Celtics 2025-2026 Discussion

[bresna]

Queta was something else last night. He made a couple of crazy drives to the hoop that were something we usually see from the littler guys.

Vooch's defense might be a problem. He is not a shot blocker at the hoop like I thought he'd be and it seems like anyone he covers gets a free shot. Bigs like Embiid, Wemby, Giannis & even Bam are going to eat him alive in the playoffs. He's a lot like KP offensively but that's where the comparison ends.

 

[rochrist]

Those teams and I don't think they would beat the NYK, CLE, HOU or MN in a best of 7.

I do. Certainly if Tatum is back.

 

[bresna]

I'm going to say it... I wonder if this particular team might regress if Tatum returns this year. Their game is all about a swarming defense and an offense that generally avoids iso-ball. I actually don't miss Tatum's iso-ball heaves from beyond the arc. I do miss his drives to hoop, but as we saw last night, quite a few of them are driving to the hoop. Hugo's moves to the hoop were particularly impressive last night. If Tatum was playing, would we have seen that?

Vooch still can't cover though. I found it pretty interesting that they usually put a smaller forward on Giannis and relied on doubling him rather than trying to use Vooch on him one on one. When that did happen, Giannis scored or got fouled. Although there's the "old dog new tricks" adage at play here, I do hope Mazzulla can get him to try new things.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I do. Certainly if Tatum is back.

Even for 15-20 minutes a game....with JT off the bench they are now a top 5 team.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I'm going to say it... I wonder if this particular team might regress if Tatum returns this year. Their game is all about a swarming defense and an offense that generally avoids iso-ball. I actually don't miss Tatum's iso-ball heaves from beyond the arc. I do miss his drives to hoop, but as we saw last night, quite a few of them are driving to the hoop. Hugo's moves to the hoop were particularly impressive last night. If Tatum was playing, would we have seen that?

Vooch still can't cover though. I found it pretty interesting that they usually put a smaller forward on Giannis and relied on doubling him rather than trying to use Vooch on him one on one. When that did happen, Giannis scored or got fouled. Although there's the "old dog new tricks" adage at play here, I do hope Mazzulla can get him to try new things.

Agree completely. Launching 3s and iso ball is not what this team needs right now.

They are 28th in assists p/g and 29th in FTs p/g. 19th in PPG. They are 3rd shots per game so as a team they are not bashful.

If anything, i'd want JT going to the hoop/creating and less White shooting. They dude needs more open looks. Just in that, overall offensive efficiency would increase dramatically. JB, White, Pritch, Hauser, and Vooch would also get more open looks.

 

[bresna]

But if JT does come back this year, is driving to the hoop going to be something he can do like he used to? I imagine pushing off & accelerating rapidly is going to be one of the hardest things to do with a repaired Achilles, right? It would seem more likely that he's going to be used as a straight shooter rather than chance re-injuring his Achilles driving to the hoop.

 

[jimnance]

But if JT does come back this year, is driving to the hoop going to be something he can do like he used to? I imagine pushing off & accelerating rapidly is going to be one of the hardest things to do with a repaired Achilles, right? It would seem more likely that he's going to be used as a straight shooter rather than chance re-injuring his Achilles driving to the hoop.

If JT comes back, there's no way he'll be the same caliber player he was pre- injury.
It's not the physical aspect- since there's no way he comes back unless he's 100% healthy; no its the mental aspect of fully trusting your body to do everything, including highly explosive moves, high-speed twisting and quick changes of direction. That takes time. So I'd expect he'd come off the bench on reduced minutes, slowly increasing.
There's also the ability to adapt to the team chemistry. JT has spoken many times about this, not wanting to mess with what his teammates have built. That will take time as well. Everyone on the C's is on the same page and he's been highly involved with the team; but there is nothing that prepares you to play in actual real games besides playing them.
And we all know playoff hoops is a totally different animal. I'd love to see him come back and work his way to being close to the top of his abilities, since that makes the C's legit title contenders. But I don't expect it.
That said, I also didn't expect the degree of awesomeness we got from his teammates this year. So who knows?

 

[RobertWeathers]

But if JT does come back this year, is driving to the hoop going to be something he can do like he used to? I imagine pushing off & accelerating rapidly is going to be one of the hardest things to do with a repaired Achilles, right? It would seem more likely that he's going to be used as a straight shooter rather than chance re-injuring his Achilles driving to the hoop.

We have to assume he'll be 100%. I don't know how or why they'd want him to come back at anything less. He needs to be completely without any physical limitations. If he has them then he shouldn't play.

