The first quarter against the 76ers looked a lot like a Celtics dress rehearsal for one question that matters more than any other on this roster: who actually fits best next to Jayson Tatum?
Nobody needs a reminder that Tatum will be in the opening-night lineup for Boston. Paul George and Derrick White look like the most likely names beside him, but the real intrigue is in those last two starting spots.
That’s why the decision to open with Mitchell Robinson and Jordan Walsh turned heads. It wasn’t a bad five, but it did make the exercise feel even more deliberate. Boston can probably make almost any version of this work, which is exactly why the coaching staff seems intent on sorting through all the combinations.
The rest of the first unit only added to that sense. Tatum stayed on the floor for the full quarter, while the other starters gave way to Baylor Scheierman, Neemias Queta, Sam Hauser, and Payton Pritchard. It felt less like a random rotation and more like Joe Mazzulla and company trying to figure out which pieces complement Tatum best.
That’s the central task here. Tatum is the Celtics’ best player, and over the years Boston has consistently looked better when he’s on the floor.
So the challenge isn’t finding talent. It’s finding the right talent around him.
This year’s roster gives them plenty to work with. Jaylen Brown is gone, but George, Robinson, and Mike Conley Jr. are in the mix, and Boston is also getting its first full season with a wave of young two-way wings alongside Tatum.
He’s already logged plenty of minutes with Pritchard, Queta, and Hauser. Now the Celtics get a longer look at what happens when he shares the floor with Walsh, Scheierman, and Hugo Gonzalez. Ron Harper Jr. is part of that equation too, even if he got the night off.
One of Tatum’s most useful traits is how well he lifts the players around him. That’s a big reason there’s real interest in seeing what Hauser does this season, because the two of them have been especially effective together.
So this should be a fun sorting process for Boston. The familiar combinations may end up being the best ones, but there’s also plenty of room for one of the less established pairings to surprise everybody and prove to be an even better match with Tatum.
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Celtics May Have A Sam Hauser Question They Cant Avoid
Sam Hauser has been one of Bostons clearest role players because his job has been simple and valuable: stretch the floor, keep spacing clean and punish help defense with his three-point shooting. In a roster conversation that keeps circling back to the wings, that kind of reliability matters, especially for a Celtics team that already knows what Hauser brings when he shares the floor with Jayson Tatum.
The tougher question is whether Boston keeps leaning into that specialized skill set or starts giving more room to wings who offer a broader range of tools. Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh and Ron Harper Jr. all fit into that debate in different ways, and the Celtics have to decide how much they want elite shooting versus more versatile play in the mix when the rotation gets tightened. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Brown Just Added Real Heat To Celtics 76ers Reunion
Jaylen Browns arrival in Philadelphia has already added a layer of intrigue to one of the NBAs most familiar matchups. After beginning his career in Boston and spending a decade with the Celtics, Brown is settling in with the 76ers and adjusting to a new city, new teammates and a fresh spotlight. For a player who helped Boston win a championship, the connection to his old team still looms large whenever the schedule brings the two sides together.
Brown has made it clear he wants to raise his level with Philadelphia and be a major part of what the 76ers are trying to build this season. Still, a reunion with Boston carries extra edge because of everything attached to it, from his long run with the Celtics to the familiarity of seeing old faces across the floor. It is the kind of matchup that tends to feel personal before the opening tip, and Brown has only added to that sense of anticipation. [Read more 🡒]
Neemias Quetas Celtics Rise May Be Bigger Than Fans Realized
Neemias Quetas rise last season gave the Celtics a real reason to believe they may have something more than a useful backup in the middle. He carved out a bigger role, finished with improved production across the board, and then turned that progress into a four-year, $56 million extension. With Boston and Dunkin unveiling a renovated outdoor court recently, Queta also had a chance to talk through the work that has gotten him here, with Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics staff still pushing his development.
For Queta, the next step is not just about holding onto a bigger role, but about widening the impact he can have once he gets the ball. The Celtics clearly see room for him to keep growing as their interior anchor, and the offseason focus around that new court underscored how much of his future still depends on refinement rather than reputation. The intriguing part for Boston is that the leap he already made may only be the beginning. [Read more 🡒]