#DifferentHere has a different meaning for the Boston Celtics this season. In years past, the slogan encapsulated the championship-level standards that come with donning the green and white. To some extent, it still does. But the more fitting meaning is the literal.
It’s actually different here now.
The roster is different. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis were traded away to shed salary over the summer, while Al Horford and Luke Kornet signed elsewhere as free agents. Plus, Jayson Tatum remains sidelined as he recovers from the torn Achilles tendon he sustained during the playoffs last spring.
The results are different. Through 15 games, the Celtics are 8-7. Not bad. But, for perspective, it took them until December 23 to lose their seventh game last season. They had 22 wins by that point.
The external expectations are different. Sure, within the locker room, the Celtics still believe in themselves. They’ve played like it for the majority of this young campaign. But externally? Not so much. Many experts picked Boston to finish outside the playoffs when April rolls around.
Anonymous NBA exec. makes painfully obvious observation about the Celtics
Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett spoke to numerous scouts and executives around the league about the Celtics and how perspective has changed over the past several months.
“There’s a different feeling when you see Boston on your schedule,” an anonymous NBA executive told Bulpett. “I’m not saying you expect anything to be easy — far from it. But it’s just not the same as when you saw those guys from the last two years waiting for you.”
This rage-bait-type excerpt made its rounds across Twitter on Thursday afternoon. Heck, I took the bait, tweeted about it, then wrote this article.
It’s simply hilarious.
Bold take https://t.co/fvDxaeKqh8
— Sam LaFrance (@SamLaFranceNBA) November 20, 2025
I mean, if you want to talk about sticking your neck out there, look no further than this person. No wonder they wanted to remain anonymous.
Like, yeah, of course it’s not the same as the past two seasons when they won 60+ games. Opposing teams don’t have to see Lucky on their schedule and accept it as a scheduled loss. All of us media folk have been writing and talking about it all summer into fall.
Just about anyone in the Celtics community will tell you that the 2025-26 campaign is a “gap year.”
Which, by the way, is fine. Intriguing, even.
The exciting thing is, it’s an opportunity to watch games and enjoy watching the young players on the roster, like Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott, Baylor Scheierman, and Hugo Gonzalez, get to go out and prove why they belong in the NBA.
You know what a group of guys trying to prove that they belong looks like? A gritty team that’s willing to fight for every bucket.
Another anonymous source cited this team’s hunger as a reason to fear the Celtics this season.
“Collectively, they all go out there and try,” the executive told Bulpett. “So if you don’t play hard, they’re going to beat you. They just are, because they try, and there’s something to be said for that.”
Something to be said, and something to enjoy watching. Fans can catch the Celtics try and extend their current win streak to four games on Friday night when they host the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden.