Boston Celtics' starting lineup without Jayson Tatum will shock you

The Boston Celtics roster looks completely different from what it did last year.

Without Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porziņģis, there were some questions about who would be starting.

Derrick White and Jaylen Brown seemed to be the only guarantees, with the rest of the lineup up in the air. 

In their first game of the 2025-2026 season, they rolled out a surprising starting lineup.

It consisted of Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta.

The biggest question mark was the starting center.

Without Al Horford or even Luke Kornet, there weren’t many options. 

They decided to turn to Queta, a guy who didn’t have much playing time last year.

Queta is a seven-footer from Portugal who offers great rim protection and playmaking from the center position.

In his limited minutes with the team last year, he showed flashes of his potential with his high motor and athleticism, also as a great screener for the many ball-handlers on the Celtics.

Another question in the starting lineup was whether Sam Hauser would start.

Hauser is one of the most elite shooters in the league, but has come off the bench for his whole career.

He will add another aspect of three-point shooting to this lineup, something the Celtics always look for.

Finally, the last concern was if the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year would be bumped into the starting lineup, and he did.

Pritchard got the nod over Anfernee Simons in their first contest of the year, but Head Coach Joe Mazzulla noted that this starting lineup is open to change.

The starting lineup certainly doesn’t hold the talent it did in previous years, but they do have some players who may surprise a lot of people.

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