If he does come back, his issues will be timing, conditioning, stiffness, and soreness.

 

[RobertWeathers]

If JT comes back, there's no way he'll be the same caliber player he was pre- injury.
It's not the physical aspect- since there's no way he comes back unless he's 100% healthy; no its the mental aspect of fully trusting your body to do everything, including highly explosive moves, high-speed twisting and quick changes of direction. That takes time. So I'd expect he'd come off the bench on reduced minutes, slowly increasing.
There's also the ability to adapt to the team chemistry. JT has spoken many times about this, not wanting to mess with what his teammates have built. That will take time as well. Everyone on the C's is on the same page and he's been highly involved with the team; but there is nothing that prepares you to play in actual real games besides playing them.
And we all know playoff hoops is a totally different animal. I'd love to see him come back and work his way to being close to the top of his abilities, since that makes the C's legit title contenders. But I don't expect it.
That said, I also didn't expect the degree of awesomeness we got from his teammates this year. So who knows?

Yep. Easing him into the sub patters, game flow, etc is what's critical. Let it happen organically (kind of)

 

[jimnance]

Yep. Easing him into the sub patters, game flow, etc is what's critical. Let it happen organically (kind of)

I really enjoy watching this team. They all play with nonstop motors. Constant hustle.
Goes against the narrative some folks like to spin about NBA basketball.( mostly people who don't watch it, which is funny if you think about it). Though there is a morsel of truth there, not in playoffs but in regular season with some teams sometimes not giving max effort.
Not the C's. These guys always play hard.
Look at their 3 top players: Brown,White and Pritch- always hustling. Same with all the young guys and rotational players. Gonzalez,
Walsh,Scheierman,Queta. Harper,too.
I didntcrenew my league pass thus year and now I wish I had. Good news is they're on national TV a lot.

 

[BTTA]

Trade Tatum to the Nets for a handful of #1 picks.

 

[bresna]

Trade Tatum to the Nets for a handful of #1 picks.

I'd pass on that. About the only trade for Tatum I'd take is Cooper Flagg.

 

[UrbanCowboy]

Trade Tatum to the Nets for a handful of #1 picks.

oooo, not the craziest idea ever. it is crazy. But it sure would set us up for a long run.

 

[Kdo5]

Those teams and I don't think they would beat the NYK, CLE, HOU or MN in a best of 7.

I’m very confident in the Celtics against all three of those teams. NYK is more of a toss up. Celtics are definitely more consistent but the Knicks have mostly beat us this season.

 

[bresna]

I’m very confident in the Celtics against all three of those teams. NYK is more of a toss up. Celtics are definitely more consistent but the Knicks have mostly beat us this season.

The Knicks have CAT, who is a big body that has given this team trouble. Even with Vooch, I still see this being a problem, though Queta's rapid improvement this year may start paying dividends at playoff time. It'll all come down to the referees, who seem to call every touch on CAT's drives... more like shuffles... to the hoop.

 

[rochrist]

Tatum is coming back Friday against Dallas.

 

[jimnance]

Tatum is coming back Friday against Dallas.

Must-see tv. Tatum plus Maine's Cooper Flagg

 

[RobertWeathers]

Part of me wonders if the team knew and why they laid a big fat egg vs CHA.

 

[UrbanCowboy]

it will be interesting to see how the team adjusts... hopefully we don't go back to ISO ball.

 

[JoeSixPat]

it will be interesting to see how the team adjusts... hopefully we don't go back to ISO ball.

The Globe has a good read as to how the team adjusted WITHOUT Tatum and a lot of things remained the same so it may not even be much of an adjustment - more just about letting him work up the minutes.

What has changed is the Celts were third in post-ups last season; now they’re 28th.

I think that's obviously because of the loss of Porzingas and Vooch's offense seems to be a better match to that than Queta, although I love how that kid is developing.

So the main way. see them adjusting is by working in more of the post op which often seemed to be Tatum throwing it in to Porzingas (and Porzingas either taking the shot or kicking it back out to Tatum for the open 3)

So aside from just letting his minutes creep up as he conditions for the playoffs, that's the added dimension for the playoffs that I think we need.

How have the Celtics changed without Jayson Tatum in the lineup this season? - The Boston Globe

Tatum was the team’s scoring leader (26.8 points per game), rebounding leader (8.7), and assists leader (6). He took — and made — the most shots, and no one got to the free throwline more.

www.bostonglobe.com

Still crazy to me that Stevens has them under the luxury tax but we STILL have Tatum, Brown, White, and Pritchard and a bunch of young cheap guys who are stepping up and could well be contenders.