After years of competing for NBA championships, the Boston Celtics were supposed to take a big step back this year. At least, that's what many people thought after the team lost Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Luke Kornet over the offseason, not to mention Jayson Tatum to injury.
Instead, the Celtics have shocked everyone, recovering from a slow start and emerging as one of the league's best teams again with a dramatically different roster.
Boston's only gotten better as the season's progressed, too, improving to 37-19 after winning eight of its last nine games. The Celtics have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, the fourth-best record in the NBA and the league's third-best net rating.
Not bad for a squad that some people thought would be a lottery team this season.
After Sunday's dominant road win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Payton Pritchard was asked why Boston's been so good this season.
Asked Payton Pritchard why he thinks the Celtics have been this good this season, if he had to put it into words:
“I think we have a lot of underrated players that people didn’t know were this good — and were ready for that moment.” pic.twitter.com/LBMViVnyvA
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) February 23, 2026
"I think we have a lot of underrated players that people didn’t know were this good, and were ready for the moment," Pritchard told Noa Dalzell of CLNS. "And so I think they're just seeing it."
To Pritchard's point, several Celtics are having career years this season, stepping up in expanded roles. Jordan Walsh, Neemias Queta and Baylor Scheierman certainly fall into that camp.
Meanwhile, veterans like Pritchard and Jaylen Brown have picked up the slack as well, elevating their performance on a nightly basis.
Time will tell if Boston can keep it up in the playoffs against tougher competition, but so far the Celtics have been more than the sum of their parts.
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