Monday morning saw the Boston Celtics arrive in Abu Dhabi, where they’ll face off against the Denver Nuggets in a pair of preseason games. Sure, the preseason might not exactly make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, but it’s still basketball. Plus, for Celtics nerds, like myself, there are plenty of exciting storylines to keep your eyes on as we all learn more and more about what this season’s roster is capable of.
First and foremost, it will be fantastic just to watch the Celtics again. Did they have the shortest off-season of any NBA team? Yes. But that doesn’t change the fact that it was still far too long! It’s going to be great to see the gang back out on the hardwood, playing against one of the league’s contenders, nonetheless.
When it comes to more specific things to keep an eye on in Friday’s opener, watching the debuts of both rookies, Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson, is an exciting one. I mean, it’s exciting to watch the rookies every season, but even more so this year, as the duo makes up two-thirds of the new faces in town (at least the ones that are expected to be a part of the team for the long haul). Boston brought back just about everyone from last season’s championship team, so the rookies are really the “what do we have here?” guys.
Scheierman was the first first-round pick ever made by Brad Stevens. The six-foot-eight wing appeared in 35 games for the Creighton Blue Jays last season, averaging 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per appearance. The 23-year-old scored his points in efficient fashion, drilling 44.8% of his attempts from the field, and 38.1% from beyond the arc.
His Summer League stats weren’t quite as impressive, specifically on offense. He averaged 11.2 points per game on 36.2/29.4 shooting splits, but he still showed an ability to affect the game in multiple ways. Since then, he’s spent time working on his body, telling “The Athletic’s” Jay King that he put on 10-15 pounds this summer.
“I think, from summer league to now, I spent a lot of time on my body, working on my body, trying to put on a lot of lean mass,” Scheierman revealed to King. “I’ve been able to gain 10-15 pounds in that area.”
His diverse skillset offers him a pathway to a spot in Boston’s rotation. It probably won’t be this season, but somewhere down the line he could certainly fit in.
His draft classmate, Watson, is the lesser-known of the two. The second-round pick isn’t technically a member of the Celtics’ 15-man roster, but he is taking up one of their three-way contracts.
The 24-year-old had a solid senior season at Gonzaga last year, appearing in 35 games for the Bulldogs. He averaged 14.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per contest while shooting 57.8% from the field and 41.2% from three. Much like Scheierman, his diverse game (probably something that Stevens puts value into) makes it easy to imagine him being a rotation guy someday. In Kevin O’Connor’s NBA Draft guide for “The Ringer,” Watson was compared to “Old Al Horford.”
Not bad.
Neither was his showing at Summer League back in July. The rookie displayed a great feel for the game, as he was consistently putting himself in the right spot to succeed with timely cuts, good effort on the glass, and solid defensive positioning. He may be a sleeper candidate for some minutes as Kristaps Porzingis works his way back from injury.
Speaking of which, how head coach Joe Mazzulla utilizes the trio of Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, and Neemias Queta is another thing to watch on Friday afternoon and throughout the preseason. All three big men have a massive opportunity ahead of them in the coming months, with some extra playing time up for grabs. Mind you, a lot of the rotational decisions will likely be matchup-based, but there is going to be far less time available once Porzingis returns.
Kornet was the most prominently used of the bunch last year. He suited up 63 times for the Cs, playing about 15.6 minutes each time. The Texan served as a solid bench contributor, averaging 5.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 70% from the field. He epitomized consistency, which is why he became such a staple of the rotation. Kornet is a big body at seven-foot-two and serves as a solid rim protector off of the bench. He is probably the safest option for Mazzulla.
Tillman is another intriguing option. He joined the Celtics late last season, coming over from the Memphis Grizzlies at the trade deadline. A lingering knee injury limited him early on and by the time he was ready to roll, Mazzulla had already formed his tree of trust. The six-foot-eight big man was utilized very little in the postseason, though he did drill a big three in Boston’s Game 3 win over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.
