Celtics Lineup Debate Pits Anfernee Simons Vs. Payton Pritchard

No Jayson Tatum, no Jrue Holiday, no Kristaps Porzingis and almost certainly no Al Horford will mean a very different looking Boston Celtics starting lineup this season.

Derrick White and Jaylen Brown return to help lead the Celtics first unit and could be joined by Sam Hauser and center Neemias Queta in the fall.

That leaves one vacancy, likely pitting newcomer Anfernee Simons (who’s been floated in trade rumors) vs. reigning Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard for the final spot in the starting five.

Members of the NBC Sports Boston staff made their starting lineup predictions on Monday, with three picking Pritchard to be a starter on opening night and the other trio selecting Simons for the nod.

“This was a harder exercise than I expected. In the backcourt, I’m choosing not to mess with a good thing and let Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard be a super-sub, while White can help offset any of Simons’ defensive limitations. You could make the argument for going double-big with Chris Boucher and Queta, but Hauser’s experience earns him the nod as a stretch four for now,” managing editor Darren Hartwell wrote.

“Like many, I’m still not entirely convinced Simons will be in Boston to start the season, but I still like the idea of Payton Pritchard coming off the bench, even if he sees a big bump in minutes,” web producer Michael Hurley added. “I’ve had some fairly high expectations for the team in terms of finishing with a winning record and winning a playoff series. But now that you’ve made me spell out the starting five like this, I’m tempted to adjust ever so slightly. Brown is going to have to do so much heavy lifting.”

“Celtics Pregame Live” host Kayla Burton was the other member of the crew to predict that Simons would be a starter.

Burton agreed with Hartwell and Hurley, saying that Pritchard is “such a spark off the bench and thrives in that role.”

The 2020 first-round pick finished his fifth NBA season with career highs across the board in points (14.3), rebounds (3.8), assists (3.5) and minutes per game (28.4) while appearing in 80 contests and making three starts.

Simons ended his seventh and final season with the Portland Trail Blazers averaging 19.3 points, 4.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds per contest across 70 games while posting a .426/.363/.902 shooting line.