by It is officially time for the Celts The entire squad is scheduled to get some rest as the Olympics wrap up earlier this week. With the start of training camp just over a month away, we come to a full mailbag of questions about Kristaps Porzingis and next year’s bigs. If you have any questions about the Celtics or NBAe-mail brobb@masslive.com or tweet @briantrobb
Will the Celtics starters even get a chance to play in the preseason? Should rest be a priority? — Matt
Absolutely. With the preseason shortened to five games, and some of those being international showcases, you can expect the regulars to play some time in both of those overseas games. It’s not a lot of minutes, but enough to showcase their talent and build some endurance. When the Celtics return to the States, they’ll have three preseason games in four games, so there’s a good chance one of those games will be a dress rehearsal of sorts while the rest sit on the bench. I’d say the regulars will play three games total in the preseason, while the veterans in that group (Al Horford, Jrue Holiday) won’t play more than two.
Any chance Blake Griffin will end up on the coaching staff? It seems like he’s still closely connected to the team. — Corin B
Blake’s ties to Boston are genuine, as evidenced by the wedding of his referee Payton Pritchard this past weekend. However, it’s hard to see Griffin working as a coach in the future, despite his ties to that group. He’s made tons of money throughout his career and has been involved in several off-the-field projects on television and as a comedian. Between that and his desire to spend time with his kids (something that kept him off the field last season when the Celtics tried to push him to make a comeback), the life of a coach with travel, etc. probably isn’t particularly appealing to him right now. Maybe that will change when his kids are grown, but I wouldn’t bet on it at this point.
Are individual game tickets already on sale or has only the schedule been released? – Kevin P
It was just the release of the schedule on Thursday. According to the Celtics, individual tickets for games next week will be sold.
Hi Brian. Since the Celtics have the fewest back-to-back games in the league, can they afford to give both Al and KP the days off since they have Queta Kornet Tillman and even Watson if they use him? — Truthfaustino
I think they’ll get away with that against some opponents, as we saw last season. Luke Kornet in particular put up impressive numbers while playing starter-level minutes in some spot starts, so I expect Joe Mazzulla to be ready to do that again. The expectation here would be that the team looks to stagger the rest nights for Horford/Porzingis once Porzingis returns to the lineup, as it helps spread out the minutes while remaining competitive in the win column. Ultimately, though, Brad Stevens was happy with what he got from his bench rotation last year, and he doubled down on that group despite having some interesting alternatives available.
These guys definitely deserve these minutes after their performance last year, so the key will be to see if there is a drop-off within this group. Al Horford will start a lot more this year due to Porzingis’ injury, but his minutes will need to continue to drop (25 minutes per game would be ideal) so that whoever emerges from the Kornet/Tillman/Queta group gets a lot of playing time. Two guys from this group should play regularly in the first two months, and depending on the matchups, it could be all three. I wouldn’t expect Watson to really get a lot of play unless he shows something in the preseason, and Mazzulla wants to experiment with smaller players. However, he’s traditionally in favor of having more size on the court, and that’s reflected in the roster.
How big of a problem is Tillman’s left knee? I think he’s much better than a backup, but his knees and limited playing time are holding him back. What do you think? —CFbhoopsA
His durability is certainly the biggest question mark in his career right now. He has a couple of guaranteed years in Boston, but likely turned down more money elsewhere to do so for a chance at more playing time and a rep opportunity. The Celtics don’t need him to play a lot of minutes every night, but his versatility as a defender makes him crucial on nights when Al Horford is unavailable. The team will likely be cautious with him in back-to-back games for that reason if those knee issues continue to flare up, but he’s certainly someone who could be ahead of Luke Kornet on the center rankings in training camp if he stays healthy.
How many points will Jayson Tatum score against the Warriors this year? Over/Under 100.5 — Dan L
I’ll take the lower limit, but I’ve marked November 6th as the game of the year at TD Garden when Steve Kerr comes to town.
