TITLE: Celtics Enter Season Without Jayson Tatum and With Entirely New Center Rotation
SLUG: celtics-enter-season-without-tatum-new-center-rotation
CONTENT:
The Boston Celtics will start the upcoming campaign missing both their franchise cornerstone and last year’s entire center corps. Six-time All-Star forward Jayson Tatum is expected to spend the season recovering from an Achilles tendon tear, and the three big men who handled virtually every playoff minute in 2024-25 are no longer on the roster.
According to ESPN’s Zach Kram, citing data from Cleaning the Glass, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet were on the floor for 99.5 percent of Boston’s non-garbage-time minutes at center during last postseason. All three have since moved on, leaving head coach Joe Mazzulla with a rebuilt frontcourt.
Mazzulla’s current options include Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman. While each provides a distinct skill set, none has matched the combined production or playoff experience of Horford, Porzingis and Kornet.
The dual loss of Tatum and the veteran center trio forces Boston into what many analysts view as a transition year. Whether the Celtics can secure a playoff berth without their star forward and with an untested rotation in the paint remains uncertain for a franchise more accustomed to firm postseason expectations.
Source: Hoops Wire
