Then the newcomers such as Josh Minott, Chris Boucher and Hugo Gonzalez helped out with rebounds, defensive stops and timely shots. Boston played at a frantic pace, pressing the undermanned Grizzlies full court as Mazzulla went deep into his bench to keep up the intensity.
Brown scored 21 points before sitting out the second half while White added 16 and 10 assists and Boucher added 11. Minott, playing in his college arena, added 8 points and 7 rebounds. Luka Garza, another newcomer from Minnesota, bullied the Grizzlies in the second half and finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes.
Wednesday marked a return home for former Grizzlie Xavier Tillman, who played 3½ years in Memphis before being traded to the Celtics in February 2024. Tillman played little last season and said he was not 100 percent because of an ailing knee. He has declared himself 100 percent healthy and ready to contribute for an unproven frontcourt.
“That’s real time I spent in my life,” he said. “It was great. The mentality is gratitude (this year), appreciation for me being healthy and being able to go and be myself and not have to restrict myself because of my injuries. Just having fun when I’m on the court.”
Tillman got the start against the Grizzlies along with Brown, Hauser, Boucher and White. And he thrilled his teammates with a one-handed alley-oop dunk from Minott in the second quarter, showing his improved mobility.
Neemias Queta and Anfernee Simons got the night off and watched from the bench in street clothes. The Grizzlies were missing Ja Morant, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey with injuries.
As expected Mazzulla did not name any lineups or rotations and warned Celtics faithful not to develop any conclusions about the units he puts on the floor.
“Zero,” he said. “I’ll save you some time. Highlight the strengths and the advantages of the guys that we have and how we can leverage those for long periods of time and develop as many identities as we can with the team that we have. We’ve got a lot of versatility and we just have to be able to use it. Guys have to understand their role and execute that role and then the next guy gives us something different.”
Jayson Tatum, rehabilitating from a torn Achilles, joined the team on the trip to Memphis and Toronto. He is expected to travel with the club during the regular season. … If they needed any more of an excuse to root against the Yankees, the Celtics were Blue Jays fans on Wednesday because a New York win would have meant a Game 5 in Toronto on Friday, the same night the Celtics play the Raptors in preseason about one-third of a mile from Scotiabank Center, which could cause traffic nightmares.