Through four games of the season, it’s still hard to get a good read on Joe Mazzulla’s lineups and rotations, at least when it comes to his bench. The starters have been consistent, and it has become pretty clear which guys are going to play heavy minutes every night, but the fringes of the rotation seem to be in flux, and that’s especially true at the wing positions.
Jordan Walsh has been entrenched as the fifth starter, but some nights, those first shifts make up the bulk of his minutes. He has seen as little as 13 minutes in a game and as many as 24 in another.
Baylor Scheierman has been among the first wave of subs on most nights, and has played in at least 18 minutes three times, getting over 20 on one occasion, but a couple of times he has sat for entire quarters and barely reached 11 minutes in one game.
Hugo Gonzalez has been the odd man out most often, as he has been under 10 minutes in three of the team’s games, but he played almost 24 minutes in the other game and made a huge impact.
Hauser the only bench wing with a consistent role
The closest thing to a consistent role has been Sam Hauser, who continues to be the most preferred and most trusted option for Mazzulla as a bench wing. Sam has been between 18 and 25 minutes in every single game and appears to be locked in as a key part of the second unit on a nightly basis.
It has been extremely volatile and unpredictable thus far, and honestly, I wouldn’t expect that to change any time soon. This is the gift and curse when it comes to having a deep roster like the Celtics do. Frankly, each of these guys probably deserves more minutes, but there simply aren’t enough to go around.
Eventually, perhaps someone will emerge and rise above the rest, making it impossible for Joe to keep mixing and matching. And surely, there will be missed games, as guys will be in and out of the lineup with injuries or for rest.
Celtics simply have too many mouths to feed
But as long as Jayson Tatum and Paul George are suiting up, you can lock those guys in for 30+ minutes a night, which makes it hard for Mazzulla to keep everyone involved. That’s likely why he’s trying to shake things up, to keep everyone fresh, on their toes, and in rhythm. He doesn’t want to bury anyone, nor does he want to overcommit.
We saw something similar last year, when Joe shuffled through options early in the season, emphasizing Josh Minott, then Walsh, then Scheiereman, and finally Gonzalez. Everybody got their turn, and by the end of the season, he had built a deep and reliable group. Now, that group is chomping at the bit and ready for more, but there’s only so much to go around.
Expect fierce competition for minutes all season long, but don’t expect night-to-night consistency. Joe likes his players to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and he wants to keep them guessing so they are always ready. That’s a smart way to do it, and it should allow him to maximize this roster over the long season, but it may be frustrating trying to forecast the lineups game in and game out.
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