Celtics players Luka Garza (left) and Neemias Queta (center) have proven to be effective in coach Joe Mazzulla's "double-big" starting lineup.
Celtics players Luka Garza (left) and Neemias Queta (center) have proven to be effective in coach Joe Mazzulla's "double-big" starting lineup.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
At the start of this season, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla cautioned observers not to read into his early starting lineup decisions, because he expected the groupings to change constantly.
In recent weeks, though, Mazzulla had mostly settled on a familiar and comfortable five-man collection that was disturbed only when one member was sidelined. And it was hard to argue with the results.
Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta have outscored opponents by 17.2 points per 100 possessions this season. That is the second-best net rating in the NBA among five-man groups that have played at least 175 minutes together.
This lineup last started together Feb. 1, when the Celtics trounced the reeling Bucks, 107-79.
But the Celtics’ trade deadline moves have led to change, and Boston’s attack has appeared somewhat unsettled since. Last Tuesday, the team agreed to trade hot-shooting guard Anfernee Simons to the Bulls in exchange for veteran big man Nikola Vucevic.
Simons was not a starter, and Vucevic is not starting now, but the shifts led to a domino effect. Mazzulla was wary of having a lack of scoring pop in his second unit, so he moved Pritchard back to the bench.
Of course, it is a familiar role for last season’s Sixth Man of the Year. But the reverberations have been felt elsewhere. Over the last five games, the Celtics have used five different starting lineups, partly because of various absences, such as the back soreness that kept Hauser out of Sunday’s loss to the Knicks.
But over the last three games Mazzulla has leaned into a double-big starting group featuring Queta and Luka Garza, with Vucevic helping guide the second unit. The duo has a plus-7.9 net rating over just 49 minutes on the court together this season.
With Queta and Garza on the floor at the same time, the Celtics have gobbled up 78.8 percent of available defensive rebounds and 56.2 percent of rebounds overall, up from their averages of 69 and 51.3, respectively.
It is no surprise that Vucevic’s start has been uneven, as the 35-year-old adjusts to a new scheme midway through the season. Nevertheless, the Celtics have been outscored by 12.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor over his two games with the team.
The defense has held up with Vucevic on the floor, but the offense has been 17.1 points per 100 possessions below its season average. With such a miniscule sample size, these figures can change suddenly, of course. And Vucevic’s 3-point shooting, passing, and ability to be a post-up threat should eventually be beneficial.
But after Sunday’s blowout loss, several players said the midseason changes are requiring adjustments, making it clear that it will take time for everyone to be in lockstep again.
“We’re playing a little differently,” White said. “Obviously got some new guys in new spots, so I wouldn’t say we’re as crisp as we were maybe a few weeks ago when we’d had the offseason and beginning of the year to kind of figure those parts out. But I think it’s exciting that we can continue to learn, grow, and just understand it’s going to take day by day, and get guys comfortable, get guys in the right spots. And we’ve got a lot of guys that know how to play, so I think we’ll pick it up quickly.”
Added Brown: “We’ve got to figure out the chemistry a little bit, the flow a little bit. We want Vuc to be a little bit more aggressive, looking for him to get going and make him feel confident in taking those shots and where he can catch the ball. I think he’s still learning, but we need him to be aggressive. So, we’ll make adjustments, we’ll communicate, we’ll watch film, and we’ll be better for it.”
If nothing else, Mazzulla has shown a willingness to experiment, as well as a deep trust in just about every member of the roster. Two-way-contract players Amari Williams and Ron Harper Jr. received starting nods recently, with Williams having his contract converted to a standard NBA deal following Thursday’s trades.
On Sunday, second-year wing Baylor Scheierman stepped into the starting lineup with Hauser out and had one of his better games as a Celtic, with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists in 29 minutes.
After Wednesday’s game against the Bulls, the All-Star break should give the Celtics time to let various bumps and bruises heal while Mazzulla focuses on how he would like to attack the second part of this season. He pointed out after Sunday’s loss that his team has used about 16 different starting lineups.
“Everybody on our roster has a chance to impact winning,” he said. “We have a chance to develop, do different things there, so whether before or after the trade deadline, nothing changes in our approach. How do we have flexibility? How do we know everyone on the roster has a chance to impact winning? And we just keep developing identities.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.