The Boston Celtics can't pass or rebound. Unfortunately, those are two important skills in the game of basketball, and this team's inability to do either (No. 30 in assist rate, No. 25 in rebound percentage) will frustrate fans throughout the season. Or make them really happy, I suppose, if they're cheering for a tank.
Fans knew that 2025-26 was always going to be a reset year for the team with Jayson Tatum out, but with so many new pieces, no one really knew what this team would look like, or what its strengths would be. Well, maybe we still don't know what the strengths are, but the weaknesses are becoming more obvious by the day — and ball movement might be chief among them.
The past few iterations of the Celtics weren't elite passing teams, either. In the past two seasons, the team hovered around the bottom 10 in the league in assist rate — but that was never a problem because of how much playmaking and shooting the C's had. The ball being stuck was never a problem if it was "stuck" in the hands of Jayson Tatum or a center who was comfortable launching 3-pointers.
This new Celtics roster doesn't have nearly the firepower those versions did, though, and suddenly the ball being "stuck" feels like the possession is already doomed. And while Jaylen Brown can still bail this team out with an isolation bucket on occasion, that's a lot of responsibility to put on just his shoulders. Fans got accustomed to success without top-tier passing, but when that is coupled with a lack of top-tier scoring, it becomes a not-so-fun viewing experience.
The rebounding struggles can't come as much surprise; when a team loses its three top big men, things are almost bound to get ugly on the glass. Neemias Queta seems to be a solid rebounder, but there are very few big man options outside of him on this team.
Celtics biggest problems are fixable, but do they want that?
There's a balance that teams want to strike in years like this. The ultimate goal is to see development in the current roster, gain assets, but still stay competitive every night. With the complete lack of playmaking and rebounding currently on the team, staying competitive might be a tall task. When there isn't an overload of talent on a team, winning these battles is key to winning games, and the Celtics aren't providing much reason to think they can do either.
I don't know if the Celtics have any interest in fixing these problems. Contention was never the top priority this year anyway, and in that case, losing the assist and rebounding battles might be a good thing for long-term plans. It's just going to be tough to watch in the short term.