Celtics Defy Expectations: Boston’s Dominance Surprises NBA as Team Exceeds Projections and Emerges as Championship Favorite
BOSTON — The script was written in permanent marker the moment Jayson Tatum crumbled to the Madison Square Garden floor last spring.
When the diagnosis came back—a torn Achilles tendon for the franchise icon, the top-five talent, the heart and soul of the Boston Celtics—the obituary for the 2025-2026 season was drafted immediately. The offseason departures of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis only served as the final nails in the coffin. The narrative was set: This would be a gap year. A season of mourning, of tanking, or perhaps, at best, a scrappy fight for a Play-In spot while waiting for the King to return.
There were two logical paths forward. Path A: A mediocre slog to the eighth seed. Path B: A total collapse, shutting down Jaylen Brown and Derrick White by February to hunt for a lottery pick to pair with a returning Tatum next year.
But as the winter chill settles over New England, the Celtics have chosen a third, impossible path.
What if they just win the Eastern Conference anyway?
Following a 126-105 dismantling of the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, the Celtics are 14-9. They have won nine of their last 12 games. They possess the third-best offense in the NBA. And they are doing it all without the player whose face is painted on the murals outside TD Garden.
This shouldn’t be happening. But in a season defined by chaos across the league, Boston has found clarity in the void.
The Evolution of Jaylen Brown
If Jayson Tatum is the sun, Jaylen Brown was always the moon—brilliant, essential, but ultimately reflecting the light of the primary star.
With the sun eclipsed, the moon has turned into a supernova.
Brown’s performance this season has been nothing short of a revelation. The criticisms of the past—the loose handle, the lack of a left hand, the tunnel vision—have evaporated. In their place stands a complete, terrifying offensive engine.
Against the Lakers, Brown dropped 38 points and 8 rebounds on 45% shooting. For the season, he is averaging nearly 29 points per game, orchestrating the offense with a poise that was previously foreign to him. He is averaging a career-high in assists, and while his turnovers are up slightly, it is a negligible price to pay for a usage rate that rivals the league’s elite.
“He’s not just scoring; he’s solving problems,” says head coach Joe Mazzulla. “He’s seeing the double team before it comes. He’s manipulating defenses with his eyes. He has become the system.”
Brown has been arguably the best mid-range shooter in basketball this season, a lost art that he has weaponized to stabilize Boston’s half-court attack. He is no longer the “1B” option. He is a bona fide “1A,” carrying the weight of a franchise that refused to crumble.
The Mazzulla Masterclass
If Brown is the engine, Joe Mazzulla is the architect.
The Celtics coach, often scrutinized for his eccentricities and reliance on “math-ball,” is currently painting his masterpiece. Without the defensive versatility of Holiday or the rim protection of Porzingis, Mazzulla has leaned entirely into offensive efficiency.
The numbers are staggering. The Celtics boast an offensive rating of 121.9, trailing only the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets. They are generating open threes at a historic rate, shooting 53% from deep against the Lakers (hitting 24 triples).
But the most impressive stat is the one that usually kills young, undermanned teams: Turnovers.
The Celtics commit the fewest turnovers in the NBA.
“It’s disciplined freedom,” Mazzulla told reporters. “We don’t have the margin for error to give the ball away. We have to value every possession like it’s the last one.”
Mazzulla has empowered a cast of role players to play above their weight class. He has turned Sam Hauser into a lethal weapon (12 points vs. LA). He has unleashed Payton Pritchard, who continues to be an efficiency darling off the bench (15 points).
This is a team that knows exactly who they are. They don’t have the personnel to grind out 90-85 wins. So, they are going to score 125, protect the ball, and dare you to keep up.
The Unlikely breakout: Jordan Walsh
Every magical season needs a surprise hero. For the 2025 Celtics, that hero is Jordan Walsh.
The second-year wing was expected to be a fringe rotation piece. Instead, he has forced his way into the starting lineup and become a barometer for the team’s success.
Walsh’s stat line against the Lakers—17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 6-of-7 shooting—was a microcosm of his season. He is shooting 45% from three-point range. In his last four games, he has been a flamethrower, including a perfect 8-of-8 shooting night against the Wizards.
“He’s fearless,” Derrick White said of his young teammate. “He defends like a vet, and now the shots are falling. It changes the geometry of the floor for us.”
Walsh provides the length and defensive versatility that Boston desperately missed with the exit of their veteran stars. If he continues this trajectory, the Celtics haven’t just found a stopgap; they’ve found a cornerstone for the next decade.
The Ghost in the Room: The Return of Tatum
Here is the thought that keeps the rest of the Eastern Conference awake at night: This isn’t even their final form.
