Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George, left, consoles Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum after Game 7 of a playoff series last season. Now they're teammates. Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald
Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George, left, consoles Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum after Game 7 of a playoff series last season. Now they’re teammates. Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald
As we count down the final days before Celtics training camp tips off next Tuesday — followed by the team’s preseason opener in Cleveland on Oct. 8 — here are the top six storylines we’ll be following when Jayson Tatum and Co. return to the court:
1. Full-strength Tatum?
Though he made it back from Achilles surgery in less than 10 months, Tatum never felt like Jayson Tatum in the 26 appearances he made last season, playoffs included. After a setback kept him out of Game 7 against Philadelphia, he estimated that he was playing at “80 to 85%” of his full, All-NBA capacity.
Now that he’s had another five months to heal up, rest and strengthen his surgically repaired tendon, Tatum should be much closer to 100% this season. It’s impossible to predict, however, whether he’ll be the same player he was before that devastating injury — the player who finished top-six in NBA MVP voting in four consecutive seasons.
The numbers he put up in his diminished state last season (21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.4 steals per game) inspire confidence, but the Celtics will need him to be peak Tatum or close to it if they hope to contend in Year 1 of the post-Jaylen Brown era.
Tatum and the Celtics could match up against Brown, whose stunning trade to Philadelphia broke one of the NBA’s most successful star player pairings, as early as Oct. 10, when they visit the 76ers for their second preseason game. The Sixers also are set to play an exhibition at TD Garden on Oct. 16.
2. George’s fit
The most important question surrounding Paul George — can he stay healthy? — won’t be answered this preseason. But these next few weeks will provide an early look at how the 36-year-old fits within head coach Joe Mazzulla’s system and how he can complement Tatum, whom George called Boston’s unquestioned “superstar.”
The Celtics saw George at his late-career best last postseason; he averaged 17.3 points and made 55% of his 3-pointers over the seven Boston-Philly matchups while leading the series in steals and holding Tatum and Brown to 39.6% shooting against him.
George acknowledged he’ll need to win over the portion of the fanbase that’s still unhappy about the Brown trade. But after an injury-free summer, he feels prepared to be the type of player this team needs.
“I think they’re getting someone that’s ready to not fill the shoes or fill the void of JB,” George said. “But from a personal standpoint, myself, I think I can come in and kind of still keep us in that contention and give us a chance to win.”
Payton Pritchard (11) of the Boston Celtics gets the fans going as Neemias Queta looks on during the first half during an easy win over Washington at the TD Garden. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Payton Pritchard (11) of the Boston Celtics gets the fans going as Neemias Queta looks on during the first half during an easy win over Washington at the TD Garden. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
3. Starting five
Tatum, George and Derrick White have three of the Celtics’ five starting spots locked down. Who will fill the other two?
Will Payton Pritchard regain the starting spot he lost midway through last season (for roster construction reasons, not poor performance) or continue quarterbacking Boston’s second unit as a high-minutes sixth man? If it’s the latter, does Mazzulla go with Sam Hauser? Baylor Scheierman? Hugo Gonzalez? Jordan Walsh? All four started at times last season, with Hauser, Scheierman and Walsh each logging 20-plus starts.
The other question mark is at center. Will Mazzulla stick with Neemias Queta after his breakout season (and disappointing playoffs) or go with Mitchell Robinson, the team’s top free agent addition? Robinson mostly came off the bench in his final two seasons with New York, providing jolts of game-changing offensive rebounding behind starter Karl-Anthony Towns.
How Mazzulla manages a roster with two non-shooters atop its center depth chart — a first in his head-coaching tenure — is another storyline worth monitoring.
4. Wing watch
Facing the 2025-26 Celtics meant contending with waves of high-energy, pain-in-the-neck wings who hit timely threes and hounded opponents defensively.
All of those players — Scheierman, Walsh, Gonzalez and Ron Harper Jr., who broke into the rotation late in the season and earned himself a three-year contract — are back this season. Will any separate themselves ahead of opening night?
Gonzalez will have a spotlight on him after the Celtics reportedly refused to include him in their failed trade offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Though the 20-year-old Spaniard fell out of favor late last season, the Celtics love his upside, motor and feel for the game, and he showed flashes of offensive growth this summer.
Scheierman was a much better 3-point shooter last season (39.9%) than he was as a rookie and was one of the Celtics’ top rebounders in the back half of the schedule. Walsh said he set a goal this offseason to become “a way better offensive player” who deserves a larger role in crunch time.
5. Rookie radar
At this time last year, the Celtics weren’t expecting Gonzalez to be an immediate NBA contributor. Then he wound up seeing action in all but eight of Boston’s regular-season games, becoming the first C’s draft pick since Pritchard in 2020 not to make a single G League appearance as a rookie.
Is there a similar path to playing time for this year’s first-rounder, Chris Cenac Jr.?
A long, athletic, 19-year-old big man out of Houston, Cenac showed promise as a rebounder and rim protector in the Las Vegas Summer League. But he needs to add strength to his 6-foot-11 frame and improve as a shooter. There will be no rush to play him in an improved frontcourt featuring Robinson, Queta, Luka Garza and Amari Williams, and he’ll likely be given time to develop in Maine unless he proves he doesn’t need it.
Keep an eye, too, on fellow rookie Dillon Mitchell, who offers more intrigue than your typical second-round pick. The 22-year-old wing (23 next month) was an elite perimeter defender and a dangerous transition threat at St. John’s. If he can carry over the improved shooting he showed in Summer League, he could make a case for minutes in a crowded position group.
Mitchell signed a two-way contract that will allow him to split time between Boston and Maine.
6. Bottom-of-the-roster battle
The Celtics head into camp with one open 15-man roster spot and one open two-way contract slot. Odds are they will leave the former vacant, as they did entering each of the last several seasons, but the battle for the latter will be interesting to watch in the coming weeks.
Boston’s most notable non-roster camp attendee is Devin Carter, a 2024 lottery pick who previously starred at Providence College. The 24-year-old point guard signed an Exhibit-10 tryout contract after being traded to and then waived by Atlanta earlier this month. Carter averaged 8.9 points and 2.7 assists over 38 games (12 starts) for Sacramento last season.
His competition for those openings will include undrafted rookies Milos Uzan and Tucker DeVries, who also are on E-10s. Uzan, a point guard out of Houston, and DeVries, a wing who played at Drake, West Virginia and Indiana, both were part of the Celtics’ Summer League squad.