Who starts at PF?

[Tr1boy]

Pick your vote

[billysan]

Horford

[ThePaintedArea]

Horford

Since Brad Stevens seems to reject the old 1-5 categories, a better question would be: 'which big starts alongside Horford?' And since he's also said that the beauty of Horford is that you can pair  him with any of their bigs, it looks like we will see some experimentation, And the real answer to the question is "all of the above".

[arctic 3.0]

I don't know who will eventually win the role, but I'm psyched to see it play out.

My dark horse is JJ. I think his hustle, 3pt shooting and over all Sweed Army Knife game would fit well next to AH.

Also Amir and KO ain't to bad a second line.

[Surferdad]

Horford

Since Brad Stevens seems to reject the old 1-5 categories, a better question would be: 'which big starts alongside Horford?' And since he's also said that the beauty of Horford is that you can pair  him with any of their bigs, it looks like we will see some experimentation, And the real answer to the question is "all of the above".

Yeah, I voted for Amir but would play him at the 5 on defensive matchups and have Horford play the PF on defense.

[PAOBoston]

I would start JJ. Horford is a good defensive player and JJ is a stretch 4 who has defensive versatility. I think pairing Johnson and Olynyk together makes sense as Johnson helps cover some of Olynyk's defensive deficiencies.

I do expect there to be mixing and matching depending on matchups over the course of the season though so I do not think they will have one set lineup.

[Celtics18]

I think Amir will get the nod to start, but would love for it to end up being one of the other two guys.

[dreamgreen]

Not sure who plays the 5 or the 4 for that matter but as others said, next to Horford my guess will be Amir, like to see KO if he can pick up his game a little.

[CelticPride2016]

Yes, it seems Horford is the only one who is an automatic bigs starter.

A lot could depend on the preseason. Is Olynyk back 100%? Maybe Brad will like the idea of Amir with Olynyk together for a second unit and then a Jerebko gets his chance to start. Or Zeller!

My opinion is that Amir will get the nod. He's just too darn good and a proven veteran. I think Olynyk is the next clear cut choice after Amir. Amir Johnson could come in as Horford's replacement. Amir and Al are the best we have for center defense. Brad might want one of them on the floor for most of the games. I hope Brad doesn't experiment so much this time like he did after the Rondo trade. The Brandan Wright era was very painful.

I hope Coach Stevens goes with four guys with probably three of them getting most of the minutes, like how Isaiah, Avery and Marcus tend to gobble up most of the guard minutes. Three amigos.

[jpotter33]

I'm still on the JJ train. I just love the versatility and all-around game that he brings to the table for us at the 4 spot. Also, it puts KO and Amir together on the bench unit, which is excellent for us.

[Celtics4ever]

I too like Jonas here for the energy he brings.   Amir and Oly for the backups and to boost the second team which will need some help with Smart's shooting.   Now I think Marcus has a lot of things he brings to the team, but right now, shooting and scoring in an efficient matter is not one of them.   I hope he makes me eat these words!

[arctic 3.0]

I too like Jonas here for the energy he brings.   Amir and Oly for the backups and to boost the second team which will need some help with Smart's shooting.   Now I think Marcus has a lot of things he brings to the team, but right now, shooting and scoring in an efficient matter is not one of them.   I hope he makes me eat these words!

Oly in the Turner role on the second unit

It actually kind of makes sense.

He is a willing (too willing?) passer, shoots lights out and generally does a pretty good job making his team better.

Could be the role that allows him to bust through.

[KG Living Legend]

 Marcus Smart. He can cover anyone from, Milsap to Porzingis to Westbrook.

[hpantazo]

I too like Jonas here for the energy he brings.   Amir and Oly for the backups and to boost the second team which will need some help with Smart's shooting.   Now I think Marcus has a lot of things he brings to the team, but right now, shooting and scoring in an efficient matter is not one of them.   I hope he makes me eat these words!

Oly in the Turner role on the second unit

It actually kind of makes sense.

He is a willing (too willing?) passer, shoots lights out and generally does a pretty good job making his team better.

Could be the role that allows him to bust through.

i like Olynyk off the bench, but we really need a ball handler/shot creator in the second unit to replace Turner. I think that will be Rozier. He looked ready for it in summer league, and it sounds like Brad and Ainge also think so. I expect him to cement it in preseason. Rozier plus Olynyk off the bench would be a great tandem though, with Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart out there with them too. We have a very, very deep team.

[Rosco917]

I think the combo of Amir and Horford will be best. The defense should be improved over last year, and offense will be a bit more consistent. KO and JJ will add their own personal touches.

One area of concern is who will deal with the 300 pound centers that like to camp out around the basket. Both Amir and Al lack the strength and stance of Sully in this reference.

This is a spot where Sully did a nice job of denying really bigs off their favorite spots. Hopefully someday we get a true center that can give meaningful minutes when we play Horford at the 4.