Celtics lineup preview: in defense of going small

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Media Day around the NBA is always filled with canned comments, relentless optimism and proverbial coachspeak. Sometimes, hidden within the fluff are little crumbs that indicate basketball decisions or leanings of the coaching staff. Despite his remote status due to COVID-19, new head coach Ime Udoka weighed in on the debate around how to construct his lineups and what he’s looking for on the floor:

“Balance overall. We have a lot of different directions we can go in, a lot of versatility in our lineups with the players we have added. So, you look at both starting as well as the bench coming in and the balance you want there. Like I said, we can play big,…