2023-24 Boston Celtics starting 5 and core bench lineups

[Roger Federer]

White, Brown, Tatum, Porzingis, Rob

Pritchard , Brogdon, (Free Agent Signing), Grant , Horfor

That team should be good enough to get past Miami and lose to Denver/GSW/LA in the finals

[RickyDizzle]

Lilliard, Brogdon, Tatum, Kp, Rob... lol

[GoGreen]

As much as I like Malcolm, he played the least amount of minutes he has in several years last season but still managed to get hurt at an inopportune time.

Idk what's out there, doubtless Brad is trying to find a suitor. Damn Clippers...

Anyways, Im going to guess Grant is gone and Brad signs Javonte. We have a lineup of:

White/JB/JT/Zinger/Rob

Brogs/PP/Hauser/Brisset/Al

JD/Javonte/Champagne/Walsh/Kornet

Truthfully I have my doubt's about Rob staying healthy too, but there aren't many options out there for starting Cs so Rob is the best we got right now. Excited to see what Walshy and Brissett give us. Hope Joe gives Hauser and PP more burn, esp PP. Joe really iced him throughout the year...

[captain green]

So just looking at mpg last year (+,-,= meaning the could play more+, should play less -,about where the need to be=)
White 28 mpg +
Brown 35mpg =/+
Tatum 36mpg =/+
Timelord 16mpg +/=
Unicorn 33mpg =/+
Horford 30mpg -
Brogdon 26mpg +/=
Hauser 16mpg +/=
Brissett 16mpg +=
Pp 13mpg +
Banton 10mpg +
I think realistically Pritchard and white's and brissett and banton go up. And al's should go down. And I lean towards maybe keeping timelord, Brogdon and big three about the same.
Also going to update this but I think if one of pp,Hauser, brissett,banton hits we could be in decent territory of being better than next year.

[Riverwalk2021]

-Starters-
White (35)
JB (35)
Tatum (35)
Porzingis (30)
Rob (25)

-Bench-
Brogdon (25)
Horford (20)
Hauser (15)
TBD (20)

I think Grant and PP are gone.

[darrendaye]

Posted this in the trade/FA thread, but contributes to discussion here:

Think this is your rotation when the dust clears....
PG White (30)/Brogdon (18)
SG JB (18)/Brogdon (8)/Javonte Green (14)/JT(8)
SF JT (20) /JB (16)/Hauser (12)
PF Rob Williams (26)/JT (8)/Horford (6)/Anonymous PF (8)
C Porzingis (30)/Horford (18).

[cloverleaf]

So just looking at mpg last year (+,-,= meaning the could play more+, should play less -,about where the need to be=)
White 28 mpg +
Brown 35mpg =/+
Tatum 36mpg =/+
Timelord 16mpg +/=
Unicorn 33mpg =/+
Horford 30mpg -
Brogdon 26mpg +/=
Hauser 16mpg +/=
Brissett 16mpg +=
Pp 13mpg +
Banton 10mpg +
I think realistically Pritchard and white's and brissett and banton go up. And al's should go down. And I lean towards maybe keeping timelord, Brogdon and big three about the same.
Also going to update this but I think if one of pp,Hauser, brissett,banton hits we could be in decent territory of being better than next year.

I'd put the Jays in the "-" category, Dwight at "+". Timelord at "++", the Unicorn and PP (if he's still here) a straight "=", Houser and Brissett at "-" and The Elite Shooter at a "--".

[captain green]

So just looking at mpg last year (+,-,= meaning the could play more+, should play less -,about where the need to be=)
White 28 mpg +
Brown 35mpg =/+
Tatum 36mpg =/+
Timelord 16mpg +/=
Unicorn 33mpg =/+
Horford 30mpg -
Brogdon 26mpg +/=
Hauser 16mpg +/=
Brissett 16mpg +=
Pp 13mpg +
Banton 10mpg +
I think realistically Pritchard and white's and brissett and banton go up. And al's should go down. And I lean towards maybe keeping timelord, Brogdon and big three about the same.
Also going to update this but I think if one of pp,Hauser, brissett,banton hits we could be in decent territory of being better than next year.

I'd put the Jays in the "-" category, Dwight at "+". Timelord at "++", the Unicorn and PP (if he's still here) a straight "=", Houser and Brissett at "-" and The Elite Shooter at a "--".

I'm not opposed to these suggestions but on timelord I don't think he can be healthy as a starter but off the bench maybe he can stay healthier.

[tfmiii]

Didn't Rob start all year under Ime?

I think his problem getting minutes - under Joe - will be lack of 3pt range

[cloverleaf]

So just looking at mpg last year (+,-,= meaning the could play more+, should play less -,about where the need to be=)
White 28 mpg +
Brown 35mpg =/+
Tatum 36mpg =/+
Timelord 16mpg +/=
Unicorn 33mpg =/+
Horford 30mpg -
Brogdon 26mpg +/=
Hauser 16mpg +/=
Brissett 16mpg +=
Pp 13mpg +
Banton 10mpg +
I think realistically Pritchard and white's and brissett and banton go up. And al's should go down. And I lean towards maybe keeping timelord, Brogdon and big three about the same.
Also going to update this but I think if one of pp,Hauser, brissett,banton hits we could be in decent territory of being better than next year.

