Gary Washburn's October 3 roundup added Dillon Mitchell's name to Boston's recurring offseason list but no new fact. The more durable number: every one of last season's three best five-man lineups included Jaylen Brown, who is now in Philadelphia.
Washburn's roundup added a name, not a fact.
Gary Washburn's October 3 Celtics Notes grouped Paul George, Jayson Tatum, Dillon Mitchell, Payton Pritchard and Joe Mazzulla under one headline. Mitchell is new to that list; the absence of any specific attached to the five names is not. It is the fourth such roundup since mid-September to repeat the same handful of names without adding a fact to any of them.
Last season's best lineup no longer exists.
Boston's most effective five-man unit a year ago was Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Neemias Queta, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser, a net rating of +17.9 over 200 minutes, built on offense at 122.6 and defense at 104.7. The next two units on that list, run with Hugo Gonzalez or Baylor Scheierman in various slots, still kept Brown in all four other spots. Brown is now in Philadelphia. Whatever five Mazzulla settles on will have no precedent to lean on.
Four preseason games set the real clock now.
Boston opens preseason October 8 at Cleveland, hosts Philadelphia October 10, hosts Charlotte October 14, then travels back to Philadelphia October 16, with both Sixers games carrying national broadcast windows. The regular season opens October 20 at Detroit, on NBC and Peacock. Camp talk settles into actual rotations once those four games are played.
The payroll math hasn't moved.
Boston's $203.9 million payroll already sits above the $200.4 million luxury tax line, with Tatum's $58.5 million and George's $54.1 million carrying most of the weight. Every subsequent roster move, Mitchell's name included now that Washburn has attached it, gets read against that number before anything else.
When do the Celtics play their first preseason game?
Boston opens preseason October 8 at Cleveland, then plays Philadelphia twice, October 10 and October 16, before the regular season opens October 20 at Detroit.
What was Boston's best lineup last season?
The Brown-White-Queta-Pritchard-Hauser group posted a net rating of +17.9 over 200 minutes, the best of any Celtics lineup, but Brown is now with Philadelphia.
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