Celtics' great debate loses sight of what matters more

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. | Al Bello/GettyImagesWill Anfernee Simons or Payton Pritchard start in the backcourt for the Boston Celtics this season? What about Sam Hauser? Will he move from the second unit to the first this year?

Those questions are among the most popular prompts from Celtics fans this summer about the 2025-26 campaign. That's for good reason. Who starts matters. It is often a signal of who a team believes are its five best players.

Setting a positive tone at the start of the game is also important. However, a coaching staff must manage rotations throughout a matchup. That can lead to pacing a position group and bringing an individual off the bench, in part, due…