CLEVELAND -- It was the first taste of Boston Celtics basketball in months, and Joe Mazzulla wasn't even on the sideline. Tony Dobbins and DJ MacLeay led what ended up being a back-and-forth affair between the Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James Harden didn't play, but otherwise the Cavaliers rolled with their regulars. Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen all started. Boston didn't go into the night with the same game plan.
The Celtics decided to sit most of their key guys. Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, Paul George, Derrick White, Mitchell Robinson, Neemias Queta, Sam Hauser, and Ron Harper Jr. were all inactive. The result? A starting five of Mike Conley, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, and Luka Garza.
On paper, the Celtics were completely outmatched. But that's why the games aren't played on paper. Boston ended the first half up nine on the Cavaliers' regulars, with Devin Carter leading in the scoring column.
In the second half, Cleveland's starters hit the pine, and MacLeay entered the lead seat for Dobbins. But the Celtics let their lead slip away, and by midway through the third, it was a tie ball game.
But a couple of Tucker DeVries threes helped put the game away. The Celtics' Exhibit 10 guys came to play, as did Dillon Mitchell. They closed things out when it mattered most, securing a 124-113 victory.
Up: Devin Carter
Two years ago, the Celtics picked up Queta after the Sacramento Kings waived him. This summer, the Kings dumped Carter in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks, who subsequently waived him. Boston signed him to a training camp deal.
Just one preseason game in, Carter looks like the clear-cut favorite to land Boston's open two-way spot. He played great on Thursday night in Cleveland.
If a fast break was available, Carter found it. If a driving lane opened up, Carter found it. If there was a loose ball to grab, Carter found it. He was everywhere. Carter ended the night with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-3 from deep.
It wasn't a perfect night. The jumper still doesn't look amazing, and he got caught up in some defensive pressure a couple of times (he had five turnovers), but the talent was there. The talent that helped Carter become a lottery pick a few years ago was there.
Carter is fighting against the likes of DeVries, Milos Uzan, Hayden Gray, and Gabe McGlothan for the final two-way slot. He's the odds-on favorite right now.
Down: Jordan Walsh
Tasked with the assignment of guarding Mitchell to open the game, Walsh's defense looked okay. But when it was time for offense, things looked choppy.
The box score wouldn't say as much. Walsh had a pretty okay game by those standards, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting. But watching the game, it just felt like something was off.
Walsh second-guessed his decisions at times, hesitating when he should have shot the ball. Whenever he put the ball on the floor, it felt like the bench held its breath, and the possession often ended poorly.
As a purely off-the-ball 3-and-D player, Walsh looked fine (the five fouls didn't help). Other than that, it was a pretty underwhelming season debut for the youngster.
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