Predict Starting Lineup Vs Charlotte Hornets Game 1 Preseason

[nickagneta]

The starters will be Kemba, Brown, Tatum, Hayward and Kanter. Kanter is the best big man on the roster so must start and play probably 28-30+ MPG. Smart can't start since he must be the lead ball handler when Kemba sits. He is needed more at PG this year because of the loss of Rozier and the addition of no 2nd team, rotational ball handlers to replace Rozier means Smart has to be the bench ball handler/PG.  So Brown starts at the 2. Kemba and Tatum are givens and Hayward, the real Hayward not last year's version, will be needed as a 3-4(sharing that spot in the lineup with Tatum) as there aren't any good rotational 4's on the roster.

So it's fairly easy to see where Stevens will go. I think anyone trying to state that there will be any other starting lineup is just fooling themselves. I think they are just trying to pick a different lineup in the hopes they are right and not because it's best for the Celtics in trying to win games. You gotta roll out your best 5 players to start. The whole idea of making a star or future star a sixth man is about as far from the norm as you get. The whole Manu in SA is an aberration not a rule or a norm or even something that has happened and worked much at all.

[PAOBoston]

Kemba/Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Kanter

Smart is 6th man. after that, it’s all about who earns it/matchups.

So he will swing a trade for a big man at some point.

[trickybilly]

Kemba Walker - PG
Marcus Smart - SG
Jaylen Brown - SF
Jason Tatum - F
Enes Kanter - C

My point is that Smart starts the game. If you switch Smart for Hayward there is simply "too much offense" on the court.

Smart and Kanter can "tee up" the other three, who represent the Celtic's offense for this season.

6th man - Hayward

First big - Poirier

First guard - Edwards

9th man (if there is one) - G. Williams

During the season, an 8 man rotation as above.

Guys who would also get minutes, obviously:

R. Williams
Any minutes he gets will be from "taking them" from Kanter/Poirier which, from a coaching standpoint makes sense. I really want R. Williams to be the first big off the bench, but, he has to outplay these guys.

This season, Grant Williams is a wildcard. He is such a polished, disciplined player with excellent instincts. He will get minutes, but, he is small. He was "small" against college lineups last year. He hit 23 consecutive free throws one night against Vanderbilt. He plays big in big games. He was the "middle linebacker" on defense calling the sets on the way back up the court.

Brad Stevens is going to love this guy and he will take minutes from other players. He might end up taking a lot of minutes from other players.

I suppose with 1:30 left and the Celtics up by two:

These three guys are on the court with whomever based on matchups:

Smart
Brown
G. Williams

Vanilla Theis is missing.

[Somebody]

I agree that we'll likely start Walker/Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Kanter. I'll be worried about our interior defense, but the offense looks tantalising with this sort of lineup, and it isn't like our wings will be a pushover on defense even when teams try to power through our shaky frontcourt.

[chambers]

I would like to start Grant Williams right off the bat. Throw him in the deep end. Kid is smart enough and big/strong enough to battle vs men already. His defensive ability and 3 point shot will fit perfectly in next to Kanter. He also won't take shots away from our starting scoring trio like Marcus Morris did.

Kemba
Brown
Tatum
G Williams
Kanter

Then I'd bring in Smart, Hayward, Theis, Pourier and Edwards with a sprinkle of Time Lord (depending on how his D looks).

Grant Williams is going to be a surprise. This guy coached by Stevens is a recipe for success.

[KG Living Legend]

I would like to start Grant Williams right off the bat. Throw him in the deep end. Kid is smart enough and big/strong enough to battle vs men already. His defensive ability and 3 point shot will fit perfectly in next to Kanter. He also won't take shots away from our starting scoring trio like Marcus Morris did.

Kemba
Brown
Tatum
G Williams
Kanter

Then I'd bring in Smart, Hayward, Theis, Pourier and Edwards with a sprinkle of Time Lord (depending on how his D looks).

Grant Williams is going to be a surprise. This guy coached by Stevens is a recipe for success.

 I'm sure we won't try this game one but I'm 100% on board with your thinking here.

 He's super smart he will soak up all the schemes and coaching philosophies very quickly he's outstanding communicator on the court.

 He's going to be like another point forward out on the court setting up people and like you said he's very unselfish I really don't think we need all these scoring forwards out on the court together.

 Bring Hayward off the bench and let him really run things.

[tenn_smoothie]

I would like to start Grant Williams right off the bat. Throw him in the deep end. Kid is smart enough and big/strong enough to battle vs men already. His defensive ability and 3 point shot will fit perfectly in next to Kanter. He also won't take shots away from our starting scoring trio like Marcus Morris did.

Kemba
Brown
Tatum
G Williams
Kanter

Then I'd bring in Smart, Hayward, Theis, Pourier and Edwards with a sprinkle of Time Lord (depending on how his D looks).

Grant Williams is going to be a surprise. This guy coached by Stevens is a recipe for success.

We watched Grant Williams for three years down here in Knoxville. I met him at an event for handicapped kids. He struck me as a real sincere person.

I watched some video from one of the first two days of camp where he and Tatum were working on their 3-point shot together. I was amazed at Williams shooting - he hardly missed a three during the entire tape. He shot them occasionally in college, but it looks like he has been working on his perimeter skills. He is a winner, a smart kid and a team guy always - I hope he can find his niche in the pros. He is the type of guy that brings a million intangibles and contributes to winning. Players like him and Marcus Smart are important to championship caliber teams.

[Csfan1984]

As of today I feel it's

Walker, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, and RWilliams.

There is plenty of scoring with that group and the Timelord offers the best combo of rim protection, rotation speed and pick and roll play.

