NBA training camps are set to open later this month. For the first time in head coach Joe Mazzulla's tenure, the Celtics will not have championship expectations. With Jayson Tatum sidelined indefinitely by a torn Achilles, the team has more question marks than it used to at this stage of the season. Here are five that could define the coming season.
For years now, the Celtics have almost solely played capable defenders. Jrue Holiday used to joke that "even our White guys guard." His humor highlighted one of Boston's greatest strengths, the absence of a weak link on either end of the court.
GM Brad Stevens took great care in assembling a roster of well-rounded players, but allowed himself to stray from that north star during a journey to shed money this offseason. So what will the Celtics do with Anfernee Simons, who has typically graded out as a significant negative on defense -- and who has been, by some well-respected metrics, one of the NBA's worst defenders throughout his tenure in the league? There's no doubting Simons' offensive talent, but, assuming he is on the opening day roster, he will be the most glaring target Boston's defense has featured during Mazzulla's time as head coach.
The Celtics' backcourt will have little room for error. With the team's frontcourt a puddle of career backups, the perimeter players will carry a heavy burden. Even without Tatum, they should keep the scorekeepers busy. Lineups with Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard only played 351 minutes without Tatum last season, but Boston scored a mighty 128.4 points per 100 possessions during that small sample size.
The Celtics frontcourt has changed a little bit since then, but Neemias Queta and Luka Garza have been productive during limited minutes in the past and should, at the bare minimum, do the gritty work on the offensive glass. Adding Simons, a gifted scorer who consistently makes 3s at an extremely high volume, should increase the stress on defenses. The Celtics should still shoot billions of 3-pointers.
But who will Mazzulla start next to White? How much will the Celtics' defense suffer if Simons plays a lot? How will he and Pritchard fit together when they do share the court? How small will Mazzulla be willing to play with such a guard-heavy roster? How much will Boston miss Tatum's ability to run the show?
If everything goes right, White and Pritchard should benefit from their additional opportunities and Simons' defense should improve in the Celtics culture. The vision for this team is probably to run at a much faster pace while scoring and scoring and scoring some more. That could work, but the guards will need to be great.
After trading Georges Niang, who will be remembered forever as a Celtics legend, Boston's options at power forward will be strange.
The guess here is that Mazzulla will start Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser at the two forward spots, but that look would present vulnerabilities on the glass. The Celtics could use Xavier Tillman at power forward but he barely played last season while dealing with knee issues and has rarely played the spot in the past. They could plop Garza at the position next to Queta, but that idea would be super funky and possibly doomed to fail. Josh Minott could get a chance but he rarely played in Minnesota before signing with Boston as a free agent. One of the younger returners could step up (maybe Baylor Scheierman?) but that would leave the Celtics with less size than they have normally played in recent years.
No matter what Mazzulla chooses, Tatum's absence will be felt in many ways. He guarded centers on defense and played point guard on offense and could also do everything in between. Between Tatum's injury and several key offseason departures, the Celtics have lost worlds of versatility. Mazzulla will need to figure out how to patch over his roster's issues.
What do we think Mazzulla texted to Queta after he was ejected from Portugal's Eurobasket win against Estonia?
I've never been prouder of you. Next time, though, put him in a body bag.
"Cobra Kai" jokes aside, Queta will have a spotlight on him at training camp. He has always been a bit player, but could be lined up to start at center now. For the Celtics to compete for a playoff spot (insert your Jim Mora jokes here), they will need somebody -- anybody -- to stand up at the position. Since the 32-year-old Chris Boucher probably is what he is at this point in his career, Queta and Garza are the most likely candidates to break out. Though they have never been rotation staples, their per-minute production in the past at least provides some hope they could emerge in bigger roles.
Mazzulla's approach to the Queta experience this season should be fascinating to watch unfold. In recent seasons, Mazzulla has been as hard on Queta as he has any other Celtics player. After the big man's mistakes, Mazzulla could often be seen expressing frustration on the sidelines. But now Boston will have to live with some of Queta's mistakes. Without many other options, Mazzulla could need to be more patient with him.
The Celtics will need to find a quality center or two somehow -- and not just for this season, but beyond.
This question could be the most critical to the Celtics' chances this season. Given how much roster depth they lost, their ability to survive more significant injuries has likely disappeared.
Even if they stay moderately healthy, their depth should be an issue. Brown has missed at least 12 games in every season since 2018-19. If Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Hugo González aren't ready to play, those dozen games could get ugly. When Brown sits, Hauser will be the only wing who has ever played consistent minutes before.
White, Pritchard and Hauser have been ironmen for the Celtics, but what happens if they all miss a bit more time this season? The dropoff to their replacements would be crushing.
When the Celtics gave Pritchard more rein last season, he responded by finishing fifth leaguewide in 3-pointers made and 11th in effective field goal percentage, topping all guards except Christian Braun (who lives inside the arc) on the latter leaderboard. Pritchard raised his 3-point accuracy to 40.7 percent even while smashing his previous career high in 3-point volume. While most players see their efficiency dip with a bigger role, his efficiency skyrocketed inside and outside the arc.
Can Pritchard pull off a similar feat again? The Celtics will likely ask him to try. Without Tatum, look for Brown, White and Pritchard to step into the biggest roles of their careers. They have looked ready for more responsibilities when the Celtics have been shorthanded, but they will need to prove it consistently now.