The Boston Celtics will head into the 2026-27 NBA season with lower expectations than in recent years.
Following their postseason elimination at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers, Brad Stevens sanctioned the trade of Jaylen Brown, with Paul George headlining the return. Elsewhere around the Eastern Conference, multiple teams have either improved or gotten healthy.
Nevertheless, Stephen Noh of Sporting News believes the Celtics can still make some serious noise in the upcoming season.
“The Celtics did experience some talent drain after trading Jaylen Brown for Paul George,” Noh wrote. “They still might have enough to finish with the top seed in the East, even with several teams around them getting better and the Knicks as the clear best team heading into the season.”
Noh continued.
“Boston has been a regular-season wins juggernaut under Joe Mazzulla. He proved last year without Jayson Tatum that his system, which prioritizes a ton of 3s, offensive rebounding, low turnovers, and a switch-heavy defense, is going to succeed a ton over the course of 82 games. If they won 56 games without Tatum, it’s reasonable that they could be in the mid 50s again with Tatum as an upgrade over Brown and Mitchell Robinson adding more center depth.
Given the strength in depth of the Eastern Conference this season, the Celtics will need to be at their best if they want to finish atop the conference.
Celtics Could be Championship Contenders
On paper, the Celtics are heading into the new season with a stronger roster than they had last year. George should fit Joe Mazzulla’s system better than Brown did. Furthermore, the entire roster has been built around Jayson Tatum and his overall skill set.
Of course, the addition of Mitchell Robinson will also be a factor as the Celtics look to dominate the possession game.
During a recent appearance on the ‘Celtics Daily Podcast,’ The Ringer’s Michael Pina explained why he thinks the Celtics could emerge as contenders this season.
“Getting what they got back for it (the Jaylen Brown trade), they’re able to still, realistically, aim for a championship, I think, and play for one,” Pina said. “I think there’s a lot of teams that are going to be shooting for a title this season. At the end of the day, when you look at who has won a title the last few years, so much about it is health in the playoffs.”
There’s no denying that Boston has the necessary talent. However, the roster will need to stay healthy if they’re to have any shot at success.
Internal Development Will Help The Celtics
When looking beyond the star players and big names, it’s clear the Celtics have a litany of young talent capable of making an impact. Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh and Chris Cenac Jr. will be fighting for playing time this season.
If one or more of those young talents can take a developmental leap during this season, the Celtics will become a much better team, and their chances of success will ultimately rise.
Boston is in the second year of a retooling process. Banking on young players outplaying their contracts is part of the journey. Hopefully, multiple young guys will put their stamp on the team this season.
Celtics Given Surprising Outlook After Jaylen Brown Trade