It’s not looking good for the Boston Celtics. While they still have a solid core in Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard, they are a shell of their championship self. Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday are gone in the team’s hopes of going under the luxury tax.
Worse yet, Jayson Tatum might skip the entire season after suffering an Achilles injury during the Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the New York Knicks. Factoring these developments and the release of the Celtics’ schedule, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey predicted Boston’s win-loss record for the 2025-26 season.
Bailey sees the Celtics finish with a 38-44 record. “Jaylen Brown and Derrick White should have big years. Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons will have plenty of gaudy lines, too. But even in the East, a team with a frontcourt rotation that consists of Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Xavier Tillman, and Chris Boucher feels like one that could finish below .500,” he wrote.
The Celtics welcomed Simmons after trading Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers. Meanwhile, Georges Niang came over to Boston as part of the trade that brought Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks. They also signed Josh Minott and Luke Garza to contracts. The reigning Atlantic Division champions also signed their rookies, Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams, to contracts.
Meanwhile, FanDuel Sportsbook has the Celtics’ over/under at 42.5 wins. The 18-time NBA champions will open their season on October 22 against the Philadelphia 76ers and will have eight instances of back-to-back games. Bookies.com’s Bill Speros also wrote that the Celtics will travel 42,804.6 miles in 18 road trips.
