The Celtics have been planning to play faster than the 30th of 30 teams in terms of pace they played at last year. But what does that actually mean?

Will Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons, and Derrick White share the court? The post 5 storylines to follow as the Celtics open preseason play appeared first on Boston.com.

This season has been like a reset for Boston. In six weeks, the Celtics lost Jayson Tatum to an Achilles injury. Kristaps Porziņģis went away to Atlanta, Jrue Holiday to Portland, and Al Horford has confirmed signing with the Warriors.

The Boston Celtics got their preseason schedule off to a good start with a 121-103 win over a short-handed Memphis Grizzlies roster. Joe Mazzulla went with a surprise starting five, handing starts to Xavier Tillman Sr., Chris Boucher and Sam Hauser as Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons and Neemias Queta watched on in street clothes.

Speed kills, and the Celtics will try to embrace that next season without star forward Jayson Tatum for the foreseeable future.

Jayson Tatum is still hopeful about his recovery, even though his rehabilitation procedure has been called "tedious" but encouraging.

"We find the two-on-one and the most important thing is executing at both ends of the floor," said Mazzulla of that play style via Boston Globe Celtics beat writer Gary Washburn. "I don’t pay too much attention to that."

May 16, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) walks off the court after losing to the New York Knicks in game six in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images