The Celtics impressive regular season has been a revelation. I think it is safe to say that a lot of people have earned an extra level of respect this season, starting with Jaylen Brown, Joe Mazzulla, and even Brad Stevens. All of that is wonderful, but this season will largely be remembered by what happens in the Spring.
If Jayson Tatum does not return from injury or is severely limited in his role for the rest of the year, then this team will have to compete with roughly the same lineups and rotations that they have all year (key changes at the deadline still need to work themselves out). Rotations tend to shrink in the playoffs, so some might see their roles diminish depending on matchups.
However, if Tatum does return and looks reasonably like his pre-injury self, then that has dramatic impacts on the rotation. I tend to think that there’s plenty of usage to go around for Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard. It will be interesting how the coaching staff handles the rest of the rotation, including how many minutes each of the bigs get (and who starts). Does Tatum play some minutes in a small-ball center role?
Of the backup wing options, who do you think gets pushed out of the rotation and who is too valuable to leave out of it? Does the rotation top out at 8 or 9 players or does Joe flex in players depending on situation and matchups?
Give us your starters and rotation players in the comments below. Explain why some players could be pushed out of the rotation and why others are just too necessary to leave out.