Boston Celtics: Championship Run or Playoff Disappointment?

The green giant is still standing. Promised to be tired of a transitional season without real ambitions, the Celtics are still asserting themselves as a strong place in the championship in 2026. Boston, the most successful franchise on the NBA circuit, had to take a step back after having asserted itself as one of the benchmark teams in the Eastern Conference for almost a decade. The failure in the quest for the double after the 2024 coronation has led to a downsizing of the squad which has won 125 regular season matches out of 164 possible (76% victories) over the past two years.

The Celtics, a franchise with a strong identity

The leaders did not hesitate to sacrifice executives of the group, both in the locker room and on the field, by transferring Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis while leaving Al Horford and Luke Kornet during the last Free Agency. Decisions made with a single logic in mind: reducing payroll in order to avoid paying heavy taxes for another year. Especially in the absence of Jayson Tatum, victim of a torn Achilles tendon during the Conference semi-finals lost against the Knicks, the Celtics could no longer, at least a priori, remain at the top of the hierarchy. They therefore attacked the season with a younger group, more vague objectives and even a higher controlled crash potential in the event of a prolonged injury to Jaylen Brown.

But it was therefore a bad reading. Easy to say after the fact. With or without its superstar and its veterans, Boston remains a team with a clear identity, a well-established playing philosophy mastered by the players as well as a coach with a strong personality. So many elements which usually help to get through a long exercise of 82 matches. If the roster could seem weak, it is also partly because the duty players of the best teams are sometimes less highlighted while in reality being quality basketball players able to contribute to the proper functioning of a machine to pile up victories. Just look at what Kornet brings to the Spurs today after being limited to a quarter of an hour per evening during his last two seasons with the Celtics.

“Everyone doubted us“, Derrick White recently emphasized. “We’re hungry. Our guys play with some form of pressure on their shoulders. These are players who have been fired or haven’t had opportunities in the NBA until now.“We can count on a coach like Joe Mazzulla to play on this rope of the team underestimated by the rest of the world. He knows how to get the best out of his men. And this card of the unloved, it sticks so well to the skin of Jaylen Brown, sometimes snubbed despite an already rich record with a ring and a Finals MVP trophy. The back has often found himself cited in rumors of hypothetical transfers involving Anthony Davis or Kevin Durant. He is always in the Massachusetts When the questions did not concern his understanding and complementarity with Tatum, they revolved around his ability to evolve as a first option for a franchise.

Jaylen Brown has transformed into an MVP candidate

“When people don’t believe in me, it motivates me, it pushes me. I like my back to the wall“, rightly assured the man who has just seen the honorary title of player of the month pass under his nose despite the fact that he broke a Larry Bird franchise record while taking his team to first place in the Eastern Conference. He is on the verge of silencing all his detractors one by one by playing at a level of play worthy of the ten or twelve best basketball players on the planet. He even considers himself to be “the best two-way player“, namely the one who is most able to contribute effectively on both sides of the field. It is true that Brown does not shy away from any challenge. Both to lead his team in scoring (29.6 points per game, a score of 50 points last Sunday) and to defend against opposing stars.

Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics).

Credit: Getty Images

It was not illegitimate to wonder how the 29-year-old would cope with all the attention now on him, without being able to take advantage of the spaces created by Jayson Tatum. Until now, he had always had a better creator at his side, even the times when he established himself as Boston’s most prolific scorer. This season, he is in charge of the attack. Ensuring a high level of efficiency by ensuring greater volume is a daunting task that usually separates stars from superstars.

Jaylen Brown takes 21 shots on average each night, a personal best, and he is above 50% success rate for the first time in his career. He also posted 36% from behind the arc in almost six attempts and caused more fouls than ever. His 4.9 passes also constitute a new benchmark mark. So is he really the best two-way player in the world? Probably not as long as Giannis Antetokounmpo plays basketball. But he at least deserves to be included in the broader discussion for MVP.

Because the Celtics are on the rise. They have just won eight of their last nine meetings, to the point of moving up to second place in their Conference (record: 23-12). They can still hope to finish first at the end of the season if they manage to ride this dynamic for three more months. The Pistons remain at the top of the rankings with more matches in advance but it is Boston which has the best net rating, and even third in the NBA behind Oklahoma City and Houston, with +8 points on 100 possessions. Mazzulla’s players particularly excel in attack and score 122 points out of 100 possessions. Only the Nuggets do better with 123 units. More generally, the club has had the best record since December 1st.

Should the front office already draw conclusions and review priorities for the current season? The current results suggest that the Celtics are potentially one more piece and a possible return of Jayson Tatum away from being in contention for the trophy again. A trade should obviously never be ruled out in the event of a good opportunity. That doesn’t mean Boston will approach the weeks leading up to the deadline as buyers. It’s even quite the opposite. The plan has always been to continue to save money, in particular by trying to go below the threshold of the Luxury Tax, the tax on wealth in the NBA.

Why caution remains in order in Boston

With the CBA in force, the penalties for teams above the famous “apron” are far too restrictive to ignore. Attempting a trade that would allow Boston to gain competitiveness would in principle mean going back to the second (and final) tier with extremely high taxes for the organization’s new owners. Logically, the Celtics could therefore try to part with Sam Hauser or exchange Anfernee Simons, whose contract is expiring, for a player with a similar profile but with a lower salary just to continue to believe in it while respecting the initial guideline. Ayo Dosunmu is a track to watch. It’s tempting to imagine management going in search of a confirmed pivot, for example Ivica Zubac, but such a deal would not be made without sacrificing future draft rounds. The Clippers would like at least two for their Croatian interior.

Jayson Tatum with the Boston Celtics

Credit: Getty Images

As for a return of Tatum this season, this remains a very uncertain scenario. Mazzulla said the decision would be up to the player. The latter would be ahead of his rehabilitation program and he will undoubtedly be hungry for basketball. From there to taking the risk of rushing back in March? The hypothesis remains unlikely. The game is probably not worth the effort. Even with their winger, out of rhythm and looking for sensation, Boston still seems a little tight to really go all the way. A Conference final or an NBA final would not be ruled out if everything clicks with the theoretical return of the latter. But it would definitely take time to adapt. There is a limit of talent, of defensive abilities of this group, knowing that the playoffs are another basketball, where the skill can fluctuate. Not optimal for a team which today relies a lot on its three-point volume and less on its defense (underestimated aspect of the group titled in 2024).

By returning in a hurry, Jayson Tatum would undoubtedly generate excitement among the rarely measured fans in Boston. There would then suddenly be raised expectations and the All-Star winger will have to find his bearings, probably with relapses, when the intensity is the highest. We might as well let Jaylen Brown carry the franchise, which for once is fully focused on him, and enjoy the playoffs in the shoes of the alpha male. In the end, this season is more exciting than expected, whatever its final outcome, reminds us that the Celtics are very well managed and particularly equipped to quickly return to the top of the NBA. If only they had gotten off.