Trying to predict the Celtics rotation heading into their first preseason game tonight will admittedly read like fan fiction. With as much turnover as the roster has weathered over the summer and the little that we know from their media availability after practice and whatever we can glean from social media videos, it’s anybody guess outside of the walls of the Auerbach Center.
But hey, let’s have some fun.
Here are a few assumptions:
Expect to see two ballhandlers on the floor at all times. That means two of Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Brown, and Baylor Scheierman. In the preseason, let’s throw rookie Hugo Gonzalez into that mix, too. The team has been talking about playing fast since even before training camp opened up. This will not be a floor general style offense. It’ll be multiple reads over multiple actions. We’re going to see the ball move from strong side and weak side back to strong side in just one possession. Joe Mazzulla is going to want to have multiple guys on the floor that can break down defenses and play off the dribble.
Defensively, Boston will lean heavily on guys that can defend space. Chris Boucher told CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell that he’s been playing a lot of power forward — not at center as many had suspected — and defending former college teammate Pritchard and Brown on the perimeter a lot. That’s a small hint that they’ll be either switching some or at least playing up on screens this season. Thankfully, Boston is chockful of rangy defenders like Jordan Walsh and Neemias Queta.
Finally, I love this from CelticsBlog’s Bobby Manning: Josh Minott starting at small forward:
Bobby could be right. If there’s a player that has embodied Boston’s transformation this fall, it’s Minott. On Monday, he proclaimed, “I feel like I might be the fastest on the team.” If Boston is going to succeed in this March Madness, motion all-the-time, full effort pedal-to-the-metal style, they need complete buy-in not just from the starters, but role players like Minott.
So, here’s a stab at tomorrow’s starters and possible rotation:
Not exactly the hockey line substitutions that Walsh suggested, but there are some intriguing pairings and trios that we could see tonight.
Some things of note:
Celtics kick off their preseason at 5 pm against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Golden State Warriors are going for one last title in the Steph Curry Era, and the veteran center they grabbed off the market in what could be his last season might be the reason they get Steph ring No.5.
The Warriors beat the Lakers in a preseason tilt Sunday and as always, there wasn’t much to take away from a preaseason contest, especially one where the Lakers were without Luka Dončić and LeBron James.
But one thing stood out: the chemistry with Al Horford and Stephen Curry. Horford had three whole points and three whole assists in 14 minutes of play. But he found Curry on two give-and-go cuts and a dish to Buddy Hield for three. He screened to create separation for Curry and his ability to spread the floor helped with the gravity.
Al Horford officially signed with the Warriors on the 1st of the month and 4 days later doing give-and-gos with Steph Curry like they had been running together for years. Championship synergy. #DubNation pic.twitter.com/DFbUZ2yoXd
— Global Utopia Sports (@GL8BAL_SPORTS) October 6, 2025
For as much starpower as the Warriors bring to the table, their frontcourt was razor thin before Horford joined last week. Draymond Green is still Draymon Green most nights, but on nights where he’s not, he’s really not. They lost Kevon Looney and had moved away from playing him consistently last season.
The Warriors had started to rely on Quinten Post (+20 in the Lakers win by the way) and Trayce Jackson-Davis at times. Sure, there’s Jonathan Kuminga on his fancy new deal, but it’s also very apparent that Steve Kerr neither trusts Kuminga nor believes he fits with Curry. (He doesn’t, Kuminga is a north-south player in an east-west system built around Curry.)
But with Horford, they have a reliable center when he’s available to play. They can go smallball with Green, still, but not having to will be a huge luxury. Horford can replicate a lot of what Green does, as well, both with his passing and in certain situations defensively. Horford makes everyone around him better, and is a guy who has missed the playoffs one year when healthy in his entire career going back almost two decades.
The Warriors want to believe their terrific end to the season after the Butler trade makes them contenders. Their second-round loss to the Wolves is easily explained away by the Curry injury. But in that stretch of games to end last season, it was apparent they needed one more guy in the frontcourt, and Al Horford is just about the perfect fit there.
The Warriors are old, Horford’s old, the whole thing is held together with prayer and athletic tape. But when they’re healthy, you’re going to see Al Horford as a player who not only makes the Warriors better, but makes Steph Curry even better, and that’s a frightening prospect even in a loaded Western Conference.
