Boston Celtics
“We’re looking at other teams — we feel like we’re just as talented or we could beat them.”
The 2025-26 Celtics still have a solid core in place headlined the presence of established players like Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard.
Championship expectations aren’t exactly in place for roster that was stripped down over the last few months due to injury and cap-related measures.
But, even with Jayson Tatum sidelined with a ruptured Achilles tendon and Boston losing (or dealing away) the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet, Brown believes this reworked roster still has the means to make some noise this winter.
“We just gotta stay the course,” Brown said Monday at the Auerbach Center. “We got enough. We’re looking at other teams — we feel like we’re just as talented or we could beat them. The most important thing is not hanging your head after some mistakes or hanging your head after a loss. We just gotta move forward.”
Boston should have enough talent to at least remain the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference — especially if players like Brown and Pritchard step up in elevated roles.
But Boston still does have some evident flaws in place on this roster, especially when it comes to depleted front court trudging ahead without several stalwarts in place.
In particular, rebounding has been a point of consternation for Joe Mazzulla during preseason action — with Boston now longer having the luxury of having big bodies like Tatum, Porzingis, Horford, and others in place down low.
As noted by NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg, Boston’s 64.3 percent defensive rebound rate this preseason would have been 3.5 percent worse than last-place Philadelphia for the entirety of the 2024-25 season.
But, Brown believes that some of the expected growing pains drawn from this season should benefit a reworked roster and several new faces — with Brown himself ready to step into a new role as Boston’s de-facto scorer and leader on the court with Tatum sidelined.
“I come to work every day trying to share my experiences, my basketball knowledge,” Brown said. “And also thinking about how I can bring the most out of everybody around me and my teammates. How to make them better as well as trying to perform at my highest level. It’s a balance.
“I have the tools to do it. I think I’ve been in enough roles throughout my years to have a good feel for everything. I’m embracing it; I’m enjoying it.”
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