DETROIT — The Celtics look similar to last season from afar, but there is a Jaylen Brown-sized hole for the first time in a decade. Boston went through some major changes in the offseason, but it doesn’t change the expectation going into the 2026-27 season.
Jayson Tatum is healthy and ready to go. He played in 22 games between the regular season and playoffs last year, showing that he can still contribute at a high level. But the next challenge is a full 82-game slate now that he’s roughly 1.5 years removed from his Achilles injury.
There are other notable changes, too. The Celtics landed Paul George in the Brown deal, and while he’s no longer in the prime of his career, he can still contribute at a high level. There are also free agency additions in guard Mike Conley and big man Mitchell Robinson.
The Celtics also boast a deep roster. Payton Pritchard and Derrick White are the main point guards for the group. The wing depth is notable behind George and Tatum. Natural improvement from the young guys should go a long way between Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, Ron Harper Jr. and Jordan Walsh.
In an interesting twist, the C’s play the first game of the regular season at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Detroit. So the middle of the day, but they’ll tip off the 2026-27 campaign. So Celtics fans will get a glimpse of this new-look team soon.
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“I do love this team,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I do want to see who we are when it doesn’t go our way. So I want to say okay, yeah, I love our team. But what are we going to be after a winning streak, after a losing streak, after four games in five nights? All those things. So I love this team, love who we can become.”
Here are four predictions from MassLive writer Souichi Terada:
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