Ramp to Camp: One bold Celtics prediction for 2026-27 season

Ramp to Camp: One bold Celtics prediction for 2026-27 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens made the boldest move of his front office tenure when he dealt away Jaylen Brown at the start of the summer. The dramatic roster shakeup adds a somewhat unique layer of volatility to how the 2026-27 season might unfold for Boston.

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For the latest installment in our Ramp to Camp series, we asked our experts to harness that boldness and make one intrepid prediction about the upcoming season.

Our experts didn’t disappoint. We got six audacious suggestions, ranging from a Jayson Tatum MVP season to two first-time All-Stars to Neemias Queta emerging as a double-double machine.

The underlying theme, though, was optimism that Boston can patch things together despite the departure of a five-time All-Star, with the remaining pieces elevating their play to keep Boston competing at a familiar level.

Here’s our bold prediction: The Celtics finish atop the Eastern Conference in defensive rating this season.

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The Celtics have lived in the top 5 of defensive rating the past half decade, but all the roster changes have stressed their ability to maintain that feat. While so much of the attention about Brown’s departure falls on Boston’s need to fill his offensive void, his willingness to defend elite scorers must be replaced as well.

But when we examine Boston’s roster construction, we see a team that could soar defensively, especially given some of the talent added this offseason.

Derrick White is an All-Defense stalwart; Tatum’s defense — both his rebounding and ability to contest shots with his length — has long been underrated; and Paul George remains an above-average, steal-hunting defender even at an advanced age. Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson could emerge as one of the best big-man defensive tandems in the entire NBA, with Robinson likely back-lining for a second unit that could deploy energetic wings like Hugo Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh to harass opposing scorers.

We wanted to be *really* bold and suggest the Celtics could have the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ramp-camp-one-bold-celtics-104921183.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-22 10:49:00

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