The Celtics season is now in full swing, and it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster already, with Boston putting together two impressive wins after an 0-3 start. There have been many intriguing developments already through five regular season games with Joe Mazzulla’s lineup choices across the bench unit, so let’s cover plenty of questions on that and more in this week’s mailbag.
Hey B Robb
I cannot express how high I am on Hugo and Minott. If they can be rotational guys our wing play is cemented for the next 5+ years. I think Joe has to play Hugo more, I really think his shooting is a real thing, form looks good and he’s knocked some down in preseason already. Minott has been great as we know so I think Joe has to continue to play both them meaningful minutes throughout the season. I find it a bit strange Hugo went from starting a game showing great energy to DNPs. How likely is it that you think they will be in the rotation for the entire year? I just can’t stop thinking about Hugo being a Josh hart type player or to a lesser extent - Manu Ginobili, imagine those types of players next to the Jays? Championship is definitely in the cards.- Sean
Finding some useful wing depth for the future was probably one of the top priorities in the front office this season and the early returns are very promising with the Minott/Hugo duo. Minott is under team control for the next two seasons at the minimum (next year is a team option) so it’s safe to say he will be around at least that long. Three strong games does not make a season so it’s important not to get too overzealous just yet but it’s wild to think Minnesota just let this guy walk last summer. The team did him a favor letting him get a bigger opportunity on the open market, but they also probably should have carved one out for him in Minnesota.
With Gonzalez, the fluctuation in playing time is a fascinating subplot right now. Mazzulla is still mixing and matching and is giving Scheierman some run as the other wing off the bench with Hauser. I’d expect those minutes to fluctuate as the year continues but Gonzalez looks like the far more intriguing prospect right now. Ideally, he works his way into regular minutes and isn’t yanked around too much as Mazzulla settles on a rotation.
Hey Brian Robb,
Thanks for the coverage of the Celtics. Here are a couple of questions I have:
1. Why not play two bigs? In the past few years the Celtics have been known for playing two bigs. Why not now? I think Luka Garza could take the Al Horford role and let Queta be the rim guy. Also, why not play Boucher more with another big player? That’s what I thought they got him for.
2. What’s up with the substitution patterns? I suppose Joe Mazzulla is using the first month or more of the season to give his players a good look in game situations; but this is confusing. He starts Hugo Gonzalez one game and gives him regular starter minutes then gets a DNP-CD the following game. Huh? And it seems like a real toolbag move not to play Xavier Tillman against Detroit since he had a lot of family there. Shame on that — Thanks, Tom B
Good questions Tom! Let’s start with the double bigs. I think right now it comes down to where the talent is on this roster. Boston’s guards is the team’s strength offensively and the secondary wings have impressed more than the bigs on the whole (Minott, Hugo, Hauser, etc.). If Mazzulla plays double bigs, you are really limiting your spacing and offensive firepower in a lot of situations. Garza is too slow to guard athletic forwards and Tillman obviously isn’t reliable with his perimeter shooting. I thought Chris Boucher might play more at power forward but he’s faded out of the rotation lately although I’d expect that to change eventually as matchups change/guys go through slumps. For now, Minott at power forward is where we’ve seen this team at its best so the smaller look is here to stay as long as it can hold its own on the glass.
The sub patterns are a bit perplexing at times. It’s clear Mazzulla is experimenting and he’s found some options he’s liked (Minott in starting five) that has helped settle the rotation. Ultimately, he’s looking for quick stints and everyone at the end of the bench will need to be on their toes all year. He’s opting to cap his rotation more at 10 guys now as well which leaves a couple wings as the odd men out usually. For the last couple games, Scheierman has gotten the nod over Gonzalez for bigger minutes and it’s tough to tell why. Regardless, would expect that to change all year. Tough break for Tillman in Detroit for sure but Garza has brought more offensive upside these last two games that’s separating him from the bench pack a bit.
After watching the Celtics drop their third game, this time to the Pistons, the glaring issue of defensive rebounding, which has fairly been touted as one of this team’s biggest weaknesses, is the reason this team cannot notch anything in the win column.
My soul aches, watching Joe Mazzulla on the sidelines every time an opposing team grabs their board 1, 2, 3 times and finally, or maybe inevitably, gets the ball to drop. We may be undersized and unathletic at the 4 and 5 spot for some lineups, but the lack of boxing out is killing me to watch.
Can we please dedicate every practice to hours of boxing out? A shift in mentality is sorely needed regarding when the ball goes up. You find your man, and you take him out of the play. I won’t even get into the lack of offensive movement, which was supposed to be a bright spot this year. Ok, done hating because I love this team. Go celtics. Ultimately, do you believe the Celtics brass will try to remedy our rebounding problem in-house or look to the trade market mid-season? -Griffin
The whole world knew that rebounding was going to be a problem for this team during the offseason. The question was whether it would be a fatal flaw or survivable most nights. The Celtics are trending in the right direction on that front after the Detroit debacle. Minott playing more helps since he’s much longer than Hauser and Gonzalez at forward. Outside of Neemias Queta, there are no strong rebounding bench bigs on the defensive glass with good size and combine that with the Celtics playing smaller lineups and you get a bottom five rebounding team.
With Jayson Tatum’s elite rebounding coming back next season, I don’t think there is any move the Celtics front office makes this season to address the rebounding. They are going to hope it improves internally is my guess and bank on the team’s defensive pressure, offensive firepower and offensive rebounding to help counteract it.
Why do you think Boucher’s minutes have fallen recently? — David M
He just hasn’t given the Celtics much offensively yet, which is a problem when he’s playing power forward. He’s yet to hit a three and is only averaging 1.5 points in 11 minutes per game. It’s a limited sample size with just four appearances but for now, Minott and Garza have been outplaying him for big minutes.
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