walsh, he may be able to consistently put up the numbers he did on occasion last year.
Funny enough, Tatum possesses a similar body type, though he's a little bulkier than Walsh. Having two of the same player could be massively beneficial for Boston, knowing that Tatum is also an elite team defender.
It's also possible that Boston may simply bump Tatum to power forward when George rests. If they do, that opens up the opportunity for Ron Harper Jr. or Baylor Scheierman to start. No matter how they adapt when George is on the sidelines, it's awesome to see that the Celtics have pretty solid options.
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