The Boston Celtics’ plan to become the first repeat champion since the 2018 Golden State Warriors already looked tenuous during the waning minutes of a Game 4 road clash against the New York Knicks.
With Boston trailing by nine points, six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum was almost singlehandedly keeping his team’s hopes of avoiding a 3-1 hole alive. He had scored 42 points, and seemed to be on track for a 50-point masterpiece when he went down with a non-contact injury. The Celtics eventually lost Game 4, 121-113, and did fall into a 3-1 series hole.
The ailment was eventually revealed to be an Achilles tendon tear, and the 6-foot-8 former Duke Blue Devil quickly went under the knife to treat it. He could miss most or all of Boston’s 2025-26 season.
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Without Tatum, Boston rallied around four-time All-Star swingman Jaylen Brown in Game 5, blowing the doors off the Knicks in a 127-102 blowout at TD Garden. But it turned out to be the last gasp of a proud champion, as Boston got obliterated in a 119-81 Game 6 Knicks victory. New York advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years, and the Celtics were sent home to face an offseason of roster uncertainty.
Per Noa Dalzell of SB Nation’s Celtics Blog, Boston’s players — unlike a lot of pundits — still think the team as currently comprised has a chance to compete for a title next season.
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Sixth Man of the Year point guard Payton Pritchard asserted that the Celtics could emerge as a solid contender in the Eastern Conference.
“We will put a good team together — a lot of competitors, and people will go out there and lay it all on the line every night,” Pritchard said. “And I believe people will elevate their games and have bigger roles, especially with JT being out [and] until he comes back, and they should take full advantage of it and be ready for those opportunities. And we will compete.”
Free agent forward Torrey Craig thinks Boston could still conceivably have title aspirations next season — even if Tatum does not return at all.
“Even without JT, this team could still compete for a championship,” Craig told Dalzell. “They’re talented. You just have to find a way to play basketball a little differently. But this group is way more capable. I have the utmost confidence.”
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A buyout market signing who fell out of Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s rotation by the playoffs, Craig will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“We still have a really, really great opportunity and a great window to be successful and win the championship again,” six-time All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday said. “I think the talent that we have in this team, not only on the court, but the coaching staff, all the way up to [general manager] Brad [Stevens], has been amazing. The opportunity to win is now, and I still want to be part of it.”
Anchored by Tatum, Brown and two-time All-Defensive guard Derrick White, Boston appeared in two NBA Finals between 2022-24, winning in ’24. The team has also posted 60-win seasons across each of the past two years.
More Boston Celtics News:
Celtics Predicted to Move Jaylen Brown in Massive Trade Idea
Celtics’ Cooper Flagg Decision Sparks Trade Rumors
More Details Emerge on Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Achilles Injury, Surgery
Celtics President Brad Stevens Breaks Silence on Expected Offseason Changes
For more Boston Celtics and general NBA news and rumors, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
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