7 takeaways as Celtics remain perfect in preseason play

The Boston Celtics took care of business against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, with a 114-93 win to improve to 3-0 in preseason play, with one game remaining Friday night in Philadelphia before the regular season begins on Tuesday, October 20.

Here are seven takeaways from Boston’s win.

A hint at the starting lineup?

Joe Mazzulla cautioned against reading too much into the Celtics’ preseason starting lineups.

Still, it is interesting that, for a second consecutive game, Boston started Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, and Mitchell Robinson.

For what it’s worth, last year’s opening-night starting lineup (Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta) did not start any preseason games together. The 2024-25 opening-night lineup (Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford) did not play any preseason games together, either.

You have to go back to 2023-24, when White, Holiday, Brown, Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis started two preseason games together.

“Really didn’t think much of it,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said of the starting lineup postgame. “Just kind of, we’ll do what we did last time.”

White, Tatum, and George are locks for the starting lineup. Walsh and Robinson are up for more debate.

Starting with the centers, a case could be made for either Robinson or Queta to start. However, given Robinson’s struggles at the free-throw line (a career 50.8% shooter who shot a career-low 40.8% last season) and teams’ willingness to intentionally foul him once they’re in the bonus, it makes sense to start Robinson. After all, opponents can’t deploy the “Hack-a-Mitch” strategy before they reach the bonus.

If Queta returns to the bench, it won’t be unfamiliar territory. In fact, he has shown he can thrive in that role. He had his best game of the postseason in Game 7 against Philadelphia, scoring 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds for his first career playoff double-double. He came off the bench in that game.

Walsh’s spot is interesting, too. The Celtics went 18-7 in the 25 games Walsh started last season and 12-4 when he played at least 25 minutes.

Behind him is Sam Hauser, who started 49 games last season and six of seven in the playoffs. He provides elite spacing and three-point shooting and is particularly effective alongside Tatum. Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez also have a case, although it may make sense to keep Scheierman on the bench as another ball-handler and scorer.

Regardless, it will likely change throughout the season. The Celtics used 23 different starting lineups last season, including four that started at least 10 games together.

The Celtics’ frontcourt is extremely talented

This is not a take formed strictly off the preseason. The Celtics’ frontcourt is legit, and the strengths of all three centers were on full display Wednesday night.

Mitchell Robinson finished with 12 points, seven rebounds (three offensive), an assist, and three blocks. He went 5-of-5 from the field, with four of his makes coming on alley-oops, where the timing looked much better, and the other on a tip-in.

Last season, Robinson shot 72.3% (149-of-206) from the field, the third-highest mark among players with at least 200 shot attempts. A whopping 51.5% of his field-goal attempts came on dunks (97 total), and his average shot distance was one foot from the rim, the closest mark of any player in the NBA.

This is what Robinson provides. Notably, he also went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.

Neemias Queta finished with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, a rebound and an assist. He also attempted three 3-pointers, missing all three, although he did knock down a corner shot that barely counted as a 2-pointer because he was just over the line.

“I want to empower him to take his game to a different level,” Mazzulla said of Queta shooting 3-pointers. “At the same time, we have to fight to get the best shots at the right time.”

Rounding out the centers, Luke Garza had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, a rebound and three steals. He led all scorers with 11 points in the fourth quarter. Even behind Robinson and Queta, it’s going to be hard to keep Garza out of the rotation.

This is a very talented group.

At one point, the Celtics even had Robinson and Queta on the floor together, and the double-big lineup produced some positive results.

“Just kind of wanted to get some game reps so we can have it on film,” Mazzulla said of the double-big lineup. “Just exploring. We have a deep bench. A lot of depth. So just want to give every look imaginable.”

Jayson Tatum is ready for the regular season

Jayson Tatum is looking like Jayson Tatum again.

After an offseason focused on recovering from his torn Achilles, Tatum appears ready to return to his All-NBA form this season.

Tatum scored 23 points (9-of-19 FG, 4-of-10 3PT), with five rebounds, four assists, and a steal on Saturday. He followed that up on Wednesday with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting (47.1%) from the field and 3-of-8 (37.5%) from three, along with eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 29 minutes. He has scored 42 points in his two preseason games while attempting just one free throw.

Tatum is attacking the basket explosively and with confidence, rebounding aggressively, making plays for others and staying active defensively. He’s showing the all-around impact that made him a five-time All-NBA selection.

Tatum looks more than ready for the regular season.

Paul George is still searching for his shot, but the defense has been elite

Paul George is still searching for his shot.

George went 2-of-10 from the field (1-of-7 from three) and is now shooting 5-of-20 (25%) from the field and 3-of-14 (21.4%) from beyond the arc through two preseason games.

Confidence doesn’t appear to be an issue, as George hasn’t been hesitant to fire away. He’s just missing clean looks. Of course, it’s a two-game sample for a player who has proven throughout his 16-year career that he is an elite shooter. The shots will start falling, especially given the quality of looks he has been getting.

Defensively, though, George has looked great. The four-time All-Defensive selection has been Boston’s best defender this preseason, impacting the game both on and off the ball. He has seven steals in two games, five of which have directly led to baskets at the other end for a total of 11 points.

Under Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics have finished in the top five in defensive rating in each of his four seasons at the helm. Boston has established itself as an elite defensive team, and George will play a big role in keeping it that way.

Derrick White had a big offensive game

Derrick White’s offensive efficiency will be something to watch this season. In what was likely his final game before the regular season, it was good to see him put together a big, efficient night offensively.

White finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting (66.7%), including 1-of-2 (50%) from three. The Celtics will need White to bounce back offensively this season, and this was an encouraging way to head into the regular season if it was indeed his final preseason game.

Payton Pritchard the playmaker

It wasn’t a good shooting night for Payton Pritchard, who finished 3-of-11 (27.3%) from the field and 1-of-4 (25%) from three. However, he made up for it as a playmaker.

Pritchard finished with 11 assists after recording six on Saturday. He has thrived as a passer throughout the preseason.

Pritchard’s career high in assists per game is 5.2, a mark he should surpass this season as he is expected to see an expanded role and almost certainly the highest usage rate of his NBA career.

The Celtics are forcing turnovers?

The Hornets had 30 turnovers. Thirty!

Even in the preseason, with teams playing plenty of depth players, that’s an outrageous number.

Although some of Charlotte’s turnovers were unforced mistakes, the Celtics have noticeably improved at forcing turnovers throughout the preseason.

Over their last two games, Boston has forced 59 turnovers, including 30 against Charlotte and 29 against Philadelphia.

Preseason stats and trends don’t always translate to the regular season, and it’s worth noting that both Charlotte and Philadelphia sat most of their starters. Still, for a team that forced the second-fewest turnovers per game last season at 12.4, it’s an encouraging sign.