This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/celtics/onsi as Celtics Guard Predicted to Have Breakout 2025-26 Season. Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard is one of the few healthy meaningful holdovers left from the club's latest championship core.

"The challenge is they're going to come with a different mentality," Justin Edwards said. "We beat them at home in the opener. We just got to try to build off of what we did last game and then add the pieces that we have and the film that we've been watching just trying to put into the game."

Of course, the Celtics are still not at the necessary level to be viewed as a contending team. In fact, they're at least one elite-level player and a Jayson Tatum return away from being back to the necessary skill level of a contending roster.

The former Celtics big man will have to work his way into Portland’s rotation. The Blazers have leaned on Donovan Clingan as their starter thus far, with Duop Reath and first-round pick Yang Hansen coming off the bench. It’s unclear how Williams fits in the front court, but getting him back on the court is still a positive sign.

On Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers will welcome the Boston Celtics into the Xfinity Mobile Arena for the opening match of the NBA Cup tournament. The Sixer

Since moving into the starting lineup, Josh Minott has emerged as a key contributor for the Celtics, while Anfernee Simons is finding his rhythm when coming off the bench. The exciting thing about the current roster is that there's plenty of room for growth, and as those improvements occur, the team will naturally improve.

Headlined by AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer, non-contending teams around the league will undoubtedly be tempted by the notion of tanking for a potential lottery pick. The Boston Celtics could be one of those franchises,

The Boston Celtics are exercising the third-year player option on Baylor Scheierman's deal for next season. The Celtics selected Scheierman with the 30th overa