The Celtics have won 9 of their last 11 and are now 3rd in the East
All with no Tatum
https://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/bos/boston-celtics
https://www.espn.com/nba/standings
*10 of their last 12
In the past two weeks they’ve beaten Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Toronto and Orlando without Paolo
lmao “orlando without paolo” like thats known as the better team is hilarious
especially with wagner out for them now 😭
I need them to be terrible without Franz so we can push the agenda
I didn’t mean for it to be disrespectful lol I was trying to be fair
Cmon now they beat Orlando without Paolo, Suggs, WCJ and Bitadze, it wasn’t a better team
They also beat the Magic earlier in the season
This magic team is never going anywhere because they are lead by glass men
Beating Orlando with Paolo is more impressive than beating them with him
Is paolo not good?
He’s a young player with potential who puts up volume stats but nothing suggests he’s a very impactful player currently
The idea of him is far better than his actual level of play
So you’re saying he’s going to get traded to the Nuggets in a couple years at a discount and he’s gonna turn into an efficient 2nd option?
I could see that actually lol
Me too unfortunately
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He is good but he’s kind of redundant and ruins their spacing a little bit
>Beating Orlando with Paolo is more important than beating them with him
WAT?
Edit - The guy edits his comment and still keeps the confusing part. WAT?
Magic are 7-6 with Paolo, 7-3 without him.
Last year they were 21-25 with him, 21-17 with him.
For his career, the Magic have a -1.7 point differential with him on the floor and a +2.9 point differential with him on the bench.
He’s inefficient and a poor defender. I think it makes a lot of sense that they’re better without him.
brutal, the lastet victim of advanced cybermetrics
Did you win the game or did Orlando lose?
if you had given me this list of teams pre-season i would NOT have expected that team to be the 8th seed
Dam. The Paulo hate in this thread…
I wasn’t intending for it to be Paolo hate I was just trying to be fair 😭
Lakers fan here. They beaut us, too😔
was our roster that bad you didn’t even mention us😭
Didn’t think it was fair to mention with no Lebron or Luka lol
Showed them that East belongs to Boston
Beating good teams too
Being this good after losing Jrue, Porzingis, Horford and obviously Tatum is pretty insane
How dare YOU of all people a spurs fan not mention LUKE KORNET in guys we lost.. SHAME on you. SHAME!
Thanks again, also your welcome for Derrick White
we letting the buffalo roam
We are eternally grateful.
Love the story about upon hearing he was traded, when DWhite asked where he was traded, Pop said “we didn’t fuck you, we sent you to Boston.”
And it’s D-White who returned the favor and told him good things about the Spurs and how they are as an organization that made Kornet convinced to sign there.
good things about the Spurs
The churros and them big ol’ women ?
2nd row Joe is not a super team merchant and is actually a very good NBA coach
I’m convinced Joe is 75% the reason Walsh is developing the way he is.
I will fight for Joe at any given opportunity, but I dont think this is true. Joe kinda iced out Walsh. JB had to ask him to give Walsh minutes which is what started everything. I don’t think Walsh has made any crazy leap in skill recently, I think this is coming from the confidence boost JB gave him.
Wait is this for real? Walsh blossoming this year has made me so happy. You telling me he would have not had the opportunity if JB didn’t push for it? Is there any proof of this?
Walsh said it himself in one of the interview
https://www.celticsblog.com/articles/125075/jordan-walsh-reveals-jaylen-brown-conversation-may-have-changed-everything
I don’t think this is JB pushing for minutes when Joe wasnt giving them to Walsh. The gap left in the roster created opportunities for players to step up. It sounds like they wanted him to be the defensive stalwart and guard anyone on any given night. Fill the role that Jrue and Smart had. Gave him the opportunity and he’s seizing it and it’s paying off.
If JB had the conversation that to me shows Joe is pretty open about experimenting with the roster and hearing what his leaders have to say. I see this as a positive on Joe’s coaching.
Was was awesome in the G-League. He just needed some playing time and he’s finally getting it
agreed. y’all also have a v smart gm in brad stevens. i would love to be a fly on the wall during discussions between mazzulla and stevens.
i wish i could ask mazzulla what he would do if he were the coach of the current kings roster. would even he consider the roster to be a lost cause (i.e. barely play-in worthy)?
