I definitely wouldn’t say I “loved” the Jaylen Brown trade, but I almost immediately understood it. I see the vision, and I get the plan. It crushed me to see Boston part with such a (deservedly) beloved player and person, but I’m on board with the direction of the team moving forward, and I think it will ultimately prove to have been the right move.
However, unfairly to the roster perhaps, the expectations for this season are going to be through the roof, and if they aren’t better than last season, the critics and haters are going to come out in full force, especially for Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Brad Stevens, and Joe Mazzulla.
Every bad stretch of the season, every Tatum off-night, every PG DNP, we’re going to hear the trade being litigated and how the Celtics blew it. How they traded the wrong guy, how the owners are cheap, how Brad doesn’t know what he’s doing, and all kinds of other nonsense.
The reality of the situation, though, is just that no matter how good the team is (and I think they’ll be very good), wins are going to be a lot harder to come by this season. Two major factors are going to make the regular season a lot tougher for the Celtics, and getting back to 56+ wins will be a difficult ask.
The Eastern Conference is kind of stacked
The first reason is that for the first time in a long time, the East may be the better conference. Obviously, the Knicks just won the title and brought almost everyone back (shoutout new Celtic, Mitchell Robinson!), but it’s a lot deeper than that. The Pistons won 60 games last season and aren’t going anywhere. The Cavaliers are running it back after a conference finals run and possibly adding LeBron James to the mix.
The Raptors were a frisky 5-seed and, barring a big suspension or something, are about to add Kawhi Leonard to the mix. The Heat added Giannis Antetokounmpo. The 76ers added Jaylen Brown. The Hawks were the hottest team in the league after trading Trae Young and should be even better.
On top of that, the Magic expect to be back in the playoffs, the Hornets want to take another step forward, and the Pacers should have Tyrese Haliburton healthy, and the team that won the conference in 2025 should be right back in the fold as well. That’s nine teams, plus the Celtics, that would all view missing the playoffs as a complete disaster. A lot of teams are going to be very disappointed.
No more tanking teams
The other big reason that the regular season will be tougher is the new draft lottery reform. There’s no longer motivation to lose and actually a punishment for being one of the three worst teams in the league.
By midway through last season, we had a third of the NBA trying to lose and better their draft stock. One in three games for the Celtics was practically a freebie. That’s no longer going to be the case. Teams like the Bucks, Bulls, and Nets should certainly still be bad, but they aren’t going to rest players or bust out any other shenanigans to ensure a loss.
Every team is going to play hard every night, and many of them have simply gotten a lot better. I think you can include the Celtics on that list. I think they’ll be a regular season juggernaut and will have a real chance when the playoffs roll around. But it’s going to be a lot more of a challenge than a lot of people seem to think.
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