BOSTON — The insanity of the NBA trade deadline has passed, and the Boston Celtics were among its most active teams. They made four trades to reshape their roster and shave more than $325 million off their tax bill. The Celtics upgraded their starting lineup, while the depth chart took a hit with three outright departures.
Celtics Depth Chart: Boston’s Starting Lineup After Busy Trade Deadline Revealed
The Celtics Starting Lineup After Busy Deadline
With the addition of Nikola Vučević, the Celtics have added a new center. Despite his pedigree as a 35-year-old two-time All-Star, he is not expected to slide into the starting lineup immediately. Joe Mazzulla is sticking with Neemias Queta, at least for now.
Vučević will help Boston’s rebounding and give them a big man who can shoot and stretch the floor, filling the role Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford handled on those championship teams. His post scoring will boost the offense, and I think he will be better defensively than people expect. Mazzulla tends to have that effect on players. Nikola Vucevic flashed all this potential in his Celtics debut on Friday against Miami with an 11-point, 12-rebound showing. He added two steals, which were the icing on the cake.
Vučević averaged 17 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in 30.8 minutes per game for Chicago. He played in 48 games, starting them all. He shot 50.5 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from three, and 83.8 percent from the line.
With Queta on board, Vucevic will take on a bench role for the first time in his career when it’s not injury related. Everything else will remain static, at least for the foreseeable future. The lineup will look like this: Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, and Queta.
Celtics Depth Chart
Pritchard starts at point guard, with Max Shulga, a two-way player who has yet to see the floor this season, behind him. White starts at shooting guard, with Baylor Scheierman backing him up. He has appeared in 44 games and made four starts.
Brown starts at small forward, with Hugo González as his primary backup. At power forward, Hauser starts, backed up by Jordan Walsh, who has made 20 starts this season.
Queta is expected to start at center, with Vučević shifting into a backup role. Luka Garza and Amari Williams also provide depth. For ease of reference:
Point Guard: Payton Pritchard, Max Shulga
Shooting Guard: Derrick White, Baylor Scheierman
Small Forward: Jaylen Brown, Hugo González
Power Forward: Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh
Center: Neemias Queta, Nikola Vučević, Luka Garza, Amari Williams
© Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
