The Boston Celtics played their 4^th and final preseason game last night when they defeated the Toronto Raptors 110-108 on an Xavier Tillman last second shot.  The Raptors were nice enough to play their starters in this one so we got to see what the Celtics new guys will look like playing actual NBA players.  Let’s see what we learned. 

The biggest thing to take out of this game was that seven minutes into it, Jaylen Brown limped off with a hamstring injury.  The Celtics seem to think it’s not a big deal but they have been known to downplay injuries in the past.  If this is any type of long-term injury, the Celtics could be in trouble.  With Tatum already down, winning games without Jaylen is going to be a big challenge for the Green Team.  Hopefully he will not miss a significant amount of time.  Good news is the Celtics have a week off before their first game so he gets a head start on the healing process. 

Defensive rebounding has and will continue to be an area that the Celtics need to focus on.  They did well in the first half only surrendering 5 offensive rebounds but it got away from them in the second half when they gave up 11 of them.  Clearly, they need to keep working on this.  Coach Mazzulla continued to pull guys after they relinquished an offensive rebound.  I understand this as a learning tool but I really hope he doesn’t keep doing this during the regular season.  It just messes with the rotation. 

Speaking of the rotation, something else I hope we don’t see in the regular season is the number of guys that have played even in the first half of these preseason games.  The Celtics have a bunch of guys who are pretty similar and obviously in the preseason you want to look at how everyone plays in different situations and in different combinations.  However, once the regular season starts, Mazzulla has to make a decision on what 8 to 10 guys are going to play.  Playing so many guys and subbing so frequently makes it hard for guys to get into any type of rhythm.  It makes it hard for them to get into the flow of the game.  Mazzulla has said that they may not have a rotation even once the real games begin.  That’s fine if they are playing certain guys who match up better against certain teams.  Like maybe going smaller against some teams so Garza doesn’t play that game and an extra wing does.  Stuff like that is fine.  But he has to stay away from letting everyone play every game.  

Another thing that was painfully obvious in this game is something I have been talking about all preseason and that is that the Celtics only have two point guards on this team.  When White and Pritchard came out of the game the Raptors pressed and were able to completely disrupt the Celtics offense.  They forced 7 turnovers in the 4^th quarter and were able to erase a double-digit lead.  Simons is just not a point guard and they need a third guy incase Pritchard or White have to miss time.  Now, with Pritchard or White in the game, they will be fine.  Jaylen in the game can help in this department as well.  But they really have zero depth there.  I would seriously consider trading one of their wings for a 3rd point guard. Just an end of the bench in case of an emergency guy who should cost much in a trade.

As far as individual performances go, Neemias Queta had a big night.  He played very well on both ends of the floor and played with a ton of energy. This is the Queta Celtics fans are hoping to see all season.  The problem with Queta has always been consistency.  He plays well on a night or two and then looks completely lost the next night.  Hopefully he is over that because if he can play at this level all the time, the Celtics need for a big man will be greatly lessened. 

Scheierman has been a real disappointment this preseason as in this game.  I don’t know if he tried changing something with his shot after last season but he has not been able to shoot with any consistency since the start of the Summer League.  With Minott now on the team and even Hugo, I think Scheierman may be out of the rotation.  He may even get sent to Maine again to work on his shooting. 

Hugo Gonzales has been a pleasant surprise.  I assumed coming into the preseason that he would start off in Maine but that may not be the case.  He has played well for the most part and his defense may get him minutes right off the bat.  He still has a long way to go adjusting to the American game and developing into the player he will be, but the 19-year-old is off to a very good start. 

Minott continues to impress.  I really like this kid and his ability to contribute playing off the ball.  He is starting to shoot better from three as well.  If he becomes a reliable shooter from the corner, he will be a huge contributor to this team.  He should get a ton of minutes off the bench if Mazzulla stops his 12 man rotation. 

Everyone else played as you would expect.  White had a huge game with 33 points, 9 boards and 6 helpers.  He took 17 three pointers.  I can’t wait for Felger and Mazz to see that stat.  I suggested at the start of the preseason that White’s numbers would not go up a ton without Tatum as he is the type of guy to let the game come to him.  While that is still true, he clearly has taken a more aggressive role with Tatum out and his numbers should be much bigger than they have in the past. 

So at the end of the preseason, I really like this team.  They have a bunch of scrappy hard playing guys who will fight all game and have enough skill to win more than their share of games, as long as Jaylen’s hammy is in one piece.  I said before that I think this is going to be the best regular season to watch for the Cs in at least 5 seasons and I stand by that.  Watching this team come together and these guys develop is going to be a ton of fun.  My rotation would be

Starters

Prichard

White

Brown

Boucher

Queta

Bench Guys

Simons

Houser

Minott

Garza

With Tillman and Hugo sprinkled in as necessary.   They could start Houser over Boucher to balance the rotation a bit better.