BOSTON — The NBA is in a bit of an injury crisis. It feels like every day another star is ruled out, with guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Paolo Banchero, and Victor Wembanyama already missing multiple games due to injuries sustained early in the season. Then there are players such as Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and Joel Embiid, who came into the 2025-26 campaign with health issues and are still having trouble staying on the court.

To make matters even worse, these names are just a snapshot of the whole picture. Yet, somehow, the Boston Celtics have avoided this injury plague.

Excluding star forward Jayson Tatum and the ruptured Achilles he suffered last season, all of Boston's regular starters have been fully healthy through 15 games. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Neemias Queta have missed zero contests. In fact, outside of a stray concussion for center Luka Garza, the only reason any of the Celtics have sat out is because of personal reasons or, more commonly, a coach's decision.

This isn't pure luck. While the Celtics are still playing relatively fast, they rank last in pace across the Association. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise, as Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said on Tuesday that the pace of today's game is a major factor in the current injury spike. Even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver realizes there's a problem.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is well aware of the blistering speed of the modern NBA. To adapt to that, he's decided to ignore typical substitution patterns and simply play who's ready.

“I appreciate the wear tear, the physicality, the things that the guys do to get their bodies ready to play, and the league is playing faster,” Mazzulla stated at practice on Thursday afternoon. “And I think that's one of the reasons why not having patterns, playing 11, 12 guys, keeping guys fresh, that's huge.”

Article Continues Below

During the Celtics' most recent win over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, Mazzulla played 11 different guys, with 10 of them logging at least 11 minutes. Almost a quarter of the way through the regular season, just three Celtics are averaging over 25 minutes per game.

Mazzulla's strategy differed last season, when seven players averaged 25 minutes or more per outing. Boston could rely on its wealth of talent in the starting lineup, then, explaining why the bench was less prevalent. With Tatum hurt and many past rotation players heading to different teams following the 2025 offseason, Mazzulla has opted to ride hot hands and experiment with new guys, who are always hungry to play, when the time is right.

“At the end of the day, the way to be successful in this league, especially over the last couple years, has been with the effort and the toughness and the physicality of 94 feet and playing fast on both ends of the floor and pushing pace and dictating that,” Mazzulla stated. “So it takes a lot more. And I think that's more of why we're leaning into anybody on any given night, who has the freshest physically and mentally.”

Since the Celtics are spreading the wealth in terms of playing time, they've been able to avoid major injuries and a dependency on load management — two things that have afflicted the rest of the league. This is partially out of necessity due to their decline in star power, but it's also because Mazzulla believes in every one of his guys in some capacity.

“How can we take advantage of everyone's strengths?” he asked rhetorically.

On Friday evening, the C's will likely divvy their minutes up when they face the Nets again. Who shines for the Celtics, whether it's a starting star player or an unsung hero off the bench, remains to be seen night in and night out. But you can guarantee that under Mazzulla's command, every Celtic will have an opportunity to make an impact.