The Boston Celtics have been one of the most surprising teams in the NBA this season. After Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in last year's playoffs, expectations for the 2025-26 season immediately were reduced. During the offseason, the Celtics said goodbye to veterans Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis .
Those moves, along with the Tatum injury, seemed to seal the Celtics' fate. They could finish way down the track, possibly getting a chance to participate in the Play-In Tournament prior to the start of the playoffs, but no better than that.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and his players have laughed at that estimation. Instead of falling to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the Celtics have been all business this season. There was none of the self-pity that might be expected to come when a team loses its star player and other veterans.
Instead, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens gave Mazzulla a very workable roster and Mazzulla made his no-nonsense style of coaching get through to his players. The Celtics stood up and pushed themselves to play in a winning and dominant style.
Jaylen Brown became the team's leader and Derrick White showed why he was one of the best tw0-way players in the league. In addition to those two All-Stars, the Celtics had Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman all making key contributions.
If those players weren't enough, Tatum worked hard to rehab from his injury and he has been able to return to the lineup. While he has only played in three games going into Saturday's home game against the Washington Wizards, it appears that Tatum has the opportunity to work his way into solid form by the start of the postseason.
Celtics in excellent position during the season's home stretch
The Celtics (43-23) served notice early on that they would not be any opponent's “scheduled win” this season. The Celtics were not lowering their standards or expectations. Boston has been playing to win as many games as possible and become a playoff team that had a chance to compete for the NBA title.
The Detroit Pistons (47-18) have had the best record in the Eastern Conference throughout the season. The Pistons had shown some improvement in the 2024-25 season and they have continued to climb in 2025-26.
The Celtics are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with 16 games to go in the regular season. Even though they just lost back-to-back game to the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, the Celtics have not lost any momentum. They played hard in both road games and nearly won with an undermanned team against the defending NBA champions.
The Celtics have an outside chance to catch the Pistons and take the No. 1 side, but that is quite unlikely. However, they have an excellent chance to hold off the third-place New York Knicks (42-25) and fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers (40-26). That would allow them to go into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and that would be an ideal seeding.
Matchups in the playoffs could include Raptors and Knicks in the first two rounds
The Toronto Raptors (36-29) are currently the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and that would leave them in the NBA's Play-In Tournament. If the Raptors maintain that position, they would play the No. 8 seed in the standings and the winner of that game would become the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers are both tied with 35-31 records for the eighth spot.
If the Raptors are successful, they would play the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The Raptors can be a dangerous team with Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes and R.J. Barrett, but the Celtics are deeper and stronger. They would have a physical advantage on the boards and they are a far better and more accomplished offensive team.
A sweep of the series is possible, but that's not a wise prediction in the NBA. However, the Celtics should win the series, beating the Raptors in no more than five games.
That would give them a likely second-round matchup against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year. The Knicks won the second-round series against the defending NBA champions in six games.
The Celtics played sloppy basketball in consecutive home losses in the first two games of the series, and that put Mazzulla's team in the hole. After the Celtics bounced back in Game 3 with a win at Madison Square Garden, Tatum suffered his injury in the next game. That essentially was the decisive factor in the series as the Knicks got the job done.
The Celtics are looking for revenge. It is quite doubtful that they would let the games in Boston slip away this time around. The Knicks are talented and led by Jalen Brunson, but they would have to earn their victories with 48-minute efforts and not take simply take advantage of 4th-quarter gifts.
Look for Boston to win that series in 6 games.
Celtics would be all business against Pistons and Thunder in final two rounds
Earning a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals would represent a brilliant season for the Celtics considering the preseason expectations.
However, with leadership coming from Mazzulla, Brown, Tatum and White, losing to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals would not be a satisfactory outcome. It doesn't mean they would overcome the Pistons or battle through Detroit's homecourt advantage, but the Celtics won't feel good about themselves if they got to that spot and lose.
The same assessment holds for the NBA Finals against the Thunder or Spurs. The Celtics would likely be serious underdogs against either opponent. However, the Celtics have won an NBA record 18 titles — one more than the arch-rival Los Angeles Lakers — and another championship should be their goal.
