The Boston Celtics’ preseason has barely gotten started, and they’ve already stumbled into a good kind of headache.
After two games, the new-look roster is showing off exactly why there’s so much buzz around this group. Saturday’s 144-106 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers was the clearest sign yet. Boston blew past Philadelphia on offense, won the rebounding battle and got major production from the names that are supposed to matter most once the games count.
Jayson Tatum led the way with 23 points. Payton Pritchard turned in 25 points and seven assists. Paul George, making his Celtics debut, chipped in 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals.
That kind of spread-out production is encouraging. It also leaves Joe Mazzulla with a real puzzle: how does he keep this many offensive weapons humming without letting the whole thing get cluttered?
Tatum is still the engine of the attack. He’s the guy who bends defenses, creates for others and gives Boston the obvious starting point for just about everything.
But George changes the equation. He brings another proven scorer into the mix, and his arrival comes after the offseason move that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia.
Pritchard has become part of the conversation, too, and not just as a role player filling minutes. He averaged 17 points and 5.2 assists last season, and he recently signed a two-year extension worth approximately $44.2 million. That deal says plenty about how the Celtics view him going forward.
Derrick White is still there as a major piece. Sam Hauser gives them shooting on the perimeter.
Mitchell Robinson brings a different look near the rim. The issue isn’t talent.
Boston has plenty of that. The issue is sorting out the right combinations so everyone can matter without breaking the flow.
Saturday’s game also hinted at one of the more intriguing side benefits of George being in the fold. He finished with five steals, a reminder that his defensive versatility could give Mazzulla more options when it comes to perimeter matchups, all while keeping the offense loaded.
There were other encouraging signs, too. Boston outrebounded Philadelphia 70-41 and kept generating extra possessions by working around the basket.
Now the Celtics get another chance to tinker. They’re back at TD Garden on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. ET preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets, and then they’ll head to Philadelphia on Friday for their final tune-up before the regular season.
Preseason numbers always come with an asterisk. Teams sit players, lineups get shuffled and coaches care more about experimenting than winning. So Boston won’t know exactly how all these pieces fit until the games start counting.
That comes on Oct. 20, when the Celtics open the regular season against the Detroit Pistons.
Until then, Mazzulla has a useful problem on his hands: too many established players demanding touches, and a few younger contributors he still has to develop. For a team that just hung 144 points on the board in a preseason game, that’s not a bad place to be.
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Celtics Have A Familiar New England Guard In The Roster Mix
The Celtics are still sorting through a few roster choices as the regular season approaches, and the two-way spots remain part of that equation. One name that has surfaced in that mix is Devin Carter, the former Sacramento Kings lottery pick who has become a familiar type of target for Boston, a guard with pedigree, upside and enough uncertainty to make the decision interesting.
Carters NBA path has had its bumps, but there have also been signs lately that he can help a team in the right role. For Boston, the appeal is clear enough: adding another backcourt option with talent and long-term value attached. The question now is whether that interest turns into one of the clubs two-way contracts, or whether the Celtics keep weighing other possibilities before filling out the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Stevens Just Made Bostons New Direction Impossible To Ignore
Bostons roster makeover has moved quickly since the Jaylen Brown trade to Philadelphia, and the shape of the new look is starting to come into focus. The Celtics have already locked in more of their next core, agreeing to a two-year extension with Payton Pritchard and also securing extensions with Jordan Walsh and Neemias Queta, while Devin Carter joined on a two-way deal as the team continued to retool around the flexibility created by moving Brown.
Brad Stevens has not stopped there, either. Boston has also been active in free agency and the draft, adding Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley while bringing in Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell, a mix that signals a clear pivot toward depth, experience and a different kind of roster balance. Even with the details still settling in, the direction is hard to miss, and the Celtics are making it obvious they intend to use this reset to redraw the teams identity. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Quietly Built Something That Could Keep This Window Open
Amid all the talk about star power and championship pressure, Boston has also been quietly doing the unglamorous work that can matter just as much in the long run: keeping the core intact. The Celtics already have Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and a group of rotation pieces lined up for seasons ahead, and the recent extension for Payton Pritchard only added to the sense that this team is trying to preserve more than just a single title run.
There is still some contract machinery to sort through, with a few deals carrying options or non-guaranteed language that gives the front office room to maneuver. Even so, the bigger picture is hard to miss for Boston. The Celtics have built unusual continuity for a contender, and if the right pieces keep staying in place, this window may not be closing anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]