Celtics Brutally Disrespected in Latest NBA Power Rankings

The Boston Celtics had an active summer over the NBA offseason, securing several key deals and addressing their salary cap issues.

In the process, however, experienced, proven talent was lost, and the Celtics' roster is left weaker than before.

While losing center Kristaps Porzingis and guard Jrue Holiday hurts the team's chances next season, no absence hurts more than star Jayson Tatum who tore his achilles during the playoffs and will miss the entire upcoming season.

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The latest power rankings from NBA.com take into account all of these missing pieces, placing Boston in 12th place within the Eastern Conference.

Writer John Schumann controversially placed the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Indiana Pacers above the 2024 champions.

"What talent remains in Boston is all on the perimeter. As things stand, their bigs are Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and Xavier Tillman, with Niang probably set to play a lot of minutes at the four," Schumann wrote in his power rankings.

"That group is going to struggle matching up with the frontlines of the top six teams in these rankings.

"The Celtics could set another record for 3-point rate, creating high variance from game to game and quarter to quarter.

"But the quality of those looks will certainly go down, and with opposing defenses able to help off of pieces of the rotation more than they could in years past.

"It’s a gap year, but it shouldn’t be a wasted one, with Baylor Scheierman (the 30th pick in last year’s draft) the key young guy who could take advantage of the opportunity that the Celtics’ step backward will provide."

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Derrick White and Jaylen Brown might drive the Celtics into having a better position than expected, but the front-court limitations are real.

Pending free agent Al Horford is likely moving on, and with limited cap space, the Celtics can't add a replacement.

Luckily, this season won't matter in the grand scheme of things, as the pressure to be competitive and contend for a title starts once Tatum begins playing basketball again.

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For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.