NBA Christmas: A gift for each team’s wish list in 2018

Boston Celtics: An established rotation

Ever since Marcus Smart (and Marcus Morris) joined the starting lineup, the Boston Celtics are 8-2, including an eight-game win streak. Gordon Hayward‘s rust, plus a minor Jaylen Brown injury and his own season-long struggles, paved the way for these changes. For the time being, this may have to be the new status quo.

No one’s under the illusion that either of the Marcuses is more important to the team’s long-term future than Hayward and Brown (unless Anthony Davis suddenly becomes available on the trade market, which isn’t happening anytime soon). With that being said, these changes from Brad Stevens have brought stability to a team that started 10-10.

Ten games is a small sample size, but the early returns have been promising. Brown and Hayward have been up-and-down, but the highs have been more encouraging than anything they showed in the starting lineup. Smart provides defense and doesn’t soak up the shots Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum need to excel, while Morris is having the best year of his career. Fingers crossed this new rotation is finally the answer to the Celtics’ question of how to feed so many hungry mouths.