Celtics Bench to See More Action than Starters in Nuggets Preseason Games

The Celtics begin their Abu Dhabi preseason exhibitions on Friday without motivation to play their starters for significant minutes. As Al Horford assumes a major role in the front court at 38, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown come off a long postseason runs alongside Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, the preseason focus will shift to the roster’s depth.

“It’s important (to see them),” Joe Mazzulla said last week. “But really, it just comes down to their practice habits and their ability to understand situations. Today, we had a great drill and the younger guys made us better. So the more they’re just in our drills competing, but also just executing our system on offense and defense, they do a great job coming in and getting their player development work in. So the whole preseason we’ll be able to look at that as well.”

Rookies Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson will play their first preseason minutes, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet will look to rekindle the bench’s success from recent seasons, while Lonnie Walker IV tries to make the team’s final roster spot. Neemias Queta can show he’s capable of joining the center rotation on most nights while Kristaps Porzingis is out. J.D. Davison, who had a strong workout slate in Boston following a successful Summer League, needs to prove his NBA worth after two years in the G-League.

“We have a couple guys that aren’t here who were awesome for us,” Brad Stevens said on media day. “But obviously with the draft and things like that, we have to look at ways that we can both balance being really good at the top of our roster with building in with some young players that we hopefully can grow and develop and be good fits with our roster moving forward.”

The Celtics’ focus is on repeating, but with growing attention toward the future compared to the beginning of Stevens’ tenure as president. Boston selected Scheierman in June, Stevens’ first pick ever in the first round, traded for Jaden Springer as a second draft addition in February, paid Jordan Walsh guaranteed NBA money to develop in the G-League last year and signed Queta to a Sam Hauser-like long term contract after a strong season on two-way deal. They spent to stay competitive, but drafting and finding sustainability deeper on the bench became more important for the league’s most expensive teams under the new rules — and for ones trying to get through the long NBA regular season.

Boston’s effort to find and uplift prospects can best be described as due diligence. Another top spender in Minnesota made more deliberate attempts to infuse a youth movement into their win now mode. The Donte DiVincenzo addition intrigued alongside what’s likely a small downgrade going from Karl-Anthony Towns to Julius Randle in their blockbuster trade with New York last week. The Wolves, earlier this summer, drafted Rob Dillingham by moving from outside of the first round to the No. 8 overall pick. They later used their own first-rounder to select Terrence Shannon Jr. Both young players now enter the rotation on a team with championship aspirations that just unloaded its star of the last nine years.

It’s a looming reality for the big spenders. One Minnesota chose to accept sooner rather than later.

Nobody will lament Boston’s all-in approach to the past year that paid off with banner 18. What looks like a prudent move by the Wolves could haunt them if they can’t return to the late stages of the playoffs. The Celtics might pay for their short term indulgence in the long run as their ownership future becomes more clear in the coming months.

Brown and Tatum’s likely presence here beyond this short window is one that should carry on some level of success. That’ll also require maintaining a representative cast around them even as the championship core of veterans inevitably departs later this decade. Their last youth movement with Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith and others resulted in a mediocre 2021 season.

Free agent departures will become the most likely path to downsizing the roster’s cost eventually. For example, Porzingis could depart following 2026, or re-signs to a team-friendly deal. In a trade (i.e. Towns) and more immediate cost-cutting scenario, Holiday could land elsewhere as his game remains an enticing finishing touch for contenders. Would a smooth handoff to Queta or Springer be likely at that time? No. But you have to try to put them in position to succeed in the future, and that begins with allocating some opportunities in these preseason settings. Then, more importantly, finding some of them complementary roles into the regular season. It’s difficult when it’s winning time.

Fortunately for them, Stevens signaled rest becoming a priority alongside the ramp-up for the playoffs that their sports science staff recommends. Both Horford and Porzingis will be out for multiple games early in the schedule. The team can probably afford to pull its veteran perimeter players more often than last year’s high-stakes push for the title allowed.

Brown joked that when Boston plays Detroit it can allow Pritchard to score 30 points and Hauser to shoot 10 threes. He’s not far off.

“I feel like he’s just giving a compliment to how deep our team is,” Pritchard said. “I don’t think he’s trying to shoot at the other team. He’s just trying to give a compliment to guys coming off the bench that don’t necessarily get to do that on a nightly basis. It just shows us how deep our team is and everybody’s ready to step up if an injury did happen or anything like that.”