The 2025-26 Boston Celtics Are Better Than You Thought

The Celtics Have Won 7 Of Their Last 9 Games

Now, as we approach the unofficial “real” start to the NBA season — everyone knows basketball really starts on Christmas Day — it may be time to rethink those expectations. That’s because Boston heads into the 22nd game of the year with a 12-9 record, having won seven of its last nine games.

Those wins aren’t coming against the bottom of the barrel either. Of Boston’s 12 wins to date, seven have come against teams with records of .500 or better (which is tied for the second-most in the NBA). Even better, Mazzulla’s team is 6-3 against the top six teams in the East.

Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard Have Hot Hands For Celtics

Boston’s most recent victory was a 123-117 win over the same New York Knicks team that eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs a year ago. The win was sparked by a game-high 42-point effort from four-time All-Star Jaylen Brown. Less than 48 hours earlier, a game-high 42 points from former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard led Boston to a statement road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“It’s easy to focus on what you see now,” Brown said after his team’s win over the Knicks on Tuesday. “But if you go back to preseason, before the season, we’re in a much different space now. You can see the difference if you go back and look at some of those early games in the season. It’s only been 20 games, and there’s been a huge amount of growth from a lot of guys. So, we’re continuing to take it just one step at a time, but the best is yet to come, so we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

End Of My Boston Celtics Rant

All of this is to say that there’s still plenty of basketball left to be played, and the Celtics have limited room for error. If Brown and Pritchard can continue their solid play over the final three quarters of the season, and Derrick White can continue to find his form with key contributions on both sides of the floor, there’s no telling exactly how far Boston will go.

That’s because newcomers like Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott, Hugo Gonzalez, and Neemias Queta have already begun making names for themselves in green and white. There’s a real chance we see Tatum back on the hardwood before year’s end.

Don’t look now “experts,” but it may be time to reconsider those expectations — again.