The Boston Celtics will be a completely different this coming season and the biggest change will be the absence of superstar Jayson Tatum.
The six-time All-Star went down in Game 4 of their second round series with the New York Knicks and was ruled out for the rest of the season. He was later on diagnosed with a torn ACL. He is currently recovering although there is no timetable for his returns. Reports say he will likely miss the whole 2025-26 season.
With him gone, head coach Joe Mazzulla has to come up with a tactic so that they won’t miss much Tatum’s 26.8 pp. He also contributes 8.7 rebounds and 6 assists per outing. How is going to do it?
Boston Celtics insider Brian Robb said Sam Hauser and Chris Boucher might be paired with Jaylen Brown. Hauser is already familiar with Mazzulla’s system and was integral in the team’s championship run and last season.
Boucher transferred to the Celtics from the Toronto Raptors over the summer by signing a one-year, $3.3 million contract. He is part of the 2018 Golden State Warriors that won the title and then of the Raptors that won it in 2019. He was not yet a productive player in those two years but then found his niche by in 2021, emerging as reliable starter in the last four seasons.
Boston Celtics might go big next season
Another way the Celtics can do to compensate for Tatum’s absence, according to Robb, is to use two big forwards.
“Going double bigs with Chris Boucher and Neemias Queta would be a way to shore up defensive size and rebounding concerns while still having some 3-point range to stretch the floor at power forward with Boucher,” he wrote.
Queta has been with the Cs since 2023 and played 60 games last season as fourth stringer behind Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet.
Celtics’ core is not yet refined as most of their rotation guys were shipped to other teams. Jrue Holiday is with the Portland Trailblazers while Porzingis was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for George Niang. Kornet left the teak to sign a four-year, $41 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs.
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