The final Celtics preseason game was a lot of things, but enlightening wasn’t one of them.
The things we know about this team heading into the regular season are the things we already knew: Jaylen Brown is great, and he’s clearly on a mission. Jayson Tatum seems to be growing his game as well, meaning the C’s one-two punch is still ready to throw some haymakers this season.
Marcus Smart is basically the same guy, which is good news to the people who like him, and bad news to people who don’t. Al Horford is probably pretty close to the same, but he really seems to be taking it slow. Malcolm Brogdon looks pretty good, but he left this game with a sore leg. Luckily, that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it did take away from what might have been a good shooting game for him.
After that?
There is a lot the Celtics still have to figure out, and unsurprisingly, the preseason has provided little guidance.
The starting lineup of Smart, Tatum, Brown, Horford and Derrick White is intriguing because it has shown some scoring punch. But it has also shown some defensive limitations. For a team preaching consistency and carryover, going smaller on the perimeter and giving up a lot of points seems to provide neither.
Joe Mazzulla was asked before the first preseason game if we should read anything into this lineup starting that night, and he said “nothing, I promise.” He then started them twice more.
Mazzulla also said we’d see Luke Kornet in this game, which we didn’t. Boston’s front office thought enough of Kornet to not pursue any other bigger names this offseason. Maybe the sprained ankle hurt Kornet’s chances, or maybe he’s not ready yet. Maybe Noah Vonleh seemingly securing a spot and the arrival of Blake Griffin were signals that this was how things would go. We haven't really been told.
What we do know is that this starting lineup still needs some work, especially on the defensive end. If the Celtics are going to commit to going this small on the perimeter, then Tatum is going to have to commit to being a big-time rebounder.
He’s talked about averaging a good number of boards over his career, which he has, but he’ll have to do more until Robert Williams returns from injury. If the Celtics insist on this being the full-time starting lineup, then Tatum will be the full-time power forward and he’ll have to act more like one on defense.
Of course, the Celtics could go more situational with their lineups. White could have started against the Raptors because they're a rangy, quick team that needed to be combated with speed. If that's the case, then the Celtics could go into the season with two starting lineups to be used against specific types of opponents and Kornet, Vonleh, or Griffin could get spot starts against bigger teams.
The starting lineup is a bit of a conundrum, though, because the ball has been popping. If they're able to secure rebounds, they can play with good pace and generate a lot of open looks. And by pushing the pace, they can throw opposing defenses into some early rotations where they might forget about Tatum, who started the play as the rebounder but then can end it as a deadly shooting option trailing the break.
The Celtics might have to choose between going all in on a big defensive lineup or sacrificing a few points to put a more fluid offensive team on the floor.
But the starting lineup isn’t the only lineup with questions.
Mazzulla kept Brown on the floor for most of the first quarter, opting to sub Tatum out early and start the second quarter with Tatum, Brogdon, Griffin, Grant Williams and Sam Hauser. It’s an interesting lineup and one that saw Tatum handling the ball a lot rather than Brogdon.
Obviously, who handles the ball varies, and part of the advantage Boston has is multiple guys able to bring the ball up. But at the same time, Brogdon has had the luxury of being the primary ball handler in these second-quarter lineups. This new wrinkle against Toronto opens up the door to more questions heading into the regular season about Brogdon’s role.
At the same time, this is still data-gathering time. The regular season will give us more guidance into what Mazzulla wants to do with the versatility at his disposal. Maybe Tatum plays the whole first quarter next time with Brown sharing the backcourt with Brogdon.
There are still a lot of options and still time to figure everything out. For now, the clarity I was hoping for was not very evident. Mazzulla seems to have made his choice to start smaller, and the guys on the floor will have to figure out how to maximize that lineup's efficacy, at least until Robert Williams returns.
In a lot of ways, we’re entering a second preseason where the results matter. This team is still talented and they have the capability to do a lot. But how they get there is still a bit of a mystery.
