Six takeaways from Celtics’ preseason-opening win over Grizzlies

The new-look - Celtics opened their preseason with a comprehensive triumph dispatching a depleted Memphis Grizzlies squad - on Wednesday night Here are six takeaways from the win which included productive outings from two big-name holdovers and strong first impressions from several offseason pickups A surprise starting five Head coach Joe Mazzulla described reporters in Memphis to read zero into his lineup decisions in this challenge then proceeded to roll out a starting five that sparse saw coming Returning starters Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were joined by Sam Hauser Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman as Mazzulla opted for a double-big look Guards Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons and center Neemias Queta all were given the night off Hauser and Boucher have been viewed as promising starters as Boston replaces Kristaps Porzingis Jrue Holiday and the injured Jayson Tatum but Tillman was an under-the-radar figure entering training camp after he hardly played last season It s worth noting Mazzulla gave Tillman a former Grizzly one of his two starts of - when the Celtics played in Memphis as a gesture of appreciation There could have been more sentimentality at play here but Tillman has stated he expects to have more opportunities this season after losing pounds and remedying his lingering knee issues The Boston big man showcased the latter when he went airborne for a flying alley-oop in the second quarter X GON GIVE IT TO YA pic twitter com We MAtLbl Boston Celtics celtics October The Grizzlies who have been snakebitten by injuries to key players Ja Morant Jaren Jackson Jr Brandon Clarke Zach Edey sent out a baby-faced starting lineup that featured four -year-olds and one -year-old Familiar faces start strong There are a whole lot of new faces on this Celtics roster but three mainstays led the way in the early going Brown White and Hauser combined to points the Celtics first points of the preseason The trio started -for- from the field and made five of their first seven -pointers during that early flurry showing that the three ball still will be a major part of Boston s retooled faster-paced offense The Celtics went -for- from distance as a club The first point from any other member of the Celtics roster didn t come until Luka Garza scored on a cutting and-one layup more than seven minutes in Brown was especially effective showing no lingering effects from his meniscus surgery this summer In the opening quarter he played minutes scored points shot -for- and -for- from three and drew three fouls He finished with points in minutes though just one rebound and one assist and sat out the second half White was Boston s top facilitator dishing out assists to go along with points two blocks and one steal and finishing as a plus- in minutes Tatum was the Celtics leading assist man last season so there will be more pressure on players like White to fill that role this season How he operates alongside Pritchard and newcomer Simons will be something to watch as the preseason progresses Hello Hugo It took rookie Hugo Gonzalez all of seconds to make an impact in his preseason NBA debut Shortly after checking in at the start of the second quarter the first-round draft pick drew an offensive foul by racing through a Grizzlies screen on an inbounds pass Then he blocked Jaylen Wells beneath the basket Then he blocked fellow rookie Cedric Coward in transition A insufficient minutes later Gonzalez ran the floor for a fast-break layup off a Boucher rejection then recovered his own loose ball and fed Boucher for a -pointer The -year-old Spaniard added a triple of his own off a Hauser assist to cap an impressive opening shift Gonzalez was part of an undersized but high-energy lineup along with White Boucher Josh Minott and Baylor Scheierman that opened the second quarter with an - run that stretched Boston s lead to Later while he was running with a similarly up-tempo unit he picked off a pass in transition and slammed home a dunk at the other end HUGO FOR DOS pic twitter com UvlNsYX mQ Boston Celtics celtics October His final line eight points -for- -for- from three three rebounds one assist one steal and three blocks in minutes Growing pains are sure to come for Boston s youngest competitor who is still in the process of adjusting to American basketball and mastering the Celtics terminology but these are the types of hustle-play contributions the organization wants to see from him If Gonzalez keeps this up his wait for real regular minutes could be shorter than expected Timberwolves castoffs impress After toiling at the end of Minnesota s bench for the last three seasons Garza and Minott came to Boston seeking opportunity It s unclear exactly how they ll fit in when the Celtics have all of their players available but both proved probable against Memphis backups in their first contest in green Garza grabbed rebounds including four offensive boards was functioning as a screener and consistently got to the foul line -for- in his minutes Minott s awkward-looking -point shot wasn t falling -for- but he delivered in the dirty-work areas to the tune of eight points seven rebounds three offensive three assists three steals and one block in minutes One of those helpers was the aforementioned transition lob to Tillman The Celtics also outscored the Grizzlies by points across Boucher s minutes a solid debut for the longtime Toronto reserve We have yet to see Simons take the floor but so far so good for Boston s other offseason additions We ll see what they can do once the quality of competition picks up New philosophy on display The Celtics new push-the-pace approach a clear priority in training camp and a style that favors energizers like Minott was evident Wednesday night They operated their offense more swiftly and upped the aggressiveness on defense resulting in steals blocks and points off turnovers Last year s Celtics ranked th in pace and th in forced turnovers two marks they re aiming to improve this season That ongoing defense did lead to specific breakdowns however with Memphis getting a number of open looks from beyond the arc Boston also struggled on the defensive glass which is one big concern for their unproven frontcourt The Celtics didn t have their lone -footer Queta in uniform for this championship but defensive rebounding has not been a strength of his Garza has been a below-average defender in his career and Boucher and Tillman are undersized bigs Tillman despite his acrobatics was one of just two members of Wednesday s rotation to finish with a negative plus minus minus- five fouls in minutes Scheierman minus- was the other Walsh leaves with injury Jordan Walsh checked in during Mazzulla s first round of substitutions and the third-year pro delivered several positive moments early He forced a Santi Aldama miss with quality rim protection flushed a fast-break dunk off a White outlet pass and grabbed three rebounds in his first eight minutes Those were the only minutes Walsh logged however The -year-old wing did not play after the first quarter with the Celtics later announcing he was doubtful to return with left adductor tightness This is a make-or-break year for Walsh who was unable to crack Mazzulla s rotation in his first two NBA seasons He mentioned he worked this offseason to improve both his shooting and his role player IQ in hopes of finding a niche as a connector The Celtics will visit the Raptors on Friday in their second of four preseason games