The Boston Celtics have already lived through the aftershocks of their transformational trade, the one that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia. The reaction has settled into a familiar place: Boston is expected to be strong in the regular season, but there’s a growing chorus saying the Celtics won’t have the playoff muscle to matter when it counts.
ESPN leaned into that view in Zach Kram’s 2026-27 NBA preview, which sorted all 30 teams into tiers. Boston landed in “Regular-season win machines,” alongside the Pistons and Cavaliers. Kram said the Celtics should be good for 50-plus wins, but questioned their postseason ceiling and argued they gave up championship equity by moving the 2024 Finals MVP.
The rest of Kram’s Eastern Conference tiers only sharpened the contrast. He placed the Knicks in “Championship favorites,” while the Pacers, Heat, 76ers, and Raptors were all grouped as “High-upside Finals contenders.”
That’s where the pushback starts.
The idea that Boston’s style won’t hold up in the playoffs has gotten way too big, way too fast. Yes, the Celtics got knocked out in the first round by the Sixers last season, but that doesn’t erase the larger sample. Their 82-game body of work last year still matters, and so does the way the first five games of that series played out, when Boston looked like it was barreling toward the Knicks.
The previous year’s loss to New York also gets thrown into the conversation, but that series came with a pile of chaos: two ridiculous comebacks and collapses, a Jayson Tatum Achilles injury, Kristaps Porzingis fighting a mystery illness, and a Celtics team that looked drained trying to repeat as champions. That kind of burden has worn down plenty of title teams before.
And before that? Boston won the 2024 Finals, reached Game 7 of the East Finals in 2023, and got to the NBA Finals in 2022. That’s not the profile of a team whose system suddenly stops working once the playoffs start.
The roster looks different now, but not empty. Tatum remains.
So do Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser from that title rotation. Boston also has Paul George, a newly crowned champion in Mitchell Robinson, and a group of players who earned their stripes last season.
Joe Mazzulla, the reigning Coach of the Year, is still steering the ship.
That’s why the skepticism feels off. These are proud players and champions, and they know exactly what has been said about them over the last 18 months.
The noise has reached them. If anything, that only adds to the motivation.
So when the conversation turns to Boston as a team that can stack regular-season wins but supposedly can’t survive the playoffs, it’s hard to buy. The Celtics may not need to be the East favorites on paper, but writing them off as if they’re not even in the contender picture makes no sense.
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Jayson Tatums New Jordan Release Says Everything About His Celtics Status
Jayson Tatums latest signature shoe is being introduced with a clear basketball-first message, built around control and responsiveness rather than flash for flashs sake. The Jordan Tatum 5 includes a dynamic utility strap, a 10mm forefoot Air Zoom unit and a herringbone traction pattern, while its design nods to Bostons skyline and Tatums No. 0, tying the release directly to the Celtics stars place in the city.
The rollout begins in China on Sept. 24 before a global launch, with several colorways and pricing tiers already set. For Boston fans, the shoe is another reminder of how firmly Tatum sits at the center of the franchise's present and future, with even his signature line reflecting the identity he has built in green. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Suddenly Have A Cheap Flier Worth Watching Closely
The Celtics are always watching the margins of the roster, and Walter Clayton Jr. has become one of the more interesting names to surface as Memphis works to get down to the NBA limit. The Grizzlies have to waive four players, and that kind of squeeze can turn a lesser-known prospect into a possible bargain for a team looking to add a cheap flier with some upside. Claytons path and past production have made him a player worth monitoring, especially for a Boston front office that is never shy about looking for value where other teams are forced to make cuts.
Still, the fit is not automatic, and there are reasons to be cautious before penciling in any move. Claytons career trajectory suggests there is something to work with, but the Celtics would need to weigh whether he is simply a speculative add or someone who can actually carve out a role in their environment. For now, the intrigue comes from the situation in Memphis as much as from Clayton himself, with Boston positioned to see whether roster pressure elsewhere creates an opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Could Face A Tough Trust Call On Former Lakers Guard
DAngelo Russell is suddenly back in the mix as a possible name to watch for Boston, at least if Memphis decides its roster logjam makes him expendable before the season starts. The Celtics would have to weigh the appeal of a guard with real shot-making skill against the reality that his career has often been defined by flashes rather than steady, dependable production, which is why any possible fit would likely be viewed through the same lens as other scoring guards on the market.
For Boston, the conversation is less about a sure thing than about another potential backcourt option if the right opening appears. Russells game draws some comparison to Anfernee Simons in the sense that he can create offense and handle pressure on the ball, but the bigger question is whether he would be a priority or simply a fallback if the Celtics decide they need one more veteran guard for the season ahead. [Read more 🡒]