[kind of a non-sequitur: i think it would be fun(ny) if one of the events during all-star weekend would have the league’s two worst gms to each assemble a 7-player team that would play against each other under the guidance of the league’s two best coaches.]
Yea I think Brad has been the best GM in basketball since he took over. Buying low on Holiday, Horford, White, Porzingis have all worked out, they signed and developed Kornet, Queta and Hauser and even with the Udoka stuff it seems like there’s essentially 0 drama too
Buying low on Holiday, Horford, White, Porzingis have all worked out, they signed and developed Kornet, Queta and Hauser
yes, and i like how he seems to do right by the players who are involved in the trades and acquisitions, and i am impressed he is doing all of this without upsetting other teams’ fan bases (unlike ainge, who was obv also very good at his job, but had the reputation of a swindler of sorts from the outside lol).
Danny had to try to hit a home run every time he made a trade. Brad’s ok with hitting singles and doubles, but he hit enough of them in a row to turn it into a 4 run inning.
even as a die hard celtics fan it’s gotta be presti right
Top 3 coach in the league, all timer potential
and KORNET!!!
If we had Kornet we’d have 6 more wins rn.
Joe Mazzulla might be a good coach I think
We got Michael Jordan Walsh now. We’re good.
The Celtics are not a serious contender but their performance showcases how terrible some of these franchises are.
Yeah they even beat the Wizards that’s how I know they’re for real
Couldn’t quite overcome the pesky Nets in our last matchup with them though
a gauntlet of quality teams and the Lakers
But but but raptors had no RJ, if we did easy game I swear (let me have this 🥹)
Gg the demise of the Celtics was exaggerated. Brown is a baller
Celtics is a dynasty
I think the Celtics should swing a trade at the deadline and compete this year. See if Tatum will be able to return and go for it.
Yeah at first I thought that Simons would be here the entire year but I can definitely see him being moved at the deadline because it looks like the team is good now
While playing the best players fewer minutes. The true hardest road.
10 out of the last 12
you right
Meanwhile, the pacers on a 5-18 record.
This record should shut up the last Hali haters for good. Dude is a legit superstar and the reason I caught myself rooting for the pacers these past two years! Hope he’ll be back soon!
They’re missing Haliburton, Nesmith, Myles Turner, and Obi Toppin, At one point TJ McConnell and Ben mathurin were out too it’s alot more than just Hali.
Our good lord and savior Andrew Nembhard was out for a good while too
while you typed this another colt/pacer/hoosier tore his achilles
joking ofc but yea i hope he can bring us back into the mix of east teams next year, but ive enjoyed watching the group of raptors, celtics, heat this year battle against more talented teams, id be pretty happy if any of them could make the ecf at least
Pacers before the hali injury were still worse than the Celtics by a good bit. You are comparing a historically good team losing players to a good team losing players. The gap will have to be huge whether hali was a superstar or not.
this is why you dont jump to conclusions after 3 games
It be our own fans
one of those fans in the thread is now saying “ we might be better without Tatum” lmfao. The switch up is wild.
Smh 🤦🏻♀️
This thread is surprisingly civil.
Thought for sure there would be some First Take-ian ‘Are the Celtics better without Jayson Tatum? Should they trade him in a win-now trade for Anthony Davis to address their need at center?’
Doomers in shambles rn
I wonder if shangalang69 is still making easy money off betting against Cs
10 out of the 12 played in the Jordan Walsh era indeed
Mazzulla is an insane coach
Can’t believe some celtics fans wanted him out lol
Absolutely insane.
He’s also really good, too
Like Patrick Bateman insane.
i have one guy in my office who STILL hates on him everyday i think it’s personal at this point lol
Your colleague took the “you’re not invited to my funeral” press conference to heart
It would be the honor of my life to be invited to Joe’s funeral
Nobody wanted him out, they just didn’t want to be left alone with him.
