Internally, the Celtics believed they could make some noise this season.
“You never really know going into the season, but I was pretty confident in the summer that we would do a lot of good things,” Derrick White said. “Obviously, we had a lot of new faces and new roles, so you don’t know how quickly it’s gonna happen, but I was pretty confident going into the season.”
Outside the organization, the expectations were far more modest, and understandably so.
In an effort to duck the NBA’s dreaded second apron, Boston moved on from Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Luke Kornet and Al Horford departed in free agency. Jayson Tatum is sidelined indefinitely while recovering from a ruptured Achilles. In total, five of the Celtics’ top nine minute-getters from the previous two seasons — including the 2024 championship run — weren’t going to be on the floor.
The result was a dramatic recalibration. Evidenced by Boston’s preseason win total being set at 41.5, its lowest since the 2014–15 season.
Call it a “retooling year.” Call it a “gap year.” Whatever the label, few expected that by the first week of January, the Celtics would be one of just eight teams at least 10 games over .500, and sitting tied in the loss column with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
“I want to speak on how rare it is to have five, six new players come in and add to winning right away. It says a lot about our leadership. It says a lot about our coaching staff because that does not happen in the NBA,” Jaylen Brown said. “And I think that should get talked about more. We lost Luke, Al, Jrue, JT, and Porzingis, all like potential Hall of Famers, and replaced them with Hugo [Gonzalez], Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott, Neemias Queta, Baylor Scheierman, Anfernee [Simons] – most of those guys had not played in the league consistently. And for us to be where we’re at, it’s a testament to our leadership, organization, and the coaching staff. That does not happen in the NBA. That rarely ever happens.”
It is rare. And the way the Celtics have done it makes it even more so.
It’s not hyperbolic to say Boston has been one of the league’s elite teams. After scoring 146 points in the finale of a season-long five-game road trip — behind a 50-point night from Brown against a Clippers team that had ranked first in defensive rating over the previous two weeks — the Celtics own an offensive rating of 122.3, second-best in the NBA, trailing only Denver (123.1).
Remarkably, Boston’s offense is more efficient per 100 possessions than it was last season (119.5) and even slightly better than the 64-win, championship-winning 2024 team (122.2). This is without Jayson Tatum, who averaged 26.8 points per game last season, accounting for roughly 23% of the scoring.
Defensively, they are holding opponents to 110.7 points per game, the second-lowest mark in the league, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder (107.1). Opponents are shooting 45.1% against the Celtics, the third-lowest mark in the NBA.
Put it all together, and the numbers are clear. Boston owns the NBA’s third-best net rating (7.8) and point differential (+242), both best in the Eastern Conference. Saturday’s 31-point win over the Clippers was the Celtics’ seventh by 20 or more points (third-most in the NBA) and their fourth by 30-plus (second-most in the NBA), both tops in the East.
Since their 0-3 start, their worst in over a decade, they have the third-best record in the NBA at 22-9.
What the Celtics have accomplished so far this season is nothing short of remarkable. A team some had penciled in for the lottery is now on pace to win 53 games. Still, they aren’t satisfied.
“I kinda thought we could be in this picture and even better,” Payton Pritchard said. “We’re not happy with third [place in the East]. We’re not sitting there like, ‘Oh, man. We’re in third place.’ We’re used to winning championships and being first. And that’s what we’re trying to get to.”
Boston has put itself in striking distance of first. They’re just half a game behind the second-seeded Knicks and three back of first-seeded Detroit, with New York set to visit Detroit on Monday night.
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