The Boston Celtics return to action Monday night for their first preseason game of the year.
Ahead of their tip-off with the Orlando Magic, head coach Ime Udoka revealed the starting lineup.
As anticipated, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart are among the first unit, with Robert Williams assuming a role as their starting big. Surprisingly, Juancho Hernangomez will start as well.
As Boston’s roster took shape this offseason, and with how ever-changing the Celtics’ rotations were last year, it was hard to guess how first-year head coach Ime Udoka would play things.
Most assumed, however, that either Josh Richardson or Al Horford would take the court with the first unit. Apparently, Udoka wants to see what they can do with a shooter alongside their core returners, and will likely experiment before the regular season.
Udoka shared that veterans would be limited to around 24 minutes of playing time as he gets a better feel for the pieces he has.
The Celtics and Magic get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET.