They’re dumbasses
I agree, but my best theory is people really liked Udoka and his exit was a team PR decision, not because he was a bad coach. Then Mazzulla came in with a team fresh off a finals trip and he had an extremely scrutinized year with the expectation being a championship. When he didn’t deliver, people just shut the door on accepting him and keep doubling down at any hiccup despite actually winning a championship. It was a year of discrediting the methods regardless because lots of 3’s = boring and injuries making their path easier = less impressive.
Fans who dislike Mazzulla think the Celtics would have 3peated with any other coach because there is no disproving that hypothetical. So it’s impossible to convince them.
Mazzulla is a good coach, anyone who has been paying attention and not sticking their head in the sand knows this. This was his year to prove he could coach without a loaded roster and he’s doing it. Idk what more people want from the guy where there isn’t much to complain about besides that Nets loss and maybe the Celtics struggle a bit to inbound the ball on ATO’s. There is literally nothing else to blame Mazzulla for this season. He’s been excellent.
He started out bad but has gotten better every year. I dont think I’ve seen someone who has gotten this good after starting so poorly at the same job.
Its not even just Tatum, they got rid of many quality role players as well. Just goes to show the importance of coaching and having a deep team. Tatum is a very lucky player.
They could win the east if he returns at a high level. Insane supporting cast
For the past 2 seasons they’ve had +10 per 100 net ratings without him on the court and even this season they’re still over +7
2024 Celtics core wasn’t together for long at all so they might not be remembered as such but that was legitimately an all-time dominant team
OKC also kinda stole the Celtic’s thunder by one upping them the next year, and now they’ll probably repeat this year too. But it was an incredible team to watch, even if it was brief
I think the 2024 Celtics season was quite a bit better than the 2025 Thunder season. While the thunder were definitely better in the regular season, they had some very close calls in the playoffs, going 7 in two series. The Celtics just absolutely wiped the floor in the playoffs.
the fact that the 24 Cs had their worst offensive stretch of the season in the Finals and still mopped Dallas in 5 will never get old to me lol. Think we shot like 32% from 3 on mostly good looks and it really didn’t matter.
In a way, it’s kinda like the 2014 Spurs and 2015 Warriors ten years later.
Granted the Spurs are remembered more because they beat LeBron (and bums), our Finals lasting legacy will be that it gave further belief to Nico Harrison to make the dumbest trade of all-time.
Yeah and that belief led to the lakers securing the next decade of their future. Even when you win, sometimes you lose
OKC will have to lose some players shortly due to 2nd apron etc, difference is, they have heaps of picks to retool.
They could win the east if he returns at a high level
Honestly I think all they really need is him to return to like ~70% this year and they’re serious threats to come out of the East. They’ve already been playing like a top 4 team in the East without him, if he comes back and can just give them like bare minimum 20/5/5 on solid efficiency and slightly above average defense, I like our chances against any team in the East in a 7 game series.
A lot of the guys that are contributing to their success either weren’t on the team last year (Minott, Gonzalez) or basically never played (Walsh, Queta) with both of them likely out of the league if they didn’t play well this season. Let’s not act like any of these were considered worldbeaters going into the season
They really had some good drafting and invested in the young guys. Along with some great coaching and it’s paying off for these exact kind of scenarios
Or how weak the East is lol
Half the league is weak. I broke down and got league pass this year and every night it’s the same thing, good teams vs cupcakes. Everyone likes to parrot the “east is weak” line, but half the west is shit. Outside of Denver, OKC, and Houston, who’s really good? There’s just as many tanking teams in the west.
Horford has got to regret leaving now
Wouldn’t be the first time he regretted leaving Boston haha
He’s just doing his double agent schtick again. When he joins the Celtics next year on a buyout he’ll look 10 years younger
Is the sky blue? Lmaooo Welcome back Al next season
It was a bad decision on so many fronts. He left his home to move across the country while his wife was about to have their 6th child (just born in late November). This after he left Boston the first time for ‘greener pastures’ in Philly back in 2019.
He’ll always be a fan favorite in Boston, but it was kind-of a dick move to leave a team that resurrected his career from the dead and put him on a championship team (of course he contributed, too). All because their superstar player - who has said Horford is his all-time favorite teammate - suffered a serious injury.
