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The blog’s own Nik Land posed an important question on X that we’ll surely be talking about heavily throughout the next few weeks: what does the Celtics’ Opening Night starting 5 look like?
Does Payton Pritchard open on the bench? Is it Neemias Queta or Mitchell Robinson setting the tone in the frontcourt? Do one of Boston’s rising wings get an early crack at a starting role?
They’re all valid questions. But constants remain. Every lineup prediction will rightfully lock in Derrick White, Jayson Tatum and Paul George, and every lineup can be looked at under the lens of “how does this group help Tatum run the show?”
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It also posed a different question for me: what do the rotations look when JT’s not on the floor?
That is a big question.
Tatum was eased in a bit with 32.6 minutes per game in his regular season return last year, his lowest per game average since 2018-19. In six postseason games, his minutes jumped back up to 36, the regular season norm for his prior five seasons.
It’s a smaller-scale issue to figure out now than it seemed a year ago, when Boston had to endure a Tatum-less existence with Jaylen Brown running the show with a roster built on unproven commodities.
Those guys are unproven no longer. With established depth and a few new pieces, the Celtics are able to put together an impressive combination of bench lineups to steady the ship — or even win their minutes — when Tatum sits.
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With the help of Basketball Index’s Lineup Analyzer which uses stabilized lineup data and helps us compare lineups of various sample sizes (as well as some opinionated liberties), let’s look at three lineup combinations that could provide well-rounded, two-way impact even as Boston gives a breather to its star catalyst.
PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 26: Ron Harper Jr. #13 of the Boston Celtics and Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics celebrate during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers during Round One Game Four of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 26, 2026 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by…
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Publish date : 2026-09-02 10:00:00
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