I'd put the Jays in the "-" category, Dwight at "+". Timelord at "++", the Unicorn and PP (if he's still here) a straight "=", Houser and Brissett at "-" and The Elite Shooter at a "--".

I'm not opposed to these suggestions but on timelord I don't think he can be healthy as a starter but off the bench maybe he can stay healthier.

I see him more on the Porzi/Embiid plan of being more reliable with his core injury issue having been addressed--though sure, he's at risk still. And it is Al who I think needs a rocking chair as part of the second string this year.

[zoyathedestroya]

Will pay good money ($1) to see a White-Walsh-Tatum-Brissett-Timelord lineup.

[Hal14]

This is how last season's Celtics players ranked in net rating (minimum 35 games played)
1. Rob
2. white
3. tatum
4. horford
5. hauser
6. smart
7. grant
8. JB
9. Brogdon

In PIE..
1. tatum
2. brogdon
3. brown
4. rob
5. white
6. horford
7. hauser
8. smart
9. Grant

BPM..
1. tatum
2 horford
3 rob
4 brogdon
5 white
6 brown
7 Hauser
8 kornet
9 griffin
10 smart
11 grant

TS%
1 rob
2 hauser
3 brogdon
4 tatum
5 grant
6 white
7 Brown
8 smart

Last one. Usage %. Keep in mind, that we now have 3 high usage, high scoring guys on this team (Tatum, Brown, Porzingis). All 20+ PPG scorers. Porzingis usage about 27%. The Jays usage around 31%. So being lower on this list (if you're not a Jay) is actually better..
1 tatum
2 brown
3 brogdon
4 smart
5 white
6 hauser
7 grant
8 horford
9 rob

What these numbers tell me...
-Smart was not very good according to most analytics. I'm totally fine with him being gone now. It wasn't even just a 1 year sample size thing with Smart. I remember checking a bunch of advanced stats during the 20-21 season - him and Grant both ranked really low then too.
-Analytics LOVE Rob and Al. I especially love how low usage both of them are. They are not ball dominant guys at all. They're very unselfish, make quick passes. With that being said, we needed to add another quality big, with Rob's injury issues and Al turning 37. KP was such an awesome addition. It's gonna be so awesome, having that 3 headed monster, to rotate them in and out, to keep each of them fresh/healthy
-Brogdon ranks pretty good in most of these categories. His usage % is a little high, though. But it's good to have another perimeter player who can create offense. Keep him in that 6th man role.
-I like that Hauser and Grant are both very low usage guys, who are both high efficiency (very good TS%) guys. Grant ranks pretty low though in Net rating, PIE and BPM. Hauser is very good in basically every category.
-Looking at these numbers, it is clear that between Smart and Brogdon, 1 of them had to go. And looking at the numbers, we did the right thing by moving Smart and keeping Brogdon
-Grant is definitely expendable.
-Hauser is clearly a top 8 player on this celtics team. This one is really my biggest takeaway, Hauser is absolutely a top 8 rotation player on this team. Brad might even be trying to get rid of Grant, as a way of forcing Mazzulla to play Hauser over Grant. Because clearly Hauser is the better player / better fit with this celtics team.

We all know who our top 7 guys are as of now. IMO, Hauser is 8th on the depth chart - there's no debate. Yes, he had about a 2 month stretch where he struggled shooting the ball. But I'm not worried about that - if you look at Hauser's shooting numbers during his 4 years of college, along with his 1 year playing g league, his 2 years of NBA (and when you look at how smooth his mechanics are) it's clear that this dude is one of the best shooters on the planet. Also, the 2 month slump doesn't worry me much, because let's be real here - it was only his 2nd season in the league - only the first season where he was getting regular minutes - so it's not surprising that he hit a rough patch at some point. He's human - he's not a robot. But he was able to find his stroke again and was on firing shooting the ball after that. And even with that slump, his TS% was still insanely high. Honestly, I'm not even sure how many non-bigs are putting up a TS% that high, especially dudes who are only in their 2nd NBA season - it's nuts. Add in the fact that he's such a low usage guy (which fits great alongside our 3 high usage stars) and he should be getting plenty of minutes this season. Dude is a hard worker, too. He made a big leap last season defensively. But I bet it really fueled him, that he didn't play much in the playoffs. I bet he's determined to keep working hard this offseason so he can be in the rotation come playoff time every game this year - that should obviously be his goal.

[djFan71]

Will pay good money ($1) to see a White-Walsh-Tatum-Brissett-Timelord lineup.

