NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 21: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum #0 talk against the New Orleans Pelicans during a game at the Smoothie King Center on February 21, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 21: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum #0 talk against the New Orleans Pelicans during a game at the Smoothie King Center on February 21, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics: Ranking all 5 starters for the 2021-22 season

by Holden Walter-Warner Follow @hwalterwarner
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Boston Celtics Photo by Brian Fluharty-Pool/Getty Images

Change is officially in the air with the Boston Celtics. Danny Ainge is no longer in the front office and Brad Stevens is no longer on the bench, although the latter is sticking around as the president of basketball operations. He wasted little time putting his stamp on the franchise in a different way this summer.

Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker are gone. Enes Kanter and Al Horford are back. Josh Richardson and Dennis Schroder have arrived as well. It’s largely a different team from the one that finished .500 and lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2020-21.

The Boston Celtics continue to revolve around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but there is room to grow with the other starters.

The core remains stable for at least another year. As it stands, the franchise revolves around two players: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Marcus Smart is also part of that core, though he’s a tad older than the other two and likely won’t ever be considered part of a “Big Three.”

Those three players are locked into starting lineup roles on opening night, likely across the point guard-to-small forward positions. The power forward and center positions are slightly more fluid, but will likely invite Horford back into the starting lineup, as well as Robert Williams, who supercharged the team during his brief time as a starter last season.

The Celtics worked hard to build their young core and have made the conference finals in three of the last five years. Last year’s first-round flameout is a sign of concern, though; this year’s starting lineup will need to prove the regression is just a flake.

Here’s how the Celtics’ five starters rank for the coming season.

Next: No. 5

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