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The Boston Celtics were expected to be one of the frontrunners for the 2025-26 NBA season as well. However, that was until Jayson Tatum was revealed to be out for the season and Boston kickstarted a reactionary firesale that has saved them over $300 million in salaries and luxury tax.
The Boston Celtics kickstart their upcoming campaign with a date with the Philadelphia 76ers, and also take on the likes of the New York Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Houston Rockets within the first five gamedays.
That span of fixtures by itself should give fans a fair insight into how they can expect the season to go. While major outlets do not expect the Celtics to be one of the frontrunners in the East, they surely have some scope to surprise.
Can the Boston Celtics remain one of the Eastern Conference powerhouses?
With Tatum potentially sidelined for the entire season, Boston’s front office shifted priorities, opting to avoid the punitive second apron by initiating a roster overhaul. This led to a series of major moves, including trading away Kristaps Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday, and veteran Al Horford.
Even Georges Niang, acquired in the Porziņģis deal, was dealt to the Utah Jazz to further reduce salary commitments, resulting in nearly $300 million in projected savings.
The downside, of course, is a team that no longer carries the same frontcourt strength or overall depth. While Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are expected to shoulder much of the scoring load, and newly acquired Anfernee Simons brings high-level offensive firepower, the rotation has clear vulnerabilities.
However, let’s look at the positives first. Payton Pritchard has gone strength to strength during his time in Boston, and can be expected to emerge as one of the major forces in this roster for the upcoming season. Still, it is the frontcourt that has taken most of the damage.
Joe Mazzulla has the likes of Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Xavier Tillman and Chris Boucher to choose his frontcourt from, and despite the backcourt talent, the lack of size, scoring and rebounding could become the Celtics’ biggest weakness in the coming season.
Further, considering the new faces expected to play major roles, the Celtics may suffer especially through the first half of the season as they attempt to find the best combinations. While many expect the Celtics to drop below the .500 mark next season after finishing with a 61-21 record last season, there may be some hope. After all, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown and tried and tested superstars who can both be expected to have major years.
Further, Anfernee Simmons brings added scoring talent and is an underrated playmaker. He averaged 19.3 points and 4.8 assists per game last season per Basketball Reference and the increased quality of players around him should result in even better numbers.
Of course, nobody expects the Celtics to be anywhere close to the level they were at last season. However, all eyes remain on Tatum’s return, and Boston do have the talent to emerge among the latter playoff positions come the end of the regular season.
Still, they are also only a couple of injuries away from having their season curtailed, and depth can be expected to be a major hindrance in any above-the-weight punches they manage next campaign. The loss of Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and even Al Horford has left behind obvious weaknesses that cannot be filled and may become the team’s biggest problem.
At the same time, much will depend on whether White can continue improving and whether Jaylen Brown can emerge as the superstar scorer people know he can become, especially in the absence of his partner-in-crime.
Still, there is simply no doubt that the Celtics are now a team in transition and any title aspirations should extinguish once the season arrives. Their first five games should give a better sense of where Boston stands. However, we predict them to have a 39-43 season, which should be good enough for a play-in appearance.
Whether they manage anything better than that remains to be seen, and remains doubtful.
