The Celtics cruised to victory in their final home game of the NBA preseason, pulling away from the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday to win 114-93 at TD Garden.
Now 3-0 in tune-up games, Boston will look to close out a perfect preseason Friday night in Philadelphia.
Six takeaways from Wednesday’s W:
1. Same starting five
Joe Mazzulla has played his starters in two out of Boston’s first three preseason games. In both, he opened with the same starting lineup: Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, Jayson Tatum, Paul George and Mitchell Robinson.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that will be the Celtics’ top-choice unit when they open the regular season next Tuesday in Detroit. And given how often Mazzulla cycled through lineups last season — Boston was the only team to have four different five-man groupings start at least 10 games — the opening night combo could be phased out at any point.
But Mazzulla sticking with the same lineup in back-to-back preseason games is notable, even if he downplayed it in his postgame news conference. Last preseason, he started a different unit in all four games (then debuted a new one in the season opener).
“I really didn’t think much of it,” the head coach said. “Just kind of said we’ll just do what we did last time.”
Walsh is the biggest wild card in that starting group — he’s one of nearly a half-dozen plausible candidates for the fifth spot — but Mazzulla likes what he’s seen from the fourth-year wing.
“Jordan continues to be really good at the start of games, guarding the team’s best player, getting off to a good start defensively,” Mazzulla said. “(It’s) something he’s done well for us those last couple of games, and it’s a huge role for him that we’re going to need from him.”
Payton Pritchard and Neemias Queta entered in Boston’s first round of substitutions, followed by Baylor Scheierman and Sam Hauser in the second. Hugo Gonzalez and Luka Garza saw their first action four minutes into the second quarter.
2. Double big debuts
It took Robinson some time to settle in Saturday in his Celtics debut, resulting in a few botched early possessions against the Philadelphia 76ers. Not so in this one.
Boston’s new center was an impact player from the jump, registering six points and four rebounds in the opening four minutes. He scored the Celtics’ first three field goals, two of them on lobs from Tatum. The pair connected for another lob dunk early in the third quarter.
The Celtics believe Robinson, their top free agent signing, will massively improve their frontcourt this season, and we’ve seen flashes of that potential in his first two outings. Mazzulla called the 7-footer “one of the smartest players I’ve been around.”
Queta also is off to a strong start. Boston outscored the Sixers and Hornets by 47 points with last season’s No. 1 big on the floor.
We even saw Robinson and Queta share the floor Wednesday night — an unusual pairing for a Mazzulla-coached team given both players’ lack of perimeter shooting. The coach did not warn either player that they’d be playing together, but despite some clunky spacing, that setup proved effective.
Mazzulla sent out the double-big lineup to start the second quarter, and it outscored Charlotte 12-3 during its four-minute shift. He went back to it to open the fourth, after Charlotte had staged a rally that cut an 18-point lead to seven.
Again, the results were positive. Robinson pulled down a tough offensive rebound and got fouled, and Queta posterized Moussa Diabate on the ensuing Celtics possession. Their final lines: 12 points (5-for-5), seven rebounds, one assist, three blocks in 17 minutes for Robinson; 16 points (7-for-11), one rebound, one assist in 24 minutes for Queta.
“Just kind of wanted to get some game reps in (double-big) so we could have it on film to see what we want to work on (and) if it’s something that we have to do before the regular season starts,” Mazzulla said. “Just exploring. We have a deep bench, a lot of depth, so just want to give every look imaginable, so that we’re able to have a general idea of how we want to attack it defensively and offensively when the season starts.”
It’s also worth noting that Queta, who’s worked in training camp on expanding his range, drilled a foot-on-the-line 19-footer from in front of the Hornets bench. Perhaps we’ll see him venture away from the paint more often this season.
“I’ve been making a couple of them in the offseason,” said Queta, who’s made one career regular-season 3-pointer. “They trust me to shoot them. Just gotta make them.”
Queta and Robinson checked out with Boston ahead 92-82. Third big Garza helped key an 8-0 run that put the game away.
Boston Celtics forward Paul George tries to get around Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun, left, during the first half. Matt Stone/Boston Herald
3. Tatum steady again
Two games, two encouraging performances for the Celtics’ centerpiece. After putting up 23-5-4 on Saturday, Tatum tallied 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals in 29 minutes before sitting out the fourth quarter.
Tatum did have four turnovers, and he’s only attempted one free throw this preseason. So, saying he’s looked every bit like his usual All-NBA self would be an exaggeration. But he’s looked confident and composed as he prepares for his first full season post-Achilles surgery.
White was Boston’s second-leading scorer, finishing with 17 points while doing much of his work inside the arc (6-of-9; 1-of-2 from three). Pritchard, who agreed to terms Tuesday on a reported two-year, $44.2 million contract extension, had just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting but dished out 11 assists with no turnovers.
4. George searching for shot
George has impressed with his defensive playmaking in the early days of his Celtics tenure. After notching five steals against Philly, he had two more Wednesday night, following one up with a behind-the-back flip to Tatum for a fast-break layup.
The other end of the court, meanwhile, remains a work in progress for the veteran wing.
George attempted 10 field goals against Charlotte and missed eight of them. He went 1-for-7 on 3-pointers, finishing with five points in 24 minutes. Through two games, he’s shooting 25% from the field (5-for-20) and 21.4% from deep (3-for-14).
Boston, MA – October 14 – Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) blocks Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller (24) shot during the first half of a pre-season game at the TD Garden. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald).
5. Turnover time?
Preseason stats and trends can be deceiving. But through two games with their regulars in uniform, the Celtics have looked much more capable of forcing turnovers than they were in any of Mazzulla’s previous campaigns.
Last season’s Celtics ranked second-to-last in that metric, with opponents committing just 12.4 per game. They’ve smashed that mark in each of the last two exhibitions, with Philadelphia coughing up 23 turnovers on Saturday and Charlotte committing 30.
While some of those can be attributed to sloppy mistakes by depth players, Boston racked up double-digit steals in both games. White led that charge Wednesday with four, plus two drawn offensive fouls. Tatum and George also drew offensive fouls, with the former’s awarded after a successful Celtics challenge.
6. Carter out again
The Celtics’ most intriguing non-roster player was unavailable for the second consecutive game. Devin Carter, a 2024 lottery pick playing on an Exhibit 10 tryout contract, sat out again with an illness.
Carter looked like the favorite to land Boston’s one open two-way contract spot after scoring 17 points against Cleveland in the preseason opener. Will his extended absence derail that bid?
Boston’s other E-10s (Milos Uzan, Tucker DeVries, Gabe McGlothan and Hayden Gray) dressed Wednesday but did not play. Veteran guard Mike Conley and second-year center Amari Williams also were DNPs. Conley could be seen taking notes on the bench, which jibed with his self-described role as a player/coach.
Rookies Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell made fourth-quarter cameos, as did wing Ron Harper Jr., who missed the first two preseason games with a shoulder injury. Mitchell and Cenac turned steals into fast-break baskets on back-to-back possessions in the final minute. The uber-athletic draft picks will be fun to watch in Maine this season.