10 things to know about the Celtics as NBA Playoffs begin (2025)

Celtics

Recent history isn't on the Celtics' side, but many believe they'll at least threaten to break the NBA's repeat champion drought.

By Conor Roche

April 19, 2025 | 4:26 PM

8 minutes to read

After six months of regular-season hoops, the NBA Playoffs are finally here.

The postseason officially tipped off on Saturday, but the Celtics won’t begin their playoff quest until Sunday. They’ll host the Magic in Game 1 after Orlando won its play-in game to get the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed.

Of course, the Celtics are looking to repeat as champions after winning Banner 18 last season. They looked the part for most of the year, winning 61 games to finish second in the Eastern Conference.

Now, Boston is set to embark on the games that will really define its season. So, let’s take a look at the 10 things you need to know as the Celtics seek Banner 19.

Jayson Tatum is arguably playing his best basketball of his career, but he’s been in a bit of a shooting slump.

When the All-NBA teams are announced later in the postseason, Tatum will almost likely be named to the first team for the fourth straight season — and rightfully so. The Celtics’ star had another outstanding regular season, scoring 26.8 points per game.

While Tatum had another impressive scoring season, the strides he’s made as a passer and defender were possibly the areas he most impressed during the regular season. His six assists per game were a new career high, averaging more than one assist per game more than he did last season. His passing numbers have been even more impressive as of late, averaging 7.1 assists per game since the All-Star break. He’s also averaging 12.1 potential assists per game in that stretch, the best mark among all forwards.

Defensively, Tatum’s rebounding is also near a career high and among the best in the league for a forward at 8.7 per game. He’s averaging 1.6 stocks (steals and blocks) per game while his 109.5 defensive rating is the eighth-best mark among players who were named an All-Star this season. Opponents are only shooting 33.9 percent on 3-pointers when Tatum’s been the closest defender. Opposing teams are also averaging just 9.8 field goals per game with Tatum as the closest defender, which is the best mark on the Celtics and a sign that he isn’t being attacked much on that end.

The one thing Tatum hasn’t been stellar at as of late, though, is shooting. He’s made just 30.5 percent of his 3-pointers since the All-Star break, giving him a below league average 56.6 true shooting percentage over that stretch.

The latest on Jaylen Brown’s knee injury.

The Celtics’ other star wing missed the final three games of the regular season due to a bone bruise in his right knee. Brown actually received a painkilling injection to treat the injury earlier in April as he’s dealt with the issue since early March, causing him to be limited in the games he did play in to close the season.

Joe Mazzulla didn’t display any concern about Brown’s availability ahead of Sunday’s Game 1 against the Magic following the team’s week off.

“He looked good. He was able to do everything,” Mazzulla told reporters on Saturday. “No limitations. He’s been great physically and mentally. Ready to prepare himself. Ready to go. Loved the week that he had.”

Their starting five hasn’t gotten much time together this season.

Brown’s injury is just one of the handful of knocks a key player on its team has dealt with this season. Porzingis missed over a month to begin the year as he rehabbed from offseason leg surgery before missing even more time later in the year due to an illness. He wound up only playing 42 games this year as a result.

Jrue Holiday only played in 62 games this year, missing some time in March due to an unusual mallet finger injury. He’s also dealt with shoulder and knee injuries this season, in addition to getting some rest days.

As a result of the injuries, Boston’s preferred starting lineup (Tatum, Brown, Holiday, Porzingis, Derrick White) has only played 24 games together this year. It also hasn’t been too great in those two dozen games, averaging a -0.1 plus/minus. That’s down from the 4.1 plus/minus the lineup had in the 2023-24 regular season and 4.0 plus/minus it had in the postseason.

Boston’s bench is better than last year’s.

While the Celtics’ regular starters haven’t gotten much time together this season, Boston’s win total only dropped by three from last season. The bench was a big reason for that.

As anyone who followed the team this season likely knows, Payton Pritchard is the odds-on favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year. He increased his scoring by nearly five points per game, averaging a career-high 14.3 points per game in the regular season while shooting 40.7 percent from 3-point range on high volume (7.8 attempts per game).

Luke Kornet arguably had a career year as well. He averaged six points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and a block per game, while his 14.9 net rating is the sixth-best mark in the league (min. 15 minutes per game).

Sam Hauser has also looked more like himself ever since he recovered from his back injury early in the season. He’s averaging 8.8 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent from 3-point range since Dec. 1, continuing to mesh in well alongside Tatum, Brown, and White.

