Celtics will be without 8 players in preseason opener

CLEVELAND — The Celtics will rest most of the roster in their preseason opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Paul George, Mitchell Robinson, Neemias Queta, Sam Hauser, Ron Harper Jr., and Payton Pritchard are all out.

Mike Conley, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, and Luka Garza will start, with Chris Cenac Jr., Dillon Mitchell, and Amari Williams all available to sub in. Exhibit-10 players Devin Carter, Gabe McGlothan, Milos Uzan, and Tucker DeVries are all available to play as well.

Thursday will mark the Celtics debuts of Conley, Cenac, and Mitchell; George and Robinson’s will wait.

For the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Jaylon Tyson, Payton Watson, and Meleek Thomas will start the game.

Tony Dobbins and DJ MacLeay will coach the game

On top of the limited rotation, the Celtics will be coached by assistant coach Tony Dobbins for the first half and assistant coach DJ MacLeay for the second half.

“I want to give them the opportunity to be able to just build themselves as coaches,” Joe Mazzulla said at shootaround on Thursday morning. “Both those guys had head coaching interviews this past summer, and I want them to be able to build on that.”

Before the game, Dobbins expressed his excitement for the opportunity to coach several players’ first NBA games.

“I’m excited to get started with this group that we have, and then for me, there’s some guys who it’ll be their first time stepping on the NBA court, and that’s exciting,” Dobbins said. “Like you get to be a part of somebody living out their dream, and that would be the case whether I was coaching or whether Joe’s coaching — but just not taking those moments for granted. You’ve got a person, a family, who has worked for this moment, as long as they can remember, and they have an opportunity.”