Edwards, Smart, Semi, Theis, Kanter, VP is a nice bench.

Don't expect to see Langford, Tacko or GW except at garbage time.

[Somebody]

As of today I feel it's

Walker, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, and RWilliams.

There is plenty of scoring with that group and the Timelord offers the best combo of rim protection, rotation speed and pick and roll play.

Edwards, Smart, Semi, Theis, Kanter, VP is a nice bench.

Don't expect to see Langford, Tacko or GW except at garbage time.

I feel that Williams won't see the court much, if at all this season. He's honestly less NBA ready than Tacko, who has a body that's more than ready for the NBA at least.

[SHAQATTACK]

As of today I feel it's

Walker, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, and RWilliams.

There is plenty of scoring with that group and the Timelord offers the best combo of rim protection, rotation speed and pick and roll play.

Edwards, Smart, Semi, Theis, Kanter, VP is a nice bench.

Don't expect to see Langford, Tacko or GW except at garbage time.

I feel that Williams won't see the court much, if at all this season. He's honestly less NBA ready than Tacko, who has a body that's more than ready for the NBA at least.

Tacko needs a tutorial from Shaq and KG .   A good dose of their court smarts could get him off on the right path.

Tacko changes the game , no,question , the other team is kinda forced to play fast to keep him behind them as they run offensive sets.  He is a load at 300 plus pounds .  How would you like a Tacko elbow to,the head ?   holy crap ...he is gonna knock a few players cold completely unintentional.

[Somebody]

As of today I feel it's

Walker, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, and RWilliams.

There is plenty of scoring with that group and the Timelord offers the best combo of rim protection, rotation speed and pick and roll play.

Edwards, Smart, Semi, Theis, Kanter, VP is a nice bench.

Don't expect to see Langford, Tacko or GW except at garbage time.

I feel that Williams won't see the court much, if at all this season. He's honestly less NBA ready than Tacko, who has a body that's more than ready for the NBA at least.

Tacko needs a tutorial from Shaq and KG .   A good dose of their court smarts could get him off on the right path.

Tacko changes the game , no,question , the other team is kinda forced to play fast to keep him behind them as they run offensive sets.  He is a load at 300 plus pounds .  How would you like a Tacko elbow to,the head ?   holy crap ...he is gonna knock a few players cold completely unintentional.

I think any big can learn from KG lol. I've really come to see him in a different light after reading what the stats guys have to say about him, and I think he's in contention for being the best PF ever alongside Duncan. Here's a writeup about how unique he was: http://www.backpicks.com/2018/03/19/backpicks-goat-8-kevin-garnett/.

[footey]

As of today I feel it's

Walker, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, and RWilliams.

There is plenty of scoring with that group and the Timelord offers the best combo of rim protection, rotation speed and pick and roll play.

Edwards, Smart, Semi, Theis, Kanter, VP is a nice bench.

Don't expect to see Langford, Tacko or GW except at garbage time.

I feel that Williams won't see the court much, if at all this season. He's honestly less NBA ready than Tacko, who has a body that's more than ready for the NBA at least.

R Williams' body not NBA ready?

6'10" height, 7'5.5" wingspan, 241 lbs.

That is the definition of an NBA ready body.

[mmmmm]

This teams ceiling is limited with Kanter starting. They need to roll the dice and start Williams at center because if he puts the pieces together and patrols the paint like i think he can, that gives the team the best balance of offense and defense. I believe Kanter will start but i'm hoping that Williams starts.

The Portland Trailblazers just went to the Western Conference Finals with Kanter starting and playing near 30 minutes a game.  Kanter does not limit the team’s ceiling.

They were quickly eliminated by Golden State if i recall. This team is not going to the finals with Kanter at center. Basketball is simple. On offense you score, on defense you stop the other team from scoring. Everything else is just noise. This team needs to be able to stop the other team from scoring in the paint. Kanter is not the man for that job.

The Celtics’ ceiling will be defined on the performance and health of Walker, Hayward, Tatum, Brown, and Smart.  As with every basketball team, it’s your best players that matter the most and define your ceiling, and in the Celtics case, whomever they put at center won’t be in that group.

The Blazers neither got to the Western conference finals nor were eliminated because of Kanter.  He has zero impact on their ceiling, either direction.

Agree completely.

You can't have a superstar at every position in the lineup.   Even title winning teams have at least one and often two or three guys who are just 'solid good players' in their starting lineups.   Guys who you need, but aren't the needle-movers.

How far the Celtics go will be determined by the guys who are stars or have star potential.

[Rosco917]

A good team, a real contender has players that know and understand their jobs. Starting Kemba, Brown, and Tatum as a unit is asking for a one on one team mentality. Similar to last year.

Jaylen is playing for a contract, he's determined to highlight that he is worth a nice fat contract. He'll be aggressive and looking for his. He's not a crafty passer or dominant in the pick and roll. He needs the ball, he's predictable.

Tatum was left unsatisfied with last years numbers and performance. He has to be. He can hear the rumblings. He can hear that some consider him a coming star and others are left to wonder if he's Jeff Green 2.0. He also is not a crafty passer, has limited court vision, and seldom plays two man or pick and roll basketball. At this point he needs the ball and is also predictable.

Walker is as close to a star as this team has. Him signing here caused a big splash. Throughout his career he has been a volume shooter. Will he be the same player he was on his former team, a volume shooter? Or will he be the PG he needs to be on a Celtic team that has several other scoring options on the floor at the same time? That is the question that IMO will make or break the year on the Celtics. 

Starting Walker, Brown and Tatum on the first unit, at this point in time, may not be a good idea.