Through four games, the Celtics’ wing rotation still looks like a moving target, and Joe Mazzulla seems perfectly willing to keep it that way.
The starters have been steady enough, and the heavy-minute core is already easy to spot. But once you get past that group, the picture gets murkier fast, especially on the wing. The edges of the rotation are still shifting, and Mazzulla has made it clear he’s not rushing to settle on a fixed order.
Jordan Walsh has held down the fifth-starter spot, but that label has meant different things from night to night. Some games, his first stint accounts for most of what he gets. He has logged as few as 13 minutes and as many as 24.
Baylor Scheierman has usually been first off the bench in that wing mix. He has played at least 18 minutes three times and topped 20 once, but there have also been nights when he barely got on the floor, including one game where he finished with just over 11 minutes after sitting for entire quarters.
Hugo Gonzalez has been the most volatile of the bunch. In three games, he has played fewer than 10 minutes. In the other, he was out there for almost 24 minutes and made a major impact.
Sam Hauser is the one wing reserve who has managed to carve out something close to a set role. He remains Mazzulla’s most trusted bench option at the position, and his minutes have been the steadiest of the group. Hauser has landed between 18 and 25 minutes in every game, which makes him look like a nightly fixture with the second unit.
That kind of rotation churn is part of the deal when a team has this much depth. There are enough wings who probably merit more run, but there just aren’t enough minutes to satisfy everybody.
Eventually, one of them may force the issue and separate from the pack. Injuries and rest days will also create openings along the way.
As long as Jayson Tatum and Paul George are out there for 30-plus minutes a night, there’s only so much room left to divide up. That’s why Mazzulla is shuffling the deck, trying to keep players fresh, alert, and in rhythm without locking himself into one look too early.
It’s hardly unfamiliar territory for the Celtics. Last season, Mazzulla cycled through different options early, giving Josh Minott, Walsh, Scheierman and Gonzalez their turns before the group settled in later on. By the end, he had built a deep and dependable unit.
That same competition figures to stretch through the season. The one thing that likely won’t be there is consistency from night to night. Mazzulla seems to prefer his players uncomfortable and ready for anything, even if that makes the lineup card tough to predict.
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