The Boston Celtics open their season Tuesday afternoon against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena, and the first real look at this group comes with plenty to sort through. Boston’s projected starters are Derrick White, Baylor Scheierman, Jayson Tatum, Paul George and Mitchell Robinson, while Detroit is projected to go with Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Duncan Robinson, John Collins and Jalen Duren. The game is set for 3 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.
What makes this opener so intriguing is how much Joe Mazzulla has held back. Preseason, as the thinking goes, tells you less every year, and now the Celtics have to show what this team actually looks like when the games count.
Mazzulla has been careful with his plans, and Tuesday should finally force some answers. The lineup he rolls out is likely to be one that has barely been seen, if at all, during the preseason.
The bigger question beyond the opening five is how Mazzulla manages the depth chart. He wants to win right away, but he also has to think about preserving bodies before a demanding November stretch. That points to a rotation built around 10 or 11 players who can be trusted with real minutes.
“You have to be able to play different ways, and you don't get to dictate the matchups that you play against,” Mazzulla said on Monday. “You have to be able to go to different things.
So it's really just continuity and awareness to what gives us the best chance to win at that moment. How do we execute it, and how do we build on that?”
A big piece of the early-season puzzle is how Detroit chooses to defend Tatum. The Pistons may not want to reveal too much this soon, but the stakes already matter in a conference as tight as this one. Every conference or division loss can matter later as a tiebreaker, so Detroit has a chance to pressure Boston early by forcing someone else to carry the load.
That likely means a heavy focus on Tatum, with the Pistons trying to take him away and daring another Celtic to beat them. For Boston, the response has to come from Tatum turning facilitator and making teammates pay for the attention.
There’s also the matter of how quickly the Celtics can make their connection with Robinson click. The chemistry looked much better in the two games when the regulars were on the floor, but that has to keep growing once the season begins.
Tatum finding Robinson on rolls after blitzes, or using Robinson’s gravity to create cleaner looks for shooters, needs to become part of the offense fast. Robinson, meanwhile, has to keep developing that perimeter chemistry so he can read the game the way Mazzulla wants.
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Paul Georges first night in a Celtics uniform had plenty for Boston to feel good about, even with the season opener ending in a loss to Detroit. The veteran wing arrived with the kind of scoring punch the Celtics expected, immediately showing why the team went after him, and he also climbed past Kyle Korver on the all-time 3-point list in the process.
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Celtics Let Opening Night Slip Away For One Frustrating Reason
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The second half was where everything tightened up on Bostons side, with offensive struggles and defensive lapses opening the door for Detroit to keep chipping away. Joe Mazzulla and Derrick White both pointed to the momentum swings and the Celtics inability to stabilize things, while the Pistons made the most of their perimeter shooting and second-chance opportunities to turn a night that felt under control into one Boston will want back. [Read more 🡒]
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The early takeaway was less about the box score than the tone Robinson set for himself after the game. He pointed to his rebounding as the area that bothered him most, while also saying he tweaked his ankle but expects to be okay, leaving Boston with a clearer picture of both the physical and competitive demands that come with adding him to the mix. [Read more 🡒]