When looking at the Celtics' starting five for Tuesday night's preseason opener against the 76ers, four of the five names were expected.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart were obvious locks and should remain so for the foreseeable future, unless Smart reverts to his super sixth man role at some point. Robert Williams was also expected given that he and Tacko Fall are the Celtics' only two healthy centers right now.
The fifth spot was the interesting one. Veteran point guard Jeff Teague has been a starter most of his career. Semi Ojeleye and Grant Williams both started a handful of games for Boston last season.
But it wasn't any of them. Instead it was Javonte Green, the 27-year-old, 6-foot-4 wing who appeared in 48 games for the Celtics last season after spending the previous four years playing overseas.
Green's numbers in the Celtics' 108-99 loss won't jump off the page, but he made some good things happen in his 14 minutes. He scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a couple exciting dunks and a three, while also registering a steal and a block.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Celtics coach Brad Stevens explained what he likes about Green's game and why he might continue to use him at the start of games or halves.
"Regardless of whether he starts or not, we need his energy," Stevens said. "He can get you points off cutting. He can get you points off running the floor. He can get you points off corner crash rebounds. Then obviously has improved his shot. He can shoot the ball when open. But those first three things, those first three areas are energy, effort plays that are great any time of the game.
"We want to see what that looks like at the start of quarters, especially the start of halves. So I could see him coming off the bench, I could see him starting, but that’s what we need him to do when he plays. And he does a good job of that. He did a good job of that last night. I thought he was one of the guys who played to who we think he can be."
So, obviously this isn't a typical "starting" role in the sense that Green won't be playing 30 minutes a game or anything. But Stevens obviously likes the energy that he brings and could decide that, at least until Kemba Walker returns, he might want that energy right at the start of games and start of second halves.