The Boston Celtics open their regular season Tuesday afternoon in Detroit, and this team comes with a long list of questions that will shape everything from the rotation to the playoff path.
Joe Mazzulla has already made one thing clear: the rotation won’t be set in stone. There are a few starters he can count on, but the rest is going to change as the season unfolds.
That puts a spotlight on the younger wings, where Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, and Ron Harper Jr. are all competing for real minutes. The early pecking order is still up for grabs, and those roles may not stay fixed for long.
There are also bigger questions attached to the veterans. Derrick White is coming off a 2025-26 season in which his defense stood out, but his shooting nosedived. He said he got into his own head and made the problem worse, so the big test is whether he can settle in and start hitting again.
Health is another major thread. Paul George and Mitchell Robinson are expected to miss time as the Celtics carefully manage their workload, trying to keep them as fresh as possible.
Both have injury histories that make them more vulnerable than most, which means Boston’s depth won’t just be helpful - it may be necessary. How those reserve pieces handle shifting roles will matter too.
Jayson Tatum is also a central storyline. The preseason showed he is fully healthy and ready to go, and now the Celtics want to see whether he can push his game even further and make an MVP run. They believe there’s another level there.
Robinson’s development is another one to watch. Mazzulla has said publicly that he needs to expand his game and become more dynamic. If that happens, it would give Boston’s offense another dimension beyond the space created by his rim runs.
The schedule adds its own pressure. November looks rough, with a road-heavy stretch and some odd travel built in. That kind of grind can wear a team down quickly.
And the East doesn’t look forgiving. The conference is stacked, and one early stumble can leave a team chasing the pack.
That’s part of why Boston’s regular-season margin matters so much. The Celtics know how to win games this time of year, and while the competition has its own issues - the New York Knicks dealing with a championship hangover, the Philadelphia 76ers facing likely long absences for Joel Embiid and LeBron James along with a lack of center depth, and the Detroit Pistons seeming like a team that overachieved last season - the Celtics still may have to fight for the top seed.
It could even come down to a tiebreaker.
The prediction attached to all of that is 51 wins, which splits the difference between 50 and 52. The idea is that this could be a better overall team than last season, even if the win total doesn’t climb because there aren’t tanking teams to pad against.
As for the postseason, the current forecast stops at the Eastern Conference Finals. That isn’t exactly a bold call, but it fits the shape of the conference.
The team that emerges from the East will likely be the one that stays healthiest and gets the best matchups. None of the top contenders look matchup-proof, and no one enters the season with enough overwhelming talent to make those concerns disappear.
The Celtics’ own ceiling is high enough to reach the NBA Finals. But the warning comes with it: they’re also one sprained ankle or bad matchup away from an early exit.
Boston’s preseason numbers hint at the kind of defensive force it wants to be. The Celtics were fourth in steals per game at 12.8 and finished first in defensive rating. The approach looks more aggressive than conservative, and with two strong rim-protecting centers behind it, the defense can afford to take some calculated chances.
There were also a few individual preseason notes worth tracking. Hugo Gonzalez led the team in made and attempted threes, going 11-20 for 55%, though the sample is tiny.
Paul George played nearly 49 minutes across two games, which comes out to about 25 minutes per game, and that seems like the right balance between rhythm and restraint. Baylor Scheierman dished out 18 assists, tying Payton Pritchard for the team lead, and while nobody expects him to run the offense, that kind of playmaking would be a major development if it carries into the regular season.
Here’s how the opening-night roster looks, along with the two-way players:
Guards: Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Mike Conley, Devin Carter (Two-Way)
Wings: Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo González, Jordan Walsh, Ron Harper Jr., Dillon Mitchell (Two-Way)
Bigs: Mitchell Robinson, Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Chris Cenac Jr., Amari Williams (Two-Way)
The full schedule is set as well, with national TV listings included and all times listed in Eastern time.
In Other News...
Celtics Already Have A Payton Pritchard Problem They Promised To Fix
After the offseason trade of Jaylen Brown and a contract extension for Payton Pritchard, the Celtics entered the season with a clear expectation that his role would grow. Instead, the opener offered a familiar look. Pritchard came off the bench and was on the floor for 27 minutes, but his place in the offense never really changed in a way that suggested a new level of responsibility.
He still managed to score 17 points, tied for second on the team, but the way he got there looked more like last season than the next step Boston seemed to be promising. With limited involvement in the half-court and only one assist to show for the night, the question is already less about whether Pritchard can produce and more about how the Celtics plan to use him moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Kendrick Perkins Just Turned Up The Pressure On The Celtics
Boston looked sharp in its first game against Detroit, a reminder that even with offseason changes, the Celtics still project as one of the leagues upper-tier teams. But the early-season vibe around this group has been complicated by the usual Boston standard: good regular-season play is expected, and the conversation always drifts quickly to whether the roster is truly built for June.
Kendrick Perkins added to that pressure with a blunt assessment of where the Celtics stand right now. The former Boston center drew a hard line between being good and being a real title threat, pointing to the roster as part of the concern and putting the spotlight squarely on Jayson Tatum in the process. For a team that has spent years being measured against championship expectations, it is the kind of outside criticism that lingers until the Celtics prove otherwise. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Already Have A Starting Lineup Debate After Opening Loss
The Celtics opened their season with a loss to the Pistons, and it didnt take long for the first lineup question to surface. Boston got useful bench minutes from Baylor Scheierman and Sam Hauser, two forwards who brought some pop to the offense after checking in, which only sharpened the conversation about how the rotation should be shaped going forward.
There is already a case to be made for one of those shooters moving into the starting five to help create more spacing early in games, especially if the Celtics want a cleaner offensive rhythm out of the gate. The tougher part is figuring out who comes out to make room, and that decision will say plenty about how Boston wants to balance defense, energy and shot-making in the games ahead. [Read more 🡒]