After a weeklong layoff for the NBA All-Star Game, the Celtics will return to action Thursday night in San Francisco, tipping off a four-game West Coast swing against Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and the Golden State Warriors.
Here are the biggest questions and storylines surrounding Boston as it pushes toward the postseason:
When will Jayson Tatum return?
Tatum already seemed to be trending toward a return in the coming weeks. Then, NBC revealed during All-Star weekend that it will broadcast a five-part docuseries chronicling the Celtics star’s recovery from Achilles surgery.
That show, titled “The Quiet Work,” will air during NBC’s “Sunday Night Basketball” coverage and follow Tatum “through the most challenging stretch of his career as he fights to return to the NBA,” according to the trailer description.
Would Tatum participate in such a series and release it in the middle of the season if he wasn’t planning to return until the fall? No chance. This announcement was further evidence that, barring any late setbacks in his rehab, he’ll be back in a Celtics uniform before long.
“How long?” is still an open question, as the only public confirmation Tatum has given is that his first game back will be at TD Garden. His new NBC partnership doesn’t guarantee he’ll make his comeback in a game the network is broadcasting, but it’s certainly worth noting that Boston’s Sunday, March 1 matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers recently was flexed to an 8 p.m. tipoff on NBC/Peacock.
A primetime weekend game against a longtime Celtics rival? That would be quite the stage for a season debut.
Celtics-Sixers is part of a stretch of four home games in eight days that also includes ones against Brooklyn (Feb. 27), Charlotte (March 4) and Dallas (March 6). The Mavericks game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN.
Boston also will play on Causeway Street six times in a seven-game span later next month, including a Peacock game vs. Phoenix (March 16), an ESPN game vs. Golden State (March 18) and a Sunday NBC game vs. Minnesota (March 22).
If and when Tatum does return, the questions will shift to the on-court variety: Will he initially come off the bench or be on a minutes restriction? How will Joe Mazzulla need to tweak an offensive system that was reworked to account for his absence? What impact will his return have on Jaylen Brown, who’s enjoyed a career year as Boston’s clear leader and No. 1 option?
How will Nikola Vucevic fit in?
The Celtics’ big move at the NBA trade deadline was adding the 35-year-old Vucevic, whom they believe will add a new dimension to their overachieving frontcourt.
After struggling against the New York Knicks in his second game with Boston, the veteran center was much better in his third, tallying 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal in a blowout win over Chicago.
“I think (that game) was a good step forward of where we can get to, and I felt a lot more comfortable out there,” Vucevic said afterward. “I think the guys felt more comfortable around me, and we were able to build some good chemistry, so it was a good step forward.”
Vucevic, who came from a Bulls team that plays a much faster-paced style, planned to devote additional time to film study during the All-Star break to get up to speed on his new teammates’ tendencies and the nuances of Boston’s system. It’s unclear whether Mazzulla plans to continue using him off the bench behind Neemias Queta — thus giving the Celtics two potent second-unit scorers in Vucevic and Payton Pritchard — or move him into the starting lineup at some point.
The 15th-year pro said he’s fine with either, as long as he’s contributing on a contending team. Vucevic hasn’t advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs since his rookie year in 2012.
Roster spots to fill
The Celtics still have three open spots on their 15-man roster after shipping out Josh Minott, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman at the trade deadline. They must fill at least two of them by Thursday, as NBA rules bar teams from rostering fewer than 14 standard-contract players for more than 14 consecutive days.
How will Boston plug those holes? President of basketball operations Brad Stevens offered a few hints in his post-deadline news conference. The Celtics expect to add another ball-handler, he said, after trading away third guard Anfernee Simons. And though they’re now eligible to sign any player on the buyout market after dropping below the first apron, anyone they bring in “will not be somebody that we’re going to ask to come in and be a part of the everyday rotation when we’re fully healthy.”
Stevens also spoke highly of the Celtics’ two-way players, especially Ron Harper Jr., whom he called “a stud” and “one of the best players in the G League.” Converting Harper’s contract to a standard deal, as the team did with rookie center Amari Williams earlier this month, seems likely. But the team could wait to make that move, as it must carefully time out and structure its signings to avoid reentering the luxury tax. The Celtics currently sit less than $1 million below the tax line after their flurry of deadline moves.
Rookie guards Max Shulga and John Tonje, the latter acquired from Utah in the Boucher trade, are Boston’s other two-way players.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) and center Luka Garza (52) defend the ball from a trio of Cleveland Cavaliers defensemen during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, in Boston. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) and center Luka Garza (52) defend the ball from a trio of Cleveland Cavaliers defensemen during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, in Boston. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)
Toughest remaining matchups
The Celtics’ post-All-Star schedule consists of 10 games against current playoff teams, 11 against play-in teams and seven against lottery teams.
There aren’t many matchups with the other top contenders in the East — Boston plays the rest of the conference’s top six just four times total, with no dates remaining against first-place Detroit — but they’ll see most of the top dogs out West, including two showdowns with defending champion Oklahoma City. And those 11 games against teams in play-in position include three against red-hot Charlotte, which, under the direction of ex-Celtics assistant Charles Lee, boasts the NBA’s second-best net rating since the start of 2026.
Overall, the Celtics have the league’s fifth-toughest remaining schedule (.518), per Tankathon. Their trickiest stretch? A three-game road trip through Cleveland on March 8, San Antonio on March 10 and OKC on March 12.
Other games to circle beyond the ones mentioned above: Feb. 25 at Denver, March 25 vs. OKC and April 9 at New York. The Celtics, Knicks and Cavaliers are separated by just 1 1/2 games in the East standings, so that April tilt at Madison Square Garden could influence playoff seeding.
The Celtics’ ceiling is …?
We’re well past “gap year” talk. The “contenders or pretenders?” question has been answered. Fifty-four games in, the 35-19 Celtics have been one of the NBA’s best teams by almost any metric, from record (fourth-best) to point differential (third) to net rating (third). They own the second-best offense and ninth-best defense — all with one of the league’s best all-around players watching in street clothes.
But there’s a clear distinction between a team capable of, say, reaching the conference finals and one that can legitimately win an NBA championship. Which are the Celtics? We’re about to find out.