Guys are free to do whatever they want, but imagine the Celtics if they still had Horford. They literally are not playing any back-up bigs right now. It’s just Minott after Queta basically.
No idea why Horford always wants out of Boston so badly all the time. He genuinely seemed so thankful last time they traded back for him.
The thing that’s most disappointing to me about Al leaving for “greener pastures” as you say, is it’s a stunning lack of faith in both Mazzulla and Jaylen.
I get that JT is our best player, but he isn’t and has never been the sole reason as to why we have been as excellent as we have for as long as we have. He has been the most important component all these years but it’s not like he was Jokic either.
No idea why a millionaire married to Ms Universe would want to move from Boston to CA?
San Francisco but I get your point
No idea why Horford always wants out of Boston so badly all the time
New England winters, probably. Though TBH, we’ve had it pretty mild over the last two years but it’s always been a PITA on average.
I love Horford, but I’m not sure he fits this style of defense. He’d probably be losing his mind with the kids fouling all over the place.
I think the team is better off with him being gone TBH, allows us to develop younger guys like Walsh, Minott, and Queta and have more athleticism out there on the court.
Again, love Al for all his contributions, but I think his departure came at the right time for the Cs.
Al Holdingusbackford
I am not following NBA moves too closely. Why did he leave? Was it bigger bag or something?
He didn’t want to sit through a rebuild/tank year in the last of his playing years and wanted to go somewhere he felt he could compete for another chip
classic. Klay Thompson did the same thing…😅
Also a little more money than the vet min we would of offered. Can’t fault a guy for trying to get as much as he can when we’re obviously shedding salary and tax.
Yeah, guy is on his 6th kid let him get the bag lmao.
Can’t fault a guy for trying to get as much as he can when we’re obviously shedding salary and tax.
He’s made $300 mil in his career, he could have taken a small pay cut to show loyalty and try to help us win another chip
I love Al but he made his bed and I’m glad he has to sleep in it
Celtics FO were thinking it was going to be a down year with Tatum’s injury. They let Kornet walk, traded Holiday, probably had some talks of moving White as well.
edit: Forgot about Porzingis too
I think it’s fine. It’s been fun seeing a fresh new lineup this year, especially the growth of Queta
Was pretty predictable honestly. Cs are exceeding expectations sure but Dubs are right where we were expected to be. I’ll never understand
He got an extra 10M he’s fine
Im pretty sure they’re undefeated with Jordan Walsh starting or something like that as well
Didn’t we beat you with Jordan Walsh starting
zip it
You did, we are 10-2 since walsh started i believe
Correct. Their record is actually 9-2 with Walsh starting.
Edit: 10-2
Guy is a beast. He looks smooth though lol, Like a 6’6 newborn baby
Assuming most folks know, but just in case someone reading this isn’t aware and is interested, Walshy has alopecia.
I did not know this, thank you for linking! Gonna root for this guy now when I catch Celtic games
Isn’t that the Jada Pinkett Smith disease that led to The Slap?
Harkkanens are just a different breed.
Jaylen brown is right now arguably playing like a top 5 player in the league argue with wall availability matters
I see so much credit going to coaching and not enough going to the players. Joe Mazulla has this insane “be ready,” “never give up,” and “punch above your weight” mentality but this Celtics team wouldn’t be anything if not for Jaylen Brown’s leadership. He’s been critical in unlocking Jordan Walsh, supporting Queta’s development, and facilitating other players. He’s also stepping up and doing more better.
A star player with a more selfish mindset would torpedo the season.
Jordan Walsh unlocked them
Nair Jordan
Bro 🤣🤣🤣
Queta and Minott have been great too
Including beating the Pistons, Knicks, Cavs, Magic and Raptors who are basically the other top East teams rn. Played the Wolves close as well.
The Celtics have the #2 offense in the NBA right now. That is insane when looking at the talent on the team. Joe Mazulla deserves serious consideration for COTY if this continues
I don’t know. I kind of expected them to score. They have Brown and White and elite shooting around them. Pritchard, Hauser, and Simons might be the best trio of shooters on any team in the league. What’s crazy is that the defense and rebounding is actually holding up. That’s a tribute to Mazzulla. You know he’s enjoying this way more than the last three years.
