November 9th. That was the last time Brad Stevens had his full complement of vets at his disposal. Before last night’s dud against the Raptors, the Celtics’ lineup of its best core players--Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum, and Gordon Hayward--had only played together for five minutes. Forty-nine days later, it finally happened again.
Stevens had gone with either Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter at center and a smattering of Grant Williams at the 4, but with Boston searching for a spark, he fielded Boston’s Big Five to close the first half after Toronto had built a double-digit lead.