Celtics Still Confident They Can Contend for Title Without Tatum

The 2024-25 Celtics looked poised to repeat. After winning 61 games during the regular season with a stacked lineup that included the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White, most felt it was inevitable that with their experience, they would get past New York, get past Indiana or Cleveland, and then land in the NBA Finals against likely the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But on May 12, 2015, all that changed. Tatum felt a pop in his right leg in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks. The next thing you know, he was being helped off the court.

Diagnosed as a torn Achilles tendon, Tatum required surgery and was told he could miss up to a year of action. The Celtics struggled the rest of the series without him, losing to the Knicks in six games.

Tatum’s absence as the season approaches can be felt throughout all of Boston. Optimism has been replaced by pessimism, and the dreams of building a dynasty like the one they had in the 80s are drifting away. To add insult to injury for Celtics fans, the team traded Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in the offseason while also releasing Al Horford, making it look even less like the dominant club that won the NBA title in 2024. 

There’s still no definite timetable on when Tatum will return. Depending on who you listen to, it could be anywhere from February to next June, if the Celtics even make it that far. But while the media and many fans are writing them off for next season, team owner Bill Chisholm and the rest of the front office believe they are still championship contenders with the team they have.

“I think there’s real talent here that hasn’t been fully realized,” Chisholm said.

Legendary Celtics player Paul Pierce believed the team knew what it was doing when it dealt Porzingis and Holiday away, keeping Tatum in mind. No matter what happened last May, those moves were going to happen.

“Whether he’s hurt or not, I think they would have had to still make these decisions‚” Pierce said. “But I do think it made it easier to make them. Like, let’s say Jayson’s healthy and they won the championship. Then if you break it up, it’s like, what are we doing? So I think it made it easier to make those moves with Jrue and Porzingis and all that.”

The Celtics have a lot of faith in Payton Pritchard, who shot 40 percent from beyond the arc last season. They believe him, along with White and Brown, will keep the Celtics near the top of the Eastern Conference standings for much of the year, with the hope that Tatum will be there for the end of it. They also added Luka Garza and Anfernee Simons to their lineup, and drafted Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams, who the front office is very high on.

Winning consistently next year will be a tall task, but much of it depends on Tatum’s return and where the Celtics are in the standings. As the saying goes, “you just got to get into the tournament and you’ve got a shot.” If Tatum is back next April, there’s enough star power there beside him to help the Celtics win another title.