The unique thing about Tillman is that he’s got a bit of a shot on him. Sure, Kornet has shot and made threes in the past, but that part of his game hasn’t been featured since Mazzulla took over. The same can’t be said for X, who has averaged 1.4 long-range attempts per game since coming to Boston. Efficiency hasn’t been there just yet for the former Michigan State standout, but his form looks solid enough for many to believe his shot will continue to improve. He’s also the best perimeter defender of the bunch -- he’s also the smallest, so it shouldn’t be a shock that he can move laterally.
Queta might be the biggest wild card of the three. After coming over from the Sacramento Kings last summer, he made sporadic appearances for the 2023-24 Cs. The Portugal native showed flashes of real promise, i.e. his double-doubles against the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors during Boston’s West Coast trip last December. Unfortunately, there were times when Queta lacked discipline on defense and would commit a flurry of fouls within just a few minutes of play. In order for him to separate himself from the others, specifically Kornet because they have similar games, he’s going to have to be more patient.
The upside is there though. Queta plays an exciting brand of basketball. He’s a strong guy with some bounce, which makes for the occasional loud dunk or block. Plus, he plays with a great motor, hammering the offensive glass to create extra chances for the Celtics.
What makes the big man dilemma a tough one for Coach Mazzulla is that all three of these guys can play. There’s no obvious frontrunner in the group, so it’s going to take some experimentation -- which the preseason is great for.
Boston’s preseason schedule will also allow the team to see what they have in Lonnie Walker IV and Jaden Springer. The fanbase was excited when the Cs signed Walker IV to a training camp deal in August, but he may not even be a part of the team when opening night rolls around.
Does it really feel likely that the Celtics cut him? Not really, but who knows?
It would make the most sense for him to earn the 15th and final roster spot, especially when you consider the reports of Brad Stevens being interested in him back in February. It probably wasn’t a coincidence that he wound up in Boston, even if it was late in free agency.
His 2023-24 campaign with the Brooklyn Nets was an impressive one. He averaged just under 10 points per game while shooting 38.4% on threes in 58 appearances. Shooting is a skill that the Celtics put great value into, so it makes sense that Stevens went and got him.
The main question surrounding Walker has been “Where is he going to find his minutes?”
Truthfully, he might not. He may just be a depth piece if he does wind up sticking around. But, the upcoming preseason games are a great opportunity for Walker to show everyone how he can fit on this team.
“Obviously, my free agency hasn’t gone as planned and whatnot,” Walker told reporters last Wednesday. “So, Brad Stevens, he’s given me an opportunity with the E10 to kind of prove myself and show my capabilities offensively, defensively, off the court, [and] being a great teammate. So, I’m just really excited and grateful to be here, and I’m just going to work to the best of my capabilities.”
As for Springer, he suffered a similar fate to Tillman during his half-season in Boston. The young guard’s opportunities were limited, so his fit within the rotation remains unclear. At just 21, he remains an exciting prospect. He can defend, handle the ball, and even score a little bit. The main issue is that he hasn’t quite found his stroke from beyond the arc as a career 22.6% three-point shooter. If he is able to fine tune the shot a bit, he could be a real asset for the Celtics going forward.
His lone appearance in Summer League was a great one. He did literally everything for the Summer Cs, logging 23 points and six assists with zero turnovers. Springer scored on all three levels that day. He made three of his six attempts from distance, was an assassin from the mid-range, and showcased a strong bundle of finishes at the rim.
If he can carry whatever momentum survived over the three-month gap between that game and Friday’s, into the preseason then he could earn a few more minutes this season. It’s tough though, because he’s got three great guards ahead of him in the rotation. Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard have all proven to fit into Mazzulla’s system.
Nonetheless, it is going to be important for the organization to get a better look at Springer this season before his contract expires in the summer.
After an entire offseason void of nothingness, it’s going to be great to have Celtics basketball back on Friday. Sure, the starters might only play half of the game, but there’s just so much to watch for that it shouldn’t even matter to you as a viewer.
