The Celtics will send out an unusual starting five in their final preseason game Friday, pairing four Exhibit-10 players with rookie Chris Cenac Jr. against the Philadelphia 76ers. Milos Uzan, Hayden Gray, Tucker DeVries and Gabe McGlothan are the Exhibit-10 players getting the nod, a sharp turn from the more familiar group used earlier in preseason.
That is why people are looking at this Celtics Starting Lineup now. After two games with Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Jordan Walsh and Mitchell Robinson as the starters, many expected Payton Pritchard or Baylor Scheierman to slide into the mix this time. Instead, it is the fourth-year pro who is not starting, even after Pritchard turned in 11 assists and 0 turnovers in the preseason win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Sam Cassell will coach the game, with Joe Mazzulla saying he would hand over that duty. The decision fits the final preseason game more than it fits a normal rotation battle: the Celtics are 3-0 in preseason action, and this is the last chance to sort out combinations before the regular season tips off on Tuesday, October 20th at 3pm ET in Detroit.
The wrinkle is that the 76ers are not treating the night as a throwaway. LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are available, so the Celtics are using a lineup that looks built less for style and more for information. It is a rare look at how far down the roster the team is willing to go before the games start counting.
What happens next is simple enough: Friday is the final preseason exam, and after that the Celtics move straight into the regular season. If this lineup holds, the early answer is that the club wanted one more extended look at its deepest end of the roster before the group in Detroit becomes the one that matters.
