Celtics Confident About Their Chances to Compete in East, Says Insider

The Boston Celtics aren't expected to compete for the NBA championship next season without Jayson Tatum. He will miss most, if not all, of next season because of a torn Achilles.

Despite the fact that the Celtics won't have their best player, they still feel great about their chances to compete next season for an NBA championship.

The Celtics will have a roster that looks significantly different from the one that won the title in 2024. Still, they feel that they can compete for a championship next season.

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According to NBA Insider Jake Fischer on a Bleacher Report live stream, he said that the players who are left have a massive chip on their shoulder.

“I’ve been told Boston thinks they’ve got a good a shot as any team to compete for that sixth seed, right out the Play-In Tournament next year," Fisher said. "They’ve got three All-Star caliber players they believe in Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White.”

The Pacers made the Eastern Conference Finals a couple of years ago as the sixth seed in the East. If Boston ends up getting the sixth seed next year, they certainly have a shot to make a big run.

That's especially true if Tatum is able to return late in the season and possibly for the playoffs. The issue is that they will have three new starters for next year, so that's a problem they have to deal with.

The Celtics will be led by Brown and Derrick White next year on both ends of the court. Boston feels that those guys can take a big step up in roles next season and help them win a lot of games.

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One of the things in Boston's favor next season is that the Eastern Conference is going to be a lot weaker. Indiana drops out of contention because of the Tyrese Haliburton injury.

Milwaukee could be a lot worse if Giannis Antetokounmpo asks to be traded. They might be worse without Damian Lillard, anyway. The Knicks have a brand new coach.

If the Celtics can just make the playoffs, anything can happen. They feel good about their chances of doing just that.

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