Way-Too-Early Celtics Player Power Rankings

I know, it's only been two preseason games, and the team's core players didn't even play in one of them. But I've been itching to start to sort through the team's bench options for weeks now. We have two games worth of data, and you have to start somewhere!

Please know that the main thing the bench player rankings are based on right now is playing time. Who played when, and with whom. Results are important, but also secondary.

My constant takeaway as I went through this exercise is that I really like the team's depth. The team's depth has really improved. The team didn't dress its six best players tonight, and they hung with a Knicks team that played the majority of its starters into the third quarter. I remain frighteningly enthusiastic about this Celtics team. OK, here we go.

1. Jayson Tatum: Can't see that ranking changing any time in the next five years. Probably longer.
2. Jaylen Brown: He did look like he had a renewed emphasis on defense last night, but he also looked like he still hasn't learned how to dribble. Sigh.
3. Jrue Holiday: He did all of the chaos Jrue Holiday things last night vs. Philly. I loved it so much.
4. Kristaps Porzingis: A revelation. He was incredible against Philly. And yes, Joel Embiid sat out (more on that later), but if he plays that way all season, it's going to be very tough to beat this team.
5. Derrick White: If D White is the team's fourth-best player, they can contend for a championship. If he's the team's fifth-best player, watch out.
6. Al Horford: Default ranking unless his playing time really starts to take a dip.
7. Payton Pritchard: His decision making is coming so much faster now. So glad they kept him.
8. Lamar Stevens: A couple things stand out. First, he has really good defensive instincts. Second, the team had him play small-ball five on multiple occasions in these first two preseason games. Stevens is listed at 6'6", 230 lbs. Grant Williams is listed as 6'6", 236 lbs. There's a lot of talk about how the C's will miss Grant's defense against Embiid and Giannis. It sure looks like they think they've filled that role with Stevens. If they're right, they did so for a fraction of the price, and with a guy who doesn't piss off everyone else on the team. Speaking of, I found this quote telling from the other day: “It’s a lot quieter over there without Grant, that’s for sure,” White said. “I mean, obviously it was a lot of fun last year with Grant, and I’m always wishing him the best. But it’s much calmer. Life is good.” Getting back to Stevens, he also hit a really nice fadeaway jumper in the paint tonight that looked like a carbon copy of Jaylen. I'm very impressed so far.
9. Dalano Banton: He gets to the hoop so smoothly, and on defense, he is highly switchable, because he's an incredibly tall guard. I think on talent he should be higher than Stevens, because his offense could be very valuable. But there's already three guards definitively higher than him on the list, four if you count Jaylen.
10. Oshae Brissett: I really like him, and I thought I would have him eighth, but there's just something off about the way the three-point shot comes out of his hand. It seems like it'll be hard for him to be consistent with it. I love everything else about him though.
11. Sam Hauser: It has not been a rousing start to the preseason for Hauser. I was hoping to see him step up in this competition for bench minutes. I'm not exactly writing him off, because sometimes shooters start slow. But 2-for-14 isn't exactly blowing my skirt up. He's at least crashed the boards well.
12. Luke Kornet: He honestly didn't do much, but again, he played in both games, and already earned a public vote of confidence from Joe Mazzulla.
13. Svi Mykhailiuk: He was aggressive, and looked like more than a three-point shooter, and he played a lot before the Knicks pulled their starters. He was better than Hauser tonight, but he didn't play in the first game, and it feels like the team will give Hauser more chances to fail because he's been on the team longer.
14. Jordan Walsh: He plays with a lot of energy. I'm interested to watch him against a team of refs who don't want to blow the whistle for ticky tack crap every possession. He's low for now because he didn't play until the second quarter of the second game.
15. Neemias Queta: I actually really liked what I saw from him tonight, and while he probably won't play that much, it's exciting that he's 15th here. The last couple of years, this spot in the rankings were reserved for unplayable guys like Justin Jackson.
16. JD Davison: He doesn't deserve to be this low either. He had a really good game tonight, and it looks like he's made a lot of strides with his fast-break decision making. But with Holiday, White, Pritchard, and Banton in front of him on the depth chart, he seems fully in "break glass only in case of emergency" territory.
17. Wenyen Gabriel: He didn't enter until late in the second game, and I didn't see anything that would justify playing him in other situations. Again though, he's still better than guys in similar spots in years past.
18. DJ Steward: I'll be honest, I had forgotten who he was until I saw him at the end of the game. He seemed fine, but he was also literally the last guy off the bench.
19. Jay Scrubb: The torn ACL is brutal. Hopefully the C's are able to pay him to rehab.

New Coach, Same Organization

Probably you'll think I'm making too much out of this, but I thought it was very telling that Joel Embiid sat out the preseason game last night. After the Sixers season ended, Mike Lombardi went on the Bill Simmons Podcast to talk about how the Sixers organization coddles Embiid, and I thought him sitting out last night was a prime example. You'd figure the new coach would be eager to see his star player out in the first preseason game, especially with it being on national TV and all. But since James Harden isn't playing, it's OK, champ, you sit this one out too!

I also found it hilarious that Embiid wants to play for team USA in the Olympics. I actually think they should turn him down. Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis are much better fits for the up and down, fast-paced style of play.