Jaylen Brown is a first option 🗣️
My man Neemas looking great. Even against my Lakers.
Buying his jersey last season turned out to be a great investment. He’s a double double machine and one of the best rim protectors in the league
🇵🇹☘️
We’re literally playing a bunch of G Leaguers every night and we still can’t tank lol
You can’t tank because the G Leaguers have improved to legitimate rotational players who could play serious roles on a championship team in the near future.
Guys like Queta and Walsh have very clearly ascended to rotation players in this league at worst.
If they were G-Leaguers, the Celtics would be losing lol.
They are the best organization in the league by a pretty large margin.
And they are 5th in the NBA in point differential too.
I/we knew they’d take a step back this season, but they are doing better than I thought they would.
Turns out the step back was from a 60 win team to a 50 win team
These fuckers are gonna come out of the east
We can bond (gross gtfoh LA) over getting smacked by OK. Late in the playoffs
Give Joe his flowers
Just playing with house money at this point, I’m having a great time watching this team play.
They’re going to need Tatum back if they want to get past Brooklyn
*sigh*
Wanted Dybantsa, but I guess I’ll just have to settle for another finals appearance.
We have Jordan Walsh??? (no joke Walsh is actually elite now it’s crazy)
Mazzulla is proving to be an elite coach. I had my doubts early in the season, but he has adapted well.
Damn I rlly thought the Pacers and the Celtics would be flipped this season
Jaylen Brown for MVP
Celtics has just been the best team on average this decade
I thought they would tank but fuck it Walshie and Queta are real players now. might as well fuck around and win the east
I got laughed at when I said Celtics will still be top 6 team. Still early but my prediction is looking good.
I got laughed at on our own subreddit for saying we’d be within 4-5 games of the Al Horford Warriors
We really gonna hit 50 wins in our tanking season
If Tatum actually comes back for the playoffs they’re favorites to win the East or at least top 2 with NY
Jaylen Brown at 29 / 6 / 5 on 54.5% eFG. The FMVP is that guy.
Mazulla is a great coach. I don’t think they can get to the finals with that roster but they’ll put a scare on many teams.
In the East? Yes they can.
East is wide open
Average “bad” season for a Boston sports team.
They gonna win the east when Tatum comes back
Not surprising at all.
I wish we had a coach half as good
Did you say 9⁄11?
Thought they was bluffing at first but I realize Joe M was just cooking tf up
This is like mid 90s bulls without Jordan. Or those bulls teams when d rose was injured but still won 50 games
funny title it’s got the 2 numbers
9⁄11 is really good
Pretty much every single player is outplaying his expectations, Mazzulla is god
Just wait to see what this team can do when Tatum is back and the Warriors trade Al back to us for a Top 50 protected 2nd round pick.
Nah fuck Al he can stay gone this time
Fool me once & all that
This season is more evidence that Joe Mazzula is a good coach
No tank this year it seems
I hate the Celtics. But these Celtics? I kinda love watching them. They’re rough as hell, and when Brown isn’t on the floor they’ve got some issues finding buckets, but I’m enjoying the hell out of watching Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, and Josh Minott turn into solid players in real time.
Remember when Celtics fans thought they were tanking after 4 games and would post pictures of AJ Dybantsa in their PGT after every loss?
Pepperidge Farm remembers
The east is still the east (derogatory)
It’s so bad Memphis would be 10th instead of 9th.
You may soon be joining us when there’s an expansion
I’d have their two new bigs and Charlie Villanueva twin investigated for PEDs.
They started as BBQ chicken now they’re gems
The bulls had their run, then the raps, now its the celtics turn ig lol
Remember all those people on r NBA saying Celtics will never go near .500. Vegas are morons.
They just have an elite front office. Brad Stevens knows his shit and Joe is actually a great coach
as a hater of celtics, a series of okc and celtics with tatum would’ve been legendary
So Brown really was always the MVP
This is impressive considering that they’ve had a tough schedule so far