It has only been one preseason game, but Devin Carter is already looking like a steal for the Boston Celtics. And if he keeps it up, he may end up as the team's primary backup point guard (especially if they choose to start Payton Pritchard, which I think they should).
During Boston's 124-113 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the preseason opener, Carter recorded 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting (including 1-for-3 from deep -- it's only one make, but he shot it with confidence and was slightly contested, and that's a very promising sign, given that his three-point shooting is his biggest weakness), five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 25 minutes.
He had some great minutes, and even though it's still very early, the Florida native is proving that maybe he belongs in the Celtics' rotation.
Devin Carter looked incredible for the Celtics in preseason
Sure, it's just preseason, but outside of James Harden (ankle soreness), everybody on Cleveland's roster was active. Carter was going up against legitimate NBA talent, and he looked like he belonged. This was realistically as good a preseason performance as he possibly could have had.
Carter showed promise in every area. He was incredible at getting to the basket, particularly in transition (he's obviously not going to be a one-for-one replacement, but the Celtics need players who can get to the rim without Jaylen Brown). He made some incredible reads/passes/decisions with the ball in his hands. And he was also very active on the boards and on the defensive side of the ball. He did a fantastic job of playing the passing lanes and just being annoying for the Cavaliers.
The 24-year-old also made a ton of hustle plays. There were multiple times during the games when I asked myself, "Is this guy okay?" because of how many times he either dove to the floor or jumped into the stanchion. And knowing what type of maniac Joe Mazzulla is, he's going to love having another player who probably needs a helmet when he plays (Hugo Gonzalez being the other).
Early on, it's fair to wonder if everybody else gave up on Carter too soon, and maybe Boston got lucky here. He was the 13th overall pick just two years ago, and it's not entirely his fault that he was drafted by the Sacramento Kings, who can't seem to do anything right.
He couldn't crack Sacramento's rotation in two seasons, and he was waived by the Atlanta Hawks last month because of their logjam in the backcourt. But Carter is still very young, and he has a ton of untapped potential. We already saw some of it on display on Thursday.
Moving forward, he's going to be a key player on Boston's roster to watch. The Celtics have already hit on so many outcasts in recent years (Luka Garza, Josh Minott before he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, Ron Harper Jr., and even Sam Hauser - who was undrafted in 2021 -, if we want to go that far back), and right now, it's looking like they may have done it again.
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