It's going to be a strange year this year 25-26

[liam]

This is going to be a strange year. With Tatum maybe looming in the spring and a lot of pieces that could move. I'm not sure how this team will fit as a group. Joe will need to play more guys and change it up. Maybe try and play a lot of guys and run and play crazy fast like the Pacers last year... This is the first time in a while were I didn't reasonably know what to expect, not that what I expected happened every year but I had expectations. It could be fun if Joe really throws the kitchen sink in and tries a lot of different things. This team seems like one that Brad would be a better coach for but we will see!

[perks-a-beast]

I would be stunned if the Celtics are in playoff contention by the time Tatum feels he is ready to come back. Best he just takes the year off and we try our luck in the lottery in a stacked draft.

For those who think this team can be a pleasant surprise, I would like to remind them that our bigs are Queta, Garza, Minott, and Boucher.

[radiohead]

I?m really excited to watch this team with no expectations. It helps that everyone is saying the right things during media day. I saw this bit on X saying he?s feeling a lot better and he lost 12 pounds. It?s aslo nice to finally see Anfernee Simons in a Celtics uniform. DW said Luke Garza has been impressive. And let?s not forget our rookie Hugo?will he get regular minutes? Lots of things to look forward to. Go Celtics!

[radiohead]

This is going to be a strange year. With Tatum maybe looming in the spring and a lot of pieces that could move. I'm not sure how this team will fit as a group. Joe will need to play more guys and change it up. Maybe try and play a lot of guys and run and play crazy fast like the Pacers last year... This is the first time in a while were I didn't reasonably know what to expect, not that what I expected happened every year but I had expectations. It could be fun if Joe really throws the kitchen sink in and tries a lot of different things. This team seems like one that Brad would be a better coach for but we will see!

X did say that they?re playing a lot faster now. Jordan Walsh also said that Joe is toying with the idea of platoon substitutions to keep the five guys on the court fresh. I think this team as presently constructed will still be a bottom playoff team. If JT comes back and Brad swings a few mid season deals?then who knows!

[Donoghus]

Sometimes the most fun seasons are the ones where you have zero expectations.

[mobilija]

This team could very well be a good regular season team. I think they will score a lot of points. I doubt it will translate to playoff basketball success but I?d wager money they have a good enough regular season to be a playoff team.

[SparzWizard]

The C's won't be like 2013 bad, but probably 2014 bad.

Think that was the year when we picked up Isaiah Thomas midseason and Rondo was shipped out. Got swept in the first-round

[Neurotic Guy]

I don?t want them to be bad, but I don?t know that they will be.
Looking at the top teams in the conference the Cs aren?t going to be there but I?m not sure how they?ll fare v. the rest of the East. 

It won?t be fun if they play horribly and lose 2 out of 3 games. But if they are competitive and the games are entertaining and they win close to or more than half, I?m on board with watching how Q does, how PP does in more of a leadership role, how JB does as the clear number 1, whether Simons defense is as horrific as advertised, whether DW is as effective being the number 2 guy.  And the youngs - I haven?t given up on Walsh or Baylor, looking forward to Minott, hopeful that Hugo can grow over the course of the season. And maybe Garza get his opportunity and flourishes.  And I think Boucher is going to look fine here.  I also think Simons is a really good offensive player and I?m looking forward to seeing how he meshes with JB, DW, PP, Sam. the team should be fun. 

The player I?m most interested in watching is Q. I think his play will determine playoffs or not.  It also may be a factor in whether I?m rooting for a March Tatum return v. an October, 2026 return.   Further, if Q outplays expectations and Tatum looks like a 25-26 return is possible,  I?m very excited to speculate and see what Brad can do to address needs at the deadline.   Lots to be excited about.

[Muzzy66]

I don?t want them to be bad, but I don?t know that they will be.
Looking at the top teams in the conference the Cs aren?t going to be there but I?m not sure how they?ll fare v. the rest of the East. 

It won?t be fun if they play horribly and lose 2 out of 3 games. But if they are competitive and the games are entertaining and they win close to or more than half, I?m on board with watching how Q does, how PP does in more of a leadership role, how JB does as the clear number 1, whether Simons defense is as horrific as advertised, whether DW is as effective being the number 2 guy.  And the youngs - I haven?t given up on Walsh or Baylor, looking forward to Minott, hopeful that Hugo can grow over the course of the season. And maybe Garza get his opportunity and flourishes.  And I think Boucher is going to look fine here.  I also think Simons is a really good offensive player and I?m looking forward to seeing how he meshes with JB, DW, PP, Sam. the team should be fun. 

