By Jonah Drew

Record: 63-19

The 2024 Boston Celtics were unequivocally one of the greatest teams to ever grace the association. Don’t believe me? In the 23-24 NBA season the Boston Celtics posted a Net Rating of 11.6, far and away the best in the league. It doesn’t stop there though, that mark of 11.6 is tied for third in the history of the NBA with the 2017 Golden State Warriors. The only teams ahead of them? The ’96 and ’97 Bulls. So really, I do not want to hear the “Fraudulent Ring” argument anymore, because it’s truly baseless. They simply played who was in front of them, and dominated at that. With that out of the way, let’s discuss the 2025 Boston Celtics, not that they are all that different than the last rendition. The Celtics under Joe Mazzulla have fully embraced the pace and space, get as many 3s up as possible. This system can be risky if the personnel is not the right fit but thankfully for Boston, this roster fits like a glove. Last season, the Celtics were far and away the most efficient 3 point shooting team at 38.9%. They really do not have anybody in their rotation that can not 3 at a solid clip. They were also the best defense in the eastern conference last year, but this should not be suprising at all considering their unhuman defensive personnel. From a point of attack perspective, it simply does not get better than Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. Jrue is a Top 3 guard defender in basketball and White is not far behind. They also have great switchability, I trust both of them to hold their own if switched on to a wing or a big on any given possession. Speaking of switchability, nobody epitomizes it like Jayson Tatum. In the playoffs, Tatum was guarding quality bigs like Dereck Lively and Myles Turner for entire series’ and more than doing a job. Jaylen Brown and Porzingis are also well above average defenders, and when fully engaged can be among the best at their respective positions. This team is immune to mismatch attacking. Their combination of absurd aggregate offensive skill, spacing, and defensive versatility is what made them one of the best squads ever in ’24 and I wouldn’t expect much to change in ’25.

MVP: Jayson Tatum

I understand it has become popular to rag on Jayson Tatum, but it has absolutely gone too far. I believe that some of his admittedly corny off court antics after winning the 2024 NBA Finals have began to seep into the way Tatum is discussed as a basketball player. I also believe that he just hit a shooting slump at the wrong time and was still a tremendously impactful player during the homestretch of the Celtics play off run. From a baseline perspective, Tatum averaged 26.9 PPG with 8 Boards and 5 assists to boot. He did this on .471/.376/.833 splits. While obviously these numbers are elite, Tatum’s game goes way behind the Box Score. While I do have questions about his shot diet, there is no denying Tatum is great at getting down hill and finishing. He is a 6’8 freight train who can put the ball on the floor as good as any 4 in the game. His rim finishing efficiency is also among the best in the game. As great as he is offensively, I believe Tatum’s greatest impact actually comes on the defensive end of the floor. Tatum might be the only player in the entire NBA that can actually guard 1-5 at a high level. That versatility makes it so tough for opposing offenses to find favorable matchups, especially with the POA guys he has by his side. There is a take that Jayson Tatum “Does not have an A+ trait” which while I do understand, I would argue that his versatility is an A+ trait and is what makes him a comfortable top 10 guy.

DPOY: Jrue Holiday

The Celtics team defense is so elite that you could make a legit argument for any of the 5 starters to earn this honor. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are the best point of attack duo in the league and are completely interchangeable in terms of who’s better but I would slightly lean Jrue because of a few factors. For one, Jrue is better in isolation, where he ranks second in basketball just behind Alex Caruso. Jrue is also in the 98th percentile of defensive versatility, which seems to be a growing theme of this Brad Stevens’ constructed roster. Despite totaling some of the lowest steal numbers of his career, Jrue was an equally impactful defender due to his ball pressure and ability to guard bigger guards and wings. I also believe there is something to be said for his defensive clutch gene, I understand this may be intangible but it feels like whenever the Celtics needed a big defensive play, Jrue was there to make it. Exhibit A of this was in the Eastern Conference Finals when he stripped a red hot Andrew Nembhard to ice the comeback in Game 3. There is a reason every time you ask an NBA Player, “Who is the best defender in the NBA” they a say Jrue Holiday.

Breakout: Jordan Walsh

You may know of Jordan Walsh as “The guy with Alopecia” because well, he is pretty recognizable. If you didn’t know, Alopecia is an autoimmune disease that causes you to lose all your hair. But I am not here to talk about that, I am here to pitch on Jordan Walsh being a real back end rotation piece. My college basketball heads know Jordan Walsh, as he was absolutely electric in his singular year at Arkansas before he was selected 36th overall in last year’s draft. Walsh is a tremendous athlete and I believe that is where he could provide value for Boston. Of course the Jays are great athletes but the 2 projected back up wings in Hauser and Scheierman are both average at best athletes so Walsh could provide some much needed burst at the back of the rotation. I also believe that with his ability as a defensive playmaker and the Celtic’s desire to get out and run it is a seamless fit. The most exciting part though is when the Celtics do get out and run, I could see him thriving as a play finisher. Walsh is only 20 with ample room to grow but I really do see a world where he is an impactful rotation piece, at least for stretches of the year.

Sources

BBall-Index

Basketball Reference

ESPN

NBA.com

Sporting News

Statmuse