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Celtics & Jayson Tatum Get Rough 2026-27 NBA Projections, But They’ve Dispelled These Before originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Certain franchises and fan bases grow immune to wonky preseason predictions because of how long their teams have been perennial title contenders. The Boston Celtics know this exact feeling too well. A lot was said when Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis left. This pattern now repeats itself after they dealt Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and some picks. It’s evidenced by the fact that ESPN’s Summer Forecast has the organization with the most titles of all-time in the category of squads that are ‘disappointing’ and ‘will take a tumble’ this season.
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Why should this not be a worry for the team led by Coach Joe Mazzulla and Jayson Tatum? Let’s dissect it!
Tatum and Mazzulla’s Celtics forecasted by ESPN to have ‘disappointing’ 2026-27 NBA season
ESPN just released its annual Summer Forecast. Typically, the Celtics end up with projections that say they are frontrunners for the Larry O’Brien trophy, or at least the Eastern Conference title. The projections for the 2026-27 NBA season are not similar to those of previous years.
Because of Jaylen Brown’s departure, ESPN says the Celtics are one of the teams likely to take a tumble and disappoint. The pundits’ list goes as follows:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
32 points
2. Detroit Pistons
27 points
3. Golden State Warriors
26 points
4. Miami Heat
22 points
5. Boston Celtics
17 points
Yes, Brown was an MVP candidate the Celtics couldn’t afford to pay if they wanted the financial flexibility to maintain depth. But proclaiming that the Celtics will have the fifth-most disappointing season is a bit much. In fact, the drop-off might not be much given the prowess of their roster led by Jayson Tatum and schemed around by Coach Joe Mazzulla.
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/celtics-jayson-tatum-rough-2026-002633762.html
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Publish date : 2026-08-28 00:26:00
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