Four training camp battles to monitor
The Rockets, the Celtics, and more questions for the preseason
We are somehow just two weeks away from the opening of NBA training camp. Summer vacations are over, and teams are getting prepared for the start of the season.
While many teams enter the year with their rotations more or less ready to go, there are plenty of question marks floating around the Association. I’ve already talked a little bit about Atlanta’s frontcourt logjam and the Knicks’ fifth starter, so here are four more teams still using a #2 pencil to fill out their lineups.
The Houston Rockets’ power forward
The Rockets are overflowing with talent at nearly every position. We know that Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Alperen Sengun will start, leaving one forward spot open.
Jabari Smith Jr. was the team’s third overall pick a few years back. He can hit turnaround jumpers and provide solid defense both at the rim and on the perimeter, but his game is still hollow, missing all the important connective tissue. It led to his being demoted to a bench role down the season’s stretch run.
Tari Eason is a wrecking ball defensively and in transition who has shown flashes of a three-pointer, but he might cramp the floor too much next to Thompson and Sengun if those flashes remain just that. Advanced analytics love him. He has the most ballhandling ability of any of the candidates (a low bar), but he’s had trouble staying on the court with health issues.
My personal preference would be Dorian Finney-Smith, the least touted of the three, but arguably the best fit as a 3-and-Der the Rockets nabbed on the cheap. However, he’s older, less dynamic, and has the least stature within the organization. It might be tricky in the locker room to vault him over the other two (although I don’t know that coach Ime Udoka has ever stood much for internal politics).
Steven Adams’ moaian presence complicates things further! Adams won’t be a starter often, but Udoka’s beloved two-big look ran over the league like Santa trampling Grandma. It would be coaching malfeasance not to try it as a starting unit here and there.
This exercise has reinforced just how ridiculously loaded the Rockets are with good players, making this one of the hardest positional battles to predict.
The Boston Celtics’ shooters
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White will be the Celtics’ primary offensive engines. Barring a training camp disaster, Neemias Queta is almost certain to earn the nod at center, particularly after a strong EuroBasket performance for Portugal.