May 23, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla talks with guard Jaylen Brown (7) from the sideline as they take on the Indiana Pacers during game two of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images David Butler II-Imagn Images

Celtics Predicted to Be Among Play-In Tournament Competitors This Season

Originally posted on Boston Celtics on SI | By Ryan Stano | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 3:30 PM ET

The Boston Celtics won't have their best player available next year. Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the playoffs against the Knicks, which will keep him out all of next year.

With that injury, the Celtics are not expected to have a shot to contend for a championship. Still, the players who will be playing think that they can contend deeper in the playoffs than they did last year.

While the Celtics might think that internally, NBA experts don't share the same kind of optimism. In fact, they think they will have a much worse time next year.

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According to a poll of NBA experts on ESPN, the Celtics will be fighting for a play-in spot instead of home-court advantage. They believe that the Celtics will not be very good.

"Three torn Achilles during last season's playoffs have dramatically changed the trajectory for the Bucks, who parted with Damian Lillard after his torn Achilles in the first round; the Celtics, who dismantled their championship core after Tatum suffered the same injury in the second round; and the Pacers, whose bright future was put on hold when Haliburton tore his Achilles during the NBA Finals."

Without Tatum, the Celtics will likely not be able to compete with some of the best teams in the Eastern Conference who are healthy. Jaylen Brown has a lot of pressure on him next season.

Brown will be the number one option for the Celtics next season for the first time in his career. If he can rise to the occasion, Boston will blow this prediction out of the water.

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The Celtics are trying to shock the NBA world

Boston is hoping to be the surprise team in the NBA next year. Even though they traded away two starters, and they don't have Tatum, they still believe in the players they have on the roster.

Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, and Brown will have to shoulder most of the load of the team to make sure that they don't end up in the play-in. The Celtics still have a lot of competition in the East, even though the whole East is weakened in general.