Which players on the Celtics roster will be a part of their regular rotation, and what will their roles be?
STARTERS
PG Marcus Smart
SG Jaylen Brown
SF Jayson Tatum
PF Al Horford
C Robert Williams
BENCH ROTATION
Malcolm Brogdon
Payton Pritchard
Derrick White
Grant Williams
DEEP BENCH – VETERANS
Danilo Gallinari (injured)
Blake Griffin
Sam Hauser
Mfiondu Kabengele
Luke Kornet
Brodric Thomas
Noah Vonleh
DEEP BENCH – DEVELOPING YOUTH
JD Davison
LIKELY TO BE WAIVED
Justin Jackson
Jake Layman
Denzel Valentine
POSITION BATTLES
The Celtics starting lineup, which was absolutely dominating last season, would already be set in stone if not for the injury to Robert Williams that is expected to keep him out for 8-12 weeks. The Celtics have several different options to take Williams’ place until he returns, most of which involve shifting Al Horford to center. Grant Williams is the logical choice, as it allows the team to maintain some continuity, but the team may prefer to keep him in his current role off the bench to avoid shifting too many players around from their usual rotations. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Sam Hauser get a look. Hauser has been very impressive in the offseason, especially with how confident he is in his outside shot. If he became a legitimate threat, he would create spacing that would open up driving lines for thee guards and wings. It’s difficult to believe that the team would start either Mfiondu Kabengele or the recently acquired Blake Griffin. The former is too inexperienced to be expected to suddenly take over such a major role on a contending team, while the latter is on his last legs and at this point probably only functions best in spot duty. The other option is to go small by starting either White or Brogdon, which would slide Brown and Tatum down to the two forward spots.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brogdon has always had medical issues. If he didn’t, however, it’s unlikely that the team would have been able to acquire him in the first place. Skill-wise he seems to be a perfect fit as a third guard, so the team will likely manage his minutes and do whatever they can to keep him healthy for the playoffs. He’s mostly been a starter in the past, but should have no issue coming off the bench as he’ll be playing a significant role and may even be in the closing lineup on occasion.
Horford played surprisingly well, given his age and how he had been exiled by the Thunder the previous year. It’s unreasonable to expect that he’ll be as productive this season or that he’ll be able to handle the same amount of minutes without suffering an injury or a decline in production. It will be interesting to see if the team proactively adjusts for this and works some other players into the rotation, or if they push Horford to the limit and hopes for the best.