Celtics (0-0) at Grizzlies (0-1) Preseason Game #1 10/8/25

[ozgod]

We're way less talented than last year obviously, and don't have Tatum or a real center

But the pace will definitely be a lot faster with the young guys. Truth be told, Porzingis was hurt too much and Jrue + Horford were aging and Jrue in particular looked extra slow last year.

Next year if they get back Tatum and add a good 4th option (an ACTUAL center) they'll go back to contending. Hopefully with a few young guys like Hugo, etc. also taking a step and contributing off the bench.

I think this will be a fun team to watch if they show the right mindset - play hard, fight hard, be scrappy. They have a lot of young players and it's always fun to watch them develop, especially if there's not a huge amount of pressure on them to make a Finals run. They have enough talent to surprise anyone on their day but not enough that expectations will be high. And those teams where expectations are low, and they are exceeded, are always fun to watch 

[Celtics4ever]

Yes, we don't have as much talent as last year, but it was a fun game to watch, I concur with Ozgod.  Some of these guys will be nice to have after we add a draft pick, sign a player and get Tatum back.

[jambr380]

People are way overreacting to Baylor. It was a preseason game where we were missing 2-3 starters, and he was taking some shots in garbage time that he never normally would. He'll be fine and he still has a really good feel for the game. He was a borderline rotation player to end the year on last year's 'stacked' roster.

We have to be happy with what we saw from Minott. He did a lot of good things out there on both sides of the ball. Really looking forward to Queta returning. It wasn't a disaster for Garza or Tillman, but that is going to be the worst big rotation we face all season. It was a great opportunity to get them so low risk playing time

[Redz]

Yes, we don't have as much talent as last year, but it was a fun game to watch, I concur with Ozgod.  Some of these guys will be nice to have after we add a draft pick, sign a player and get Tatum back.

You can win a lot of regular season games in the NBA with consistent effort alone.  And we do still have some very talented players.  It?ll be different for sure, but I?ve seen Celtics teams with less talent be very well loved by the fans for playing with high energy.

[Vermont Green]

I did not get to see the game but between the box score and the comments, I am getting the picture.  My fear is that the competition was very poor in this one.  I was surprised that Simons did not play.  I would expect he would be someone who would play early and often in the pre-season.  Maybe he is still learning this new thing called defense.

Sounds like a good start.  Good vibes for new guys like Minott and Garza.  I am not so sure about Scheierman.  I was pretty disappointed with what I saw in Summer League and it doesn't look like this was any better.  Tillman even made some shots so maybe this is the start of his bounce back season.

[Roy H.]

It's really hard to judge a team based upon preseason, particularly when the rotations for both teams were missing key players, but the team certainly came out ready to play last night.  The energy made up for some ugly shooting (28.3% 3PT%, 70.6 FT%).

Josh Minott seems interesting.  He reminds me of Oshae Brissett (with a similar unreliable jumper).

I think Scheierman is going to show a lot more during the season than he did in summer league.  When he's allowed to be a role player he seems to have the skill set to be really useful, although I'd like to see him hit shots more consistently.

I want to see Luka turn into the new Luke Kornet.  He seems like a likeable player that is going to randomly impact games more than you'd expect.   

[Celtics2021]

I did not get to see the game but between the box score and the comments, I am getting the picture.  My fear is that the competition was very poor in this one.  I was surprised that Simons did not play.  I would expect he would be someone who would play early and often in the pre-season.  Maybe he is still learning this new thing called defense.

Sounds like a good start.  Good vibes for new guys like Minott and Garza.  I am not so sure about Scheierman.  I was pretty disappointed with what I saw in Summer League and it doesn't look like this was any better.  Tillman even made some shots so maybe this is the start of his bounce back season.

I think for the first couple preseason games they are spreading out their established players.  Pritchard also did not play; I expect both he and Simons will play tomorrow while Jaylen and White sit.  I also expect a couple of Hauser, Boucher, and Tillman to sit while Queta plays.  Then game pre-season game 3 on Sunday we will get everyone until the third-quarter substitution.

The other player I would give a shoutout to is Gonzalez.  He really gets after it on defense, and will have a role sooner than later.

[slamtheking]

first half hot takes:
- love the team's energy and pace.   no complaints about anyone's effort/hustle
- Minott is a lot better than I expected.  has to work on his shooting
- Walsh didn't show much.  needs to show something or his butt will be glued to the bench until he's used as a throw-in in a deal at the deadline
- we're going to get creamed on the boards this year.  Grizz don't have any hard core rebounders on the court tonight and we cannot stop them.  team could possibly set the NBA season record for offensive boards given up and total number of second chance points given up.
- Hugo and Baylor might deserve some time this year.
- Tillman looks healthier but he's not the answer at center.

hot takes after the second half
- still love that they brought the energy and pace for the full game.  if they play like this all season they could steal 5-6 wins from better teams that show up sleepwalking
- Minott really looks like a steal from Minny.  energy and impact on game reminds me of Oshae as someone else mentioned. 
- Garza was pretty good on the offensive boards but as a team we weren't good on the defensive boards.
- Tillman and Walsh don't look like they'll contribute much this year.  Walsh looks like he's already behind Minott, Baylor and Hugo.  Would not mind seeing Tillman and Walsh moved as part of a deadline deal to clear deadwood and bring in someone that might be of use.
- Baylor hustles and can pass but he's got to hit shots or he's going to wind up being Carson Edwards 2.0
- Hugo hustles.  Could be a good rotation piece in a year or two if he gets his shot going.  Not expecting anything from him this year.
- Memphis didn't have anyone impressive on the court and they were all over the offensive glass.  C's have got to do better than that or it's going to be a long season watching the other team get lots of second chance points.

it's still early obviously but looking at the current roster, I think once we have Tatum next year and hopefully a quality big man via trade (either at the deadline or offseason), there's some good guys for the bench brigade in the 26-27 season.  Minott, Boucher, Garza, Q, Hugo in addition to Hauser (and possibly PP is he's back to the bench when Tatum is back).