Jayson Tatum is progressing. The whispers from the Auerbach Center suggest that his recovery from the Achilles tear is ahead of schedule. There is growing optimism that he could return late in the season—perhaps February or March.
If the Celtics can maintain a top-four seed—they are currently tied for 4th with the Magic, just four games back of the first-place Pistons—and reintroduce a healthy Tatum to a lineup that is already humming, the ceiling for this team dissolves.
Imagine a lineup of Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Jordan Walsh, and a center to be named later. It is a terrifying proposition.
Even if Tatum returns at 80%, his gravity alone changes the math. Brown goes back to attacking tilted defenses. White goes back to being the ultimate connector. The bench becomes deeper.
The Celtics aren’t just surviving the wait; they are thriving in it.
The Missing Piece: The Case for Zubac
If there is a hole in the Celtics’ armor, it is in the middle. Al Horford is timeless, but he is old. Neemias Queta has been serviceable, but he is unproven in the fires of the playoffs.
This brings us to the trade deadline, and one name that makes too much sense to ignore: Ivica Zubac.
With the Los Angeles Clippers spiraling (more on that later), Zubac could become available. The big man is averaging 16 points and 12 rebounds on 60% shooting. He is a brick wall of a screener and a legitimate rim protector.
“If Brad Stevens pulls the trigger on a big man,” says one rival GM, “wrap it up. They win the East.”
Adding Zubac to this high-octane offense would give Boston the physical edge they currently lack. It is the move that signals they aren’t just happy with a nice story—they are chasing a banner.
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION: The Good, The Bad, and The Historic
While Boston writes a Cinderella story, the rest of the league is providing plenty of drama of its own. Here is a look at the winners and losers from a chaotic week in the NBA.
The Big Easy Disaster
If Boston is the model of organizational resilience, the New Orleans Pelicans are the cautionary tale of organizational collapse.
The Pelicans are 3-21. They have the same winning percentage as the 1948 Providence Steamrollers. Their net rating (-10.9) is historically inept.
But the tragedy isn’t the losing; it’s the lack of hope. The Pelicans traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks to move up for Derik Queen. That pick currently has the highest odds of being number one overall in a draft loaded with generational talent like AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer.
“It’s the bleakest situation in the NBA,” says an analyst. “They have no assets, no healthy stars, and no fans in the seats.”
Zion Williamson is a ghost. Brandon Ingram was traded for nothing. The Dejounte Murray experiment failed. The CJ McCollum trade for Jordan Poole has been a disaster. The franchise is drifting aimlessly, and whispers of relocation are beginning to move from Reddit threads to boardrooms.
The Thunder Roll On
At the other end of the spectrum lies the Oklahoma City Thunder. At 22-1, they are playing a different sport than everyone else.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues his MVP march, dropping 33 points on 83% shooting in a rout of the Mavericks. But the story of that game was the Thunder defense, which held Anthony Davis scoreless in 23 minutes.
Zero points. For Anthony Davis.
It was the first time in AD’s career he played that many minutes without scoring. The Thunder are young, hungry, and terrifyingly good.
The Clippers Crisis
The Clippers lost to the Timberwolves, falling below the Brooklyn Nets in the standings. Let that sink in. Despite 20 points from Kawhi Leonard and a triple-double from James Harden, they cannot close games. Like the Pelicans, they do not own their draft pick (owed to OKC). It might be time to blow it up in Inglewood.
The Rise of the Pistons
Yes, you read that correctly. The Detroit Pistons are 18-5 and sit atop the Eastern Conference. Cade Cunningham (29 points, 9 assists vs. Portland) has made the leap. Jalen Duren is a force. They are young, athletic, and finally winning. It is one of the best stories in sports.
Quick Hits
Cleveland Concerns: The Cavs lost to a Warriors team missing Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler. The offense is broken (24% from three), and Donovan Mitchell looks frustrated.
Jalen Johnson’s Leap: The Hawks forward is an All-NBA lock, posting a 31-point triple-double.
Zach LaVine Showcase: The Bulls guard dropped 42 points on the Heat, clearly auditioning for a trade out of Chicago.
Magic Rising: Orlando (14-9) beat Miami in a thriller behind Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. They are tied with Boston and look like a legitimate playoff threat.
The Verdict
As we head deeper into December, the NBA landscape is shifting. The old guard is stumbling, new powers are rising in Detroit and Orlando, and the Thunder look invincible.
But the story of the season remains in Boston.
They were supposed to be dead. They were supposed to be waiting for next year. Instead, Jaylen Brown and Joe Mazzulla have looked at the adversity and laughed.
“We’re not waiting for anyone to save us,” Brown said after the Lakers win. “We’re right here.”
If Jayson Tatum walks through that door in March to join this version of the Celtics? The rest of the league won’t be dealing with a nice story. They’ll be dealing with a juggernaut.
