Jayson Tatum’s Take On Nightly Change To Celtics’ Starting Five

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has been shuffling players in Boston’s starting rotation during the preseason so players don’t get complacent in roles.

In the penultimate preseason game against the New York Knicks, Mazzulla opted to have Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis start for Boston with five-time All-Star Al Horford coming off the bench.

Everyone appears to be buying into Mazzulla’s thinking and playing their minutes on any given night.

“It’s been an adjustment period,” Tatum told reporters following the Celtics win. “At some point, everybody’s gonna have to sacrifice. Essentially, we probably got six starters. Only five people can play, and only five guys can finish the game.

“So, between those six guys, any given night, somebody might come off the bench. Somebody might not finish and it’s on all of us to understand that whoever night it is, it’s for the better of the team.”

Mazzulla told reporters after the game that Horford is a “critical piece” to the Celtics on the court and in the locker room, but the club can’t take him for granted. Tatum agreed with the second-year coach.

“It’s not easy sacrificing, but at some point, we all have to do it,” Tatum said. “Like tonight, Al (Horford) came off the bench and I have the utmost respect for Al. (If) Al can come off the bench at this stage in his career, nobody should have anything to say if you’re the guy that has to come off the bench or Joe (Mazzulla) takes you out of the game. Everybody has to have that team-first mindset to accomplish what we’re trying to do.”

Even though Horford came off the bench, the 6-foot-9 veteran logged 23 minutes of playing time. San Hauser and Payton Pritchard were the other two role players to log more than 20 minutes each off the bench in the Celtics’ 123-110 win.