[165bows]

White/Brown/Tatum/Al/Zinger

PP/Brogdon/Hauser/Brissett/Rob

Deep bench: JD, maybe Yam, Banton, Walsh, Blake and Kornet.

Barring a trade this is how it will look.

[sam_I_am]

Kornet will get a lot of minutes this year or will be replaced by someone else who will. Al/Rob/KP will all play 65 or less games and less than 30 min. per game. We need a regular season big who will eat minutes. Kornet did a good job of that last year.

[LewisnotMiller]

Kornet will get a lot of minutes this year or will be replaced by someone else who will. Al/Rob/KP will all play 65 or less games and less than 30 min. per game. We need a regular season big who will eat minutes. Kornet did a good job of that last year.

Yeah, I think Kornet is fine for the reg season, although I'm a little less sure who a sensible 4 man is next to him this year.

As always, our risk is having less than all 3 of our main guys for any stretch of the playoffs (at least from the second round.
I doubt Kornet or any cheap signing makes much difference there, so just go with Kornet.

Small side note...I reckon grabbing a veteran 4 (midget 5) for the end of the bench is sensible. Doesn't need to be an NBA vet, get the best late twenties dude that fits from Europe/Australia/Greenland. Issue goes away a bit if Walsh hits the ground running and can play the 4...that just seems a lot to expect.

I'm thinking guys like Sasha Vezenkov, although we've missed the boat on him (smart signing by Sac). Heck, keep an eye on Keanu Pinder in Summer League (for the Sun's). He's not the same player he was in college, if anyone remembers his Arizona days (unlikely). Back to back MIPs in the NBL (Aussie league).

[SLCceltic]

Starting lineup: White | Brown | Tatum | Porzingis | Horford
Closing lineup (most nights): White | Brogdon | Brown | Tatum | Porzingis

Find a way to limit all our 3 centers below 30 mpg. Play Pritchard and Hauser! Tie Brown's minutes with White and Timelord. Tie Brogdon's minutes with Tatum.

My three favorite go-to bench lineups:
White | Brown | MLE | Horford | Timelord (more conventional)
Brogdon | PP | Hauser | Tatum | Porzingis (more shooting/offense)
White | MLE | Hauser | Tatum | Timelord (more movement w/ Rob as hub)

This post will be obsolete in a few hours cos Stevens not done yet lol.

I seemed to remember Tatum at the PF being our best ever offensive line up or am I dreaming? Maybe in the 2021-22 season. Thankyou for the statistical breakdown in the other thread.

We're slightly better on offense with Tatum at PF last season but better overall with him at SF.
We were way better on offense and overall with Tatum at SF previous season.

IMO, to take advantage of our supersized frontcourt, Tatum should spend most of his minutes at SF. Our smallball defense has also taken a hit with Smart no longer on the team but it's gonna be hard to stop on offense. In any case, Cs can now play 5-out either playing big (Horford-Porzingis) or small (Brogdon or PP).

I think Brad maybe is done for a while, Oshae and Banton are going to be given significant roles at least to start out. Both were on the verge of breaking out before Buddy hield was moved to Indy and precious, scotty barnes got to toronto...

[Drax]

The most fascinating subplot of the offseason is how Brad is changing the roster from swag and attitude; to cool, calm and collected. Personally i like it, seems more professional. We will have the most boring press conferences of all the NBA teams. Just laid back chill dudes.

[Spin Move]

My projected Minutes, pretty much except for Hauser and maybe Pritchard it all seems pretty set. We start White and Rob, Brogden and Al first 2 off the Bench.

SF/PF Jayson Tatum 36
SG/SF Jaylen Brown 36
PG Derrick White 32
C Kristops Porzingis 32
PG/SG Malcom Brogden 28'
C/PF Robert Williams 24
C Al Horford 20
SG Payton Pritchard 18
SF/PF Sam Hauser 14


Starter Mins Sub 1 Mins Sub 2 Mins Sub 3 Mins
PG Derrick White 30 Payton Pritchard 18
SG Jaylen Brown 18 Malcom Brogden 28 Derrick White 2
SF Jason Taytum 16 Sam Hauser 14 Jaylen Brown 18
PF Robert Williams 24 Jason Tatum 20 Al Horford 4
C Kristops Porzingus 32 Al Horford 16

[Larry_Russell]

Al And Timelord I cannot see starting.

Al faltered in the playoffs bigtime and neither he or Timelord fit Joes...."Vision?"
And that the team intended on keeping Marcus
and that Joe is apparently a "stats" guy he then knows that Brown and Tatum are both better moved up a positions.

Leads me to believe that Brogdon is starting

Brogdon/Pritchard/Banton
White/............./Walsh
Brown/Hauser/Brisset
Tatum/Horford/............
Porzingas/Timelord/Kornet


I also believe that Brad genuinly believe that Walsh will have an immediate impact so that might make him the backup SG as opposed to 3rd stringer.

But I think if he actually does the egregious error of signing Brown to the super max, all he will do from here is sign a cheap ass depth guard and depth PF.