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As the Celtics sweep through the final stretch of what’s been a magical season of career-best breakouts, I often think about a Media Day headline I wrote when expectations were in a significantly different state.
The 2025-26 Celtics are one big Stay Ready squad.
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Ironically, “Stay Ready” isn’t the en vogue phrase of the 2025-26 Boston bench. The ecosystem is significantly different than it was last year, and yet, “Stay Ready” might just hold more meaning than it ever has.
Take last year’s Celtics for instance. Even as they nursed regular season ailments and kept players away from too heavy a workload through split back-to-backs and extended rest, Boston still had the talent to keep up in the absence of key players. Without Jayson Tatum in the lineup, they were 8-2. Without Jaylen Brown? 15-4.
Clearly the guys that stayed ready were more than up to the task, but that was a mostly run-it-back championship roster. It made a modicum of sense to see the team still find ways to win on a given night against generally lower-quality teams despite missing primary contributors.
What they’re doing this year in the absence of key guys shouldn’t even make sense.
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In seven games without Jaylen Brown this season, the Celtics are 6-1 and winners of four straight, having outscored teams by an average of 23.7 points with wins by 45 over Washington, 21 against Houston and, most recently, 27 against Milwaukee. Their lone loss was a two-point defeat in primetime to lowly Indiana, a game which came down to the final shot.
Even without an MVP-caliber talent having the best scoring season of his career, the Celtics somehow don’t miss a step scoring the ball. They’ve shot 45% both from the field and from three in those seven games, while averaging 26 assists, more than their 24.5 per-game average, which ranks 29th in the league.
It’s not just when Brown sits though — it’s every consistent starter.
They’re 2-0 in the absence of Derrick White, holding off a Cleveland comeback behind Payton Pritchard’s 42 points and beating Brooklyn in double-OT with major contributions from rookies Amari…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/2025-26-celtics-possess-power-114000161.html
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Publish date : 2026-03-04 11:40:00
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