Celtics News: Insider Reveals Why He’s Pessimistic on Boston This Season

The Boston Celtics were hoping to go back-to-back this past season after winning the title in 2024. Instead, the Celtics were eliminated in six games by the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.

Jayson Tatum went down during that series with a torn Achilles. Now, they will have to play most, if not all, of next season without their best player.

Boston has also traded away two different starters, meaning they will have three new starters in the lineup next year. One NBA pundit believes it will be tough for the Celtics to compete next year.

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Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin doesn't like the outlook for next season, citing the loss of those three key starters as the main reason they likely won't go over their win total of 43.5.

"I’m bearish on the Celtics this season. Their 43.5 projected win total already feels high for a team that’s down three-and-a-half key rotation pieces — Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford (he’s the half) — and up only Anfernee Simons, whom advanced metrics grade out as a league-average player."

It's hard to disagree with Silver, especially since there's a chance that the Celtics end up trading Simons before the season even starts. That wouldn't leave them with a lot left for next year.

The Celtics might have to participate in a gap year without all of the pieces who helped them win the 2024 championship. Silver isn't even that bullish on them competing once Tatum returns.

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"You could even talk yourself into saying that getting a head start on Version 2 or 3 or whatever Stevens build number we’re on — inevitably a more Tatum-centric version, so they’d better hope he eventually gets back to at least 95 percent of full strength — is a blessing in disguise. But they had a lot of championship equity last year and were supposed to have a lot this year, and now that’s been zeroed out."

Boston needs to see what they have in Jaylen Brown as a number-one option before they decide what kind of moves they are going to make in the next couple of years.

That will determine what level of contender they will be in the future, because they don't have many young, promising assets on the current roster.

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