At TD Garden, the crowd is alive with excitement. The stands are a sea of green and a familiar feeling of anticipation hangs in the air. In homes across New England, families gather in front of the television, ready to cheer loud enough to get noise complaints from neighbors. The wait is finally over as preseason for the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season is underway. After a disappointing loss to the New York Knicks in game six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last year, the Boston Celtics are back and eager to reclaim the trophy.
While the team looks forward to this season, there are a few significant losses that they will have to adapt to from the start. Last season, during game four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Jayson Tatum ruptured his right achilles tendon, which was extremely devastating for both his team and his fans. While he is allegedly doing well in the recovery process, the date of his return is still unkown. During the offseason, Jrue Holiday was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis was sent to the Atlanta Hawks. Al Horford and Luke Kornet left as well, signing with other teams in free agency.
With such a big change in personnel, the starting lineup for this year is already looking different. In their preseason opener on October 8, 2025, the Celtics beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-103. The starting lineup included Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Xavier Tillman Sr, Sam Hauser, and Chris Boucher. Boucher is new to the Celtics, having signed a one year contract after his seven year contract with the Toronto Raptors expired. Head coach Joe Mazzulla explained that he is experimenting with the starting lineup during preseason in preparation for the regular season.
As new players are still adapting to the team, we saw the returning players leading the team in terms of points. Those players were Brown with 21 points and White with 16 points and 10 assists. Mazzulla also put in a majority of the bench towards the end of the game, giving some of the new players an opportunity to record some minutes.
The Celtics faced a devastating loss against the Raptors in their second preseason game on October 10, 2025. After losing a 27 point lead, the Celtics ultimately lost 105-107. The starting lineup featured Payton Prichard, Anfernee Simons, Josh Minott, Chris Boucher, and Neemias Queta. Simons, Minott, and Boucher are all new additions to the team this year. During the second half of the game, the younger players on the team struggled to keep up while facing pressure from the Raptors. They had a total of 21 turnovers in the second half alone, largely contributing to the loss of their lead. Despite the loss, Mazzulla explained that it was a good learning lesson for the new players on the team. He says, “[the younger players] have to get those reps. They have to be able to execute and they have to be able to understand that every possession matters.” The team is shaking off the loss but using the opportunities for growth as they head into future preseason games
With major changes to the roster and promising new additions such as 7-foot Neemias Queta and defensive playmaker Josh Minott, the Celtics are off to a great start this season. If they can learn to work well together under pressure, they have a great chance of going far in the playoffs.