Is a Celtics rotation tweak helping starters regain their mojo?

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Is a Celtics rotation tweak helping starters regain their mojo? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

For much of the 2024-25 season, the Boston Celtics’ preferred starting five has struggled to find its championship swagger in the limited instances that the unit is fully healthy.

But a recent shift back to a more familiar sub pattern might be aiding the starters in finding that missing mojo.

After flirting with giving Jayson Tatum an extended first-quarter run at times throughout the first half of the season, head coach Joe Mazzulla recently has reverted to subbing Tatum midway through the first quarter.

In at least in a teeny-tiny two-game sample, the starter numbers have had a not-so-minuscule spike. Here’s a look:

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It’s dangerous to read too much into a 33-minute sample, particularly when the last two games for Boston’s preferred starters have come against injury-riddled Orlando and Golden State. But for a Celtics team searching for more consistency, any positive trend — whether coincidence or otherwise — needs to be examined.

Boston’s starting group had outscored opponents in just three of that group’s first 10 appearances, and even then by just a total of seven points over those three games.

The Celtics were a middling 5-5 with the starting group, including a 1-3 record to start calendar year 2025, with that lone win coming after CJ McCollum missed a potential game-winning layup at the buzzer for New Orleans.

Over the last two games, Boston’s starters are a +33, having outscored Orlando by 15 and Golden State by 18. The group has more often allowed individuals to grab the baton and dominate small stretches.

Against Orlando, Kristaps Porzingis controlled the first quarter, Tatum took the baton in the second, and Jaylen Brown carried the offense late in the third frame with Tatum on the bench.

Subbing Tatum out early in the first quarter also has allowed the Celtics to…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-rotation-tweak-helping-starters-131226966.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2025-01-21 13:12:00

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