"Limping" Boston Showing Famed Celtics Pride
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 18 Nov 2025
Last season, the Boston Celtics practically kissed their NBA title retention bid goodbye when they lost their main man Jason Tatum to ACL injury.
Tatum had not only been the Celtics main scorer and among top rebounders but virtually their heart and soul. His lost inevitably resulted to Boston being booted out by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, 3-1, almost a complete reversal from the previous season's result.
In the off season, the Celtics also lost three of the vital cogs of their previous season's championship rotation. Regular center Kristaps Porzingis went to Sacramento Kings, defensive guard Jrue Holiday joined the rebuilding Houston Rockets and reliable big man Al Horford departed for to shore up the Golden State Warriors.
The Celtics have been so decimated of championship quality and proven players that pundits and analysts have virtually given up on Boston even having a Chinaman's chance of making this season's playoffs. Boston was near the bottom of most pre-season ranking together with another injury and desertion-hit erstwhile championship contending team, the Indiana Pacers.
That looked like a fair assessment.
Though the Celtics notched a 3-1 record in the Summer Pre-Season, that tournament has been essentially to provide exposures to the reserves and new draftees.
When the regular season came, Boston took it to the chin four straight games before it tasted its first victory at the expense of the lowly New Orleans Pelicans, 122-90. It was also its first on the road in two games.
In their first game back to Boston, the Celtics ambushed the highly rated Cleveland Cavaliers 125-105. They followed it up with another win on the road, nipping Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-108.
But Boston would drop its next two games on the road in the West, 101-128 to the Houston Rockets and 103-105 to the Utah Jazz.
Returning to the TD Garden, the Celtics would rout the visiting Washington Wizards, 136-107. Then, they would split home and away games with the Orlando Magic, 110-123 and 111-107.
Boston would drop its last game in the East, 100-102 nail-biter to the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia before sojourning to another two games road trip to the West.
The Celtics would sweep that two road games, routing the Memphis Grizzlies 131-96 then outplaying the Los Angeles Clippers 121-118.
With a respectable record of 7 wins and 7 losses, the Celtics are currently 10th place in the Eastern Conference in tie with the Orlando Magic and virtually with the Chicago Bulls.
Leading Boston's charge in asserting the famed Celtics Pride was the trio of Jalen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard who are remnants of the team's once dreaded championship core, none standing more than 6'6" in height. Also proving revelations are a slew of other Celts led by erstwhile reserve center, the 7'0" Portuguese Neemias Queta and the 6'11"Luka Garza.
There are talks that the current team's overachieving ways have a positive effect on Tatum's recuperation and rehabilitation from his ACL operation with some insiders saying that it could hasten Tatum's return well before the end of the current season.
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Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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