It might sound crazy to say this, but we're two days away from the Boston Celtics returning to the basketball court for a game against another.
The NBA preseason is already underway, and the Celtics make their debut in the exhibition season on Wednesday night at FedExForum in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies.
Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.
And unlike recent years, there's legitimate intrigue around what this team will look like when they hit the floor for mostly meaningless basketball.
That's because Boston underwent a massive makeover this offseason, watching key pieces from their 2024 NBA Finals-winning team find new homes as the team did everything they could to get under the dreaded second apron to avoid major penalties for being over the collectively-bargained spending threshold.
- Future Hall of Fame center Al Horford signed a multi-year deal with the Warriors
- Future Hall of Fame guard Jrue Holiday was shipped off to Portland to help get the team under the second apron
- Unicorn center Kristaps Porzingis was shipped off to Atlanta in a similar move with similar motivations
- Luke Kornet, an important depth piece for Boston's front court, signed a four-vear deal with San Antonio worth $41 million
Add in the fact that All-World forward Jayson Tatum remains out while rehabbing his surgically repaired Achilles tendon, and it will be a whole new world for Celtics fans once the 2025-26 regular season gets underway on October 22 against the 76ers.
If nothing else, this preseason is going to help fans familiarize themselves with a roster full of new faces - faces that are going to be commanding the bulk of the minutes moving forward.
Fans will need to get used to a far less star-studded roster quickly this fall, and this is something forward Jaylen Brown is acutely aware of.
“To be honest - I mean, we’ve been spoiled, to some degree, where we’ve been able to have a bunch of talented players come through,” Brown told the media at day five of training camp on Monday.
“Which has made a lot of our jobs a lot easier. This year’s a little different. What we lack in experience, we got to make up with speed and mentality. That’s fun as well, too. So I’m looking forward to this year, setting the tone. It should be a different year, but should be fun still.”
With Tatum out, Brown is the undisputed "guy" for this team.
May 14, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots a free throw in the second half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images)We all know Brown is capable of star-level heights. He's a one-time All-NBA selection (2023), and has been voted to the All-Star game four different times (2021, 2023-25) in the first nine years of his career. But dwarfing all of that is the run he went on in 2024, winning both Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP as Boston's best player that postseason.
They don't win that title without Brown's high level offense down the stretch.
With that said, all of those accomplishments have come while sharing a floor with Tatum - a player who has been a first-team All-NBA selection each of the last four seasons.
Will Brown be able to elevate without his running mate? Can the 28-year-old have a run like Scottie Pippen did while Michael Jordan was playing baseball?
It's time to show why at the time of signing, you were given the largest contract in NBA history. The runway is there for Brown to prove he can be a No. 1 on a team at the professional level.
IMPORTANT CAVEAT - Brown won't have the supporting cast around him that Tatum has had over the last five years. It would be disingenuous to say Tatum's success wasn't at least in part because of the great teammates he had around him. Brown's team this season is good, not great.
Is he capable of elevating his teammates? If you think so, MVP odds for Brown are available. And according to OddsTrader, the number for Brown in the MVP market is all the way up to +30000 at BetMGM. That's incredible value for a player that's going to drive a majority of Boston's offense with Tatum out of the picture.
We'll find out soon into the regular season what this all looks like for the temporary lead banana in Boston.
Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.