It appears that Celtics Coach, Joe Mazzulla, is mentally constructing the post-season, 8-man rotation that he feels may deliver Banner 19 to Boston. In the last 10 contests, the seven players averaging more than 25 minutes per game are Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Baylor Sheierman and Payton Pritchard. And it is expected that Nikola Vucevic, upon his return from injury, will round out the 8-man playoff crew.
Sheierman is the wild card here. In the 10-game span, he is producing 6.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 2.3 APG in 27 minutes per contest. He only played very-limited minutes in four playoff games last year, so it is uncertain how he will handle the pressure of more floor time in the up-tempo post season. But the second-year man at 25 years of age has handled himself well on the court during the regular season, and Mazzulla is hoping that holds true come playoff time.
The same can be said for Queta. In the past two post-seasons, he never averaged more than 5.0 MPG in the seven playoff games in which he participated.
But right now, this appears to be the expected 8-man Celtics post-season rotation. Luka Garza, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh and Ron Harper, Jr. should pick up minor minutes when called upon - or pick up more floor time in the event of injuries.
Banner 19 awaits the "Guys in Green". This has already been a bit of a "Cinderella Season" for a crew that has overperformed expectations. In the post-season, "anything is possible".
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