Five storylines to watch during Celtics training camp

Celtics training camp kicks off on Tuesday at the Auerbach Center as the team hopes for a fresh start in the wake of a disastrous finish to the 2018-19 season. There has been plenty of excitement for the fresh start in the past few weeks as Brad Stevens prepares to work with a fully healthy roster around All-Star addition Kemba Walker.

However, there are still many questions that have to be answered heading into camp, both with the rotation and where certain players stand for the team’s big-picture plan. With the start of the regular season just three weeks away, Boston’s brass won’t have a ton of time to get the answers they need but here are a few areas that you will need to watch as camp begins.

1. Who is in the starting five?

This is a storyline that will be downplayed by the head coach but if last season was any indication, it will be a critical part of this campaign. Going with a starting five that did not mesh well in 2018 contributed to a 10-10 start for Boston, setting the stage for an uneven season filled with inconsistency. Despite a drastic change in personnel, Stevens faces many of the same questions about this unit in terms of personnel. At this point, only the jobs of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Enes Kanter appear safe, even though it would not be a shock to see Kanter slide into a reserve role by the time the season ends. His experience combined with him taking a discount to play here in free agency makes him a lock to begin the year as a starting center in my estimation.

From there? We already broke down the pros and cons of bringing one of Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart off the bench during the summer. There’s no doubt that all three guys will be playing 30-plus minutes per game but the fit will be crucial on a team that has less margin for error from a talent standpoint than last season. We should find out early what Stevens has in mind as there will be plenty of opportunities for experimentation during four preseason games. However, it was evident last preseason that the starting five of Irving/Tatum/Brown/Hayward/Horford was determined immediately out of the gate despite questions about Hayward’s recovery and fit. Now that the stigma of coming off the bench has dissipated for those involved, it should help Stevens proceed with finding the best fit for the team instead of worrying about catering to egos.

2. Which center(s) win a spot in the rotation?

It’s fair to pencil in Kanter for about 20-25 minutes per night with this group. After that? The hierarchy at center is anyone’s guess at this point. It’s time for some open competition over the next three weeks between Vincent Poirier, Robert Williams and Daniel Theis to sort out who is able to step up in one of the weakest frontcourt rotations (on paper) in the league. There’s likely to be plenty of mixing and matching regardless of when the season starts depending on opponents. A strong big like Poirier will be necessary to guard the likes of Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond in the post. On the flip side, Theis (38 percent from 3) will be called upon when opponents go smaller and more spacing is needed from the center spot.

Still, playing three or four different centers every night is simply not feasible in the long run. It’s nice for Stevens to have options but the team is hoping one or two of these guys separate themselves from the pack. Williams carries the most intrigue with his athleticism, youth and shot-blocking potential but will need to show a lot of improvement with his awareness/positioning to be trusted as a defensive anchor. Theis has shown flashes of strong play over the past two years but injuries limited his speed last year and ability to hang with smaller players on the perimeter. Just how much of that is regained this season will be a huge factor in his playing time. Meanwhile, Poirier is the mystery man out of the bunch after playing overseas for several seasons. He’s an energy big who likes to do the dirty work but whether that can translate to the speed of the NBA game is a big question mark.

Everyone in the trio brings a unique set of strengths, even though certain players will be called upon for specific size matchups. Whoever complements the rest of the bench unit the best should earn the first crack at minutes each night.

3. Which rookies earn the trust of Brad Stevens?

Outside of elite picks like Tatum or Smart, Stevens has notoriously not been friendly to rookies when it comes to handing out playing time. Even as a No. 3 pick, Brown was in and out of the rotation during his first season while the likes of Robert Williams Terry Rozier, Guerschon Yabusele, James Young among others failed to earn much of a look in year one. Some of those guys didn’t deserve a chance based on their talent level/work ethic but it takes a lot to get sustained minutes early from Stevens if you are a young player.

The Celtics’ bench rotation will be an intriguing test on this front in the early going with minutes up for grabs in the backcourt as well as the PF/C spot. A healthy Romeo Langford is the team’s top 2019 prospect but he’s also the youngest and remains a mystery at the NBA level after sitting out summer league with a thumb injury. Grant Williams has a chance to make an impact right away at reserve power forward if he can beat out Semi Ojeleye for minutes. Carsen Edwards was a scoring machine this summer but he will have to best Brad Wanamaker and/or Langford to prove his scoring upside is worth his size limitations. 25-year-old Poirier will be battling for center minutes with Theis and Williams. It’s very realistic to think three rookies could be playing minutes each night with a strong training camp. Unlike other seasons, the depth chart is set up for opportunity and with a collection of more seasoned rookies (Williams/Edwards/Poirier) in the mix, the young Celtics could make quite the impression on this roster.

4. Is there enough outside shooting for this offense? Stevens seems committed to playing small at the power forward spot, which should help in this spot. However, a collection of bigs that have limited range outside of Daniel Theis will put Boston’s spacing to the test as the season continues. The C’s spent the last three years relying on the gravity of Al Horford pulling his man out of the paint in the pick-and-roll, a luxury that no longer exists.

While it’s certainly possible the Celtics can keep pace from beyond the arc last year with a few bounce-back years from their wings, it’s going to be a stretch for them to be a top-10 team in this department. The good news? That won’t necessarily limit them from being an elite team based on Brad Stevens’ offense.

As long as one big (Kanter/Theis/G Williams) turns into a respected threat from beyond the arc, defenses are going to be stretched thin against Boston. There are going to be plenty of question marks in other parts of the roster with seldom-used (Wanamaker) players and the rookies (Edwards/Langford) but given that Hayward/Brown/Smart have to be guarded closely at the arc, there should be plenty of room for Walker to operate. That’s something he hasn’t had much throughout his career and should allow him to reach a higher level on the offensive end. If the Celtics can get one or two more unexpected shooters to emerge from the second unit, they will be in business. A step back from downtown for any of the Hayward/Brown/Smart trio could equal issues, however.

5. Does Brad Stevens play his best five in crunch time? This is going to be a fascinating question to monitor as the season continues, perhaps even more than the starting five. There’s no doubt that there is not a true center among the C’s best five players (Walker/Brown/Hayward/Tatum/Smart) and that Stevens plans on having a true center on the floor for the majority of each game. However, when games get close towards the end of the fourth quarter, the head coach has a fascinating choice to make in regards to personnel. Kanter provides bulk but his defensive weaknesses are a major issue that most opponents can attack. Poirier and Williams have limited shooting range, making both an offensive liability (on paper) late in games. So where does Stevens turn with games on the line? Downsizing to Theis, Ojeleye or Grant Williams all can provide at least some semblance of outside shooting and some bulk in the interior. A lack of size between all three makes Boston vulnerable on the glass though and none are close to being one of the C’s five best players.

If the C’s are downsizing, should they just go extreme and play four wings alongside Walker? Or will that group be too vulnerable on the boards and defending the post to outweigh the versatility they could bring on the defensive end. This preseason should give us a good indication on which direction Stevens is leaning on this front as he tries to piece together the unit that gives him the best chance to win games.