Of course, Al Horford has also been instrumental to the Celtics’ success this season. In fact, when he has filled in for Porzingis in the starting lineup, that unit outscored its opponents by an average of 4.3 points per game in the regular season. As Horford’s set to turn 39 in June, his game has had very little drop-off this season, averaging roughly the same number of points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals per game this season that he did last year.

Kristaps Porzingis might be playing his best ball since he joined the Celtics.

While the Celtics’ starting lineup with Porzingis hasn’t been great this season, they’ve gotten better as of late. It’s likely because Porzingis has been lights out as a shooter since he returned from his illness in mid-March.

Porzingis is averaging 21.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 28.2 minutes in the last 10 games he’s played. He’s shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from deep over that stretch, with the Celtics winning all 10 of those games.

As a result, Boston’s preferred starting lineup has been better. The unit has outscored its opponents by 2.8 points per game since Porzingis returned from the illness, but it’s only a four-game sample size.

They’re one of two teams that are considered to be elite on both ends of the floor.

The Celtics were one of two teams to finish in the top five in offensive and defensive rating this season, with the Thunder being the other. Boston’s 119.5 offensive rating was the second-best mark in the league while its 110.1 defensive rating was fourth.

They had one of the best road seasons of all time.

Boston’s elite play on both ends of the floor served as the catalyst for one of the best road seasons ever by an NBA team. The Celtics went 33-8 away from TD Garden this year, falling just one win short of the 2015-16 Warriors for the best road record in NBA history. They actually had a chance to tie that mark entering their final road game, but they rested all of their starters.

The Celtics also had the third-best point differential on the road in a season in NBA history, outscoring their opponents by 9.41 points per game. However, the Thunder actually had a better mark this season (10.31).

Still, Boston’s ability to win games away from TD Garden is a positive, especially considering that it has lost some unusual games at home this season and in the postseason in previous years. Remember, the Celtics went 7-1 on the road in the playoffs last year.

Here’s how they’ve fared against other playoff opponents.

The Celtics have largely done well against their playoff competition in the East this year, going 17-8 against the other seven teams. They swept the season series against the Knicks, who they’ll likely play in the second round if they get there and Bucks, a potential Eastern Conference finals opponent.

However, Boston had a losing record against two East playoff teams this year. One of them was Orlando, but Tatum didn’t play in either of Boston’s two losses. The other was Indiana, which took two of three from Boston after losing a few close games to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals last year.

As for the Cavaliers, the Celtics held a double-digit lead in all four of their matchups against them this season. But they only went 2-2 against a likely foe in the Eastern Conference finals, blowing a 25-3 lead in the final matchup between the two teams in the regular season.

Looking at the West, the Celtics went 10-6 in the games they played against the eight playoff teams from the opposing conference. It’s hard to take away much from many of those matchups, though. Both of their games against the Warriors came before the Jimmy Butler trade. The Clippers didn’t have any of their main players in the January matchup between the two teams, which the Celtics won to sweep the season series. They faced the Lakers once after the Luka Doncic trade.

The Thunder were the only team that the Celtics were swept by in the regular season, with Boston losing both games due to some offensive struggles in the fourth quarter.

Defending champions have had a tough time in the playoffs in the last several years.

In a sport that has been defined by dynasties and great runs by teams, the NBA has had a lot more parity in recent years. The Warriors were the last team to repeat as champions, doing so in 2018.

Golden State nearly became the first team in 17 seasons to three-peat a year later, but it lost in the NBA Finals. Not only is that the last time that the defending champion has reached the Finals, but it’s also the last time that the defending champion has made it out of the second round.

Additionally, it’s been quite some time since the Celtics have repeated as champions. The last time they won back-to-back titles was the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons.

Yet, Boston is the favorite to win the East and a popular pick to win it all.

Even though recent history isn’t on the Celtics’ side, that isn’t stopping many prognosticators from predicting them to make another deep run. They’re the betting favorite to win the East, holding -150 odds to do so at DraftKings Sportsbook. They hold the second-best odds to win the title (+190), slightly trailing the Thunder (+165).

Many experts have a similar line of thinking. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton has the Celtics losing to the Thunder in seven games in the NBA Finals. All seven writers surveyed by The Ringer have the Celtics reaching the Finals, with four of them predicting Boston to win it all. The Athletic‘s John Hollinger also has the Celtics losing to the Thunder in the Finals.

Point being, many believe that the Celtics will, at the very least, challenge to end the repeat champion drought, if not do so this postseason.