The player I?m most interested in watching is Q. I think his play will determine playoffs or not.  It also may be a factor in whether I?m rooting for a March Tatum return v. an October, 2026 return.   Further, if Q outplays expectations and Tatum looks like a 25-26 return is possible,  I?m very excited to speculate and see what Brad can do to address needs at the deadline.   Lots to be excited about.

I don't think the team will be bad at all.  People may call me crazy, but I wouldn't be shocked if we end up in a top 4 seed.

Sometimes last season it felt like we almost had too much talent.  We won the title so easily the prior year that I think guys got overly confident and allowed themselves to get complacent mentally- believing that they could just cruise past teams on talent alone. 

This year the team will have no such false confidence.  They will be underestimated and disrespected from day one.  Expectations will be low, and I think they will come out there with a chip on their shoulder and with a strong desire to remind people that this is a team that one a championship just two seasons ago despite routinely fighting through injuries.   

Somehow I feel like this team will play harder and with more consistent effort.  And while losing Tatum is huge, obviously, there is always that "Patrick Ewing effect" - often teams can grow too dependent on one star player, and when that guy goes down the teamwork and ball movement can improve.

[slightly biased bias fan]

It is going to be a wasted year, I can almost guarantee it. Not along the line of contending, but of pointless mediocrity.

Mazzulla is insanely competitive. He will not play the kids anywhere near enough to help them develop. Stevens is a hands off GM so he will not pressure Mazzulla to use this opportunity to develop the newly acquired young talent.

It is obvious Tatum wants to play this season too. I assume Tatum will come back with a few months to go in the season, just to risk re-injury for a bunch of pointless games.

This season should be viewed as a gap year. Develop the young talent, get Brown & White their reps and get a lottery pick in an extremely deep draft. But unfortunately it will not be the case.

My bet is the Celtics bury the kids in the G-League or with DNPs, and the team ends up getting the 7th or 8th seed in a terrible eastern conference.


Prichard
White
Brown
Hauser
Queta

Simons
Scheierman
Walsh
Boucher
Garza

[celticinorlando]

Just don't see where any scoring is going to come from. You have a lot of bodies on this team that can't contribute.

I really don't see anything out of Walsh, Minot and Garza. Simons plays no defense. Baylor is still young. Same with Hugo.

This team will be clunky and hard to watch night in and out.

My guess is

11
9
7
99
88

Start

4, 30, 55, 52 and 8 will be the bench. Maybe 27 also. Hugo plays mostly in the G league.

9 or 10 seed in the East.

[aefgogreen]

The east is so bad, I think they'll make the play-in at the very least. 43 wins sounds about right.  If he's 100%, I'd like Tatum to come back and at the very least, get some reps in.  I'd rather have that then start the next season cold.

[slamtheking]

I'm really pessimistic about the level of play we'll see this year.  I'm expecting them to make the tail-end of the lottery.  Their frontcourt is just horrid.  Love watching Q but he's not starter caliber on good team.  Boucher looks like the starting PF and he's not starter quality either.  Team has 5 guys that have shown they can score in Brown, White, PP, Simons and Hauser (although he had consistency issues last year) and only 3 can really be on the floor at a time or we'll get killed on the boards and in the lane on D.

having 3 of the 5 scorers on the floor at any time should help avoid scoring droughts but we've had that the past couple of years when we had even more firepower with KP, Al, Jrue and Tatum.

bottom line for this year, hope someone else on the roster shows some real breakthrough talent while the team is losing games due to lack of quality big men that can provide defense, rebounding and some scoring.  This team, to me, feels a lot like the PP teams post-Antoine trade and pre-KG trade.  One all-star (PP --> Brown), one decent side-kick (Davis --> White [yes White is much better than Ricky Davis but you get the analogy]) and a lot of hopefuls that will struggle without more quality players on the roster to hide their deficiencies.

thought this team would win low 30's for games but swapping out Niang for Boucher I think gets them to the mid-to-high 30's for wins.  if that gets them to the tail end of the play-in group, I hope Brad finally swings a deal to move Simons for young talent (to hopefully blossom in upcoming seasons) and some draft capital (and not just second round picks).

[Moranis]

I think it is far more likely Brown is shut down for the year (at some point) than Tatum is to play at all this year. 

[celticinorlando]

I really hope this is the last year we see Queta, Walsh, Garza and Minnot in a Celtics uniform.

I get this year is lost because this is an unserious roster made up with spare parts. But next season needs to change.