Before the 2025-26 NBA season began, the majority of the basketball community had dismissed the Boston Celtics as a serious contender. The notion was justified since they would be without Jayson Tatum. However, they have shut all the doubters up with their impressive 22-12 start.
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The scary part for the rest of the NBA is that the team hasn’t completely closed the door on Tatum’s return this season. The Celtics, who were one of the favorites to win the NBA championship last season, had their campaign unravel after Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury.
That led to a snowball of developments, too, including trades that saw Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis leave. In the matter of a few months, the Celtics’ championship core was eviscerated.
At the time, people had doubts about whether Jaylen Brown could lead a team. Derrick White, who was supposed to assume second option responsibilities, would be doing it for the first time in his career. There were also questions surrounding the team’s bench depth, which led to many experts overlooking them.
Despite all the doubts, Boston didn’t waste any time picking up from where they left off. They sit third in the East and are on pace to position themselves for potentially another deep postseason run.
NBA analyst Tim Bontemps’ belief in the Celtics has increased over the course of the season, largely due to Brown’s performance. “Let me say, Jaylen Brown is having a phenomenal season,” he said on The Hoop Collective.
“He’s doing it with Jayson Tatum out as the number one option, being the focal point of the defense every night,” added Bontemps.
To say Brown is having a great season is a bit of an understatement. The former Finals MVP is averaging 30.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. He’s putting up career-highs across the board and making an excellent case for an All-NBA First Team nod.
Most importantly, he has propelled the Celtics into an Eastern Conference contender yet again. And their fear factor could reach even greater heights if they receive reinforcements before the postseason.
“I will continue to say if Jayson Tatum can come back and be some facsimile of what he was before he got hurt, the Celtics are a real threat in the East. All these other teams have very serious flaws, and the Celtics have been there and done that,” Bontemps added.
The only teams ahead of the Celtics in the standings are the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks. Although the Pistons are great, they are still a young team that lacks a secondary star alongside Cade Cunningham.
The Knicks have proven to be a thorn in the Celtics’ side. But they don’t have the elite defense they once did. A fully healthy Celtics team could certainly utilize its experience to prevail in a postseason environment.
Of course, this is a tall task to ask of Tatum, who hasn’t played competitive basketball for months. However, it’s impossible to ignore championship pedigree, which is something the Celtics definitely possess.
