Mazzulla Talks 'Versatility' of Celtics Lineup with Kristaps Porziņģis, Derrick White

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is looking forward to having a more dynamic offense next season with Derrick White taking over as the starting point guard and addition of Kristaps Porziņģis to the lineup.

Speaking to The Athletic's Jared Weiss, Mazzulla explained he's "looking forward to playing with that versatility" by having more scoring threats on the court together:

"We obviously were a little inconsistent at times, so we have to work on that. But I think we got to find small ways to just kind of reinvent ourselves, to be a little bit different. I think we'll have the ability, with the current team, to play both big and small, and bounce back from that. And we'll just do whatever fits our roster, whatever makes the most sense on both ends of the floor. But we have some versatility and we're able to go to that and I'm kind of looking forward to playing with that versatility."

After losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics took drastic steps to adjust their roster with the hope of getting over the final hurdles in the playoffs.

Smart was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies and Kristaps Porziņģis came back to Boston in a three-team trade that also included the Washington Wizards on June 23.

The deal signaled a massive shift for the Celtics. Smart was one season removed from being named Defensive Player of the Year, has been their primary starting point guard for the past three seasons and was regarded as the heart and soul of the team during his nine-year tenure in Boston.

Mazzulla confirmed to reporters last week that at a recent press conference that White is going to start at point guard.

Boston's bet on White and acquisition of Porziņģis suggests the team wants to be more flexible on offense.

During his end-of-season press conference on June 1, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens explained why their offense cost them in the playoffs:

"I thought that we had to improve offensively to become better, to compete, and we had to be able to play defense and maintain that level and identity that we had prior to [this season] to be our very best. And on both ends we came up a little bit short. I do think that if I had to say one end that we came up more short on, in our last few games, it was probably the offensive end, with the turnovers. And we obviously didn't shoot the ball well, and Miami shot it great."

White does bring a different skill set to the table than Smart, particularly as an offensive player. He averaged 12.4 points per game on 38.1 percent three-point shooting in 82 appearances last season.

Smart only has one season in his career shooting over 35 percent from behind the arc (36.4 in 2018-19).

This will be White's first time as the primary starting point guard for a team since his second season with the San Antonio Spurs in 2018-19. He's primarily been used as a shooting guard over the past four seasons.

Porziņģis has been a terrific offensive player when he's been healthy. The 27-year-old has averaged at least 20 points per game in each of the past five seasons. He shot a career-high 49.8 percent from the field in 65 starts for the Wizards in 2022-23.

Durability is the biggest question mark for Porziņģis. Last season marked the first time he played in at least 60 games since 2016-17.

There's going to be some trade off on the defensive end of the floor, where Porziņģis tends to be more stationary under the basket.

Robert Williams III has the ability to move around on defense, but he's another player who has trouble staying on the court. The Texas A&M alum only appeared in 35 games last season.

As long as White, Porziņģis, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are healthy, Boston has more than enough talent to be able to outscore anyone in the NBA.

The Celtics have made the playoffs in each of the past nine seasons. They've played in the Eastern Conference Finals five times during that span, including one trip to the NBA Finals during the 2021-22 season.