Boston Celtics
In an uneven first month of the season, the Celtics are hovering around .500 in a way that some might not have expected.
Jaylen Brown is 12th in the league in scoring this season entering Friday. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)
November 21, 2025 | 2:15 PM
4 minutes to read
The first month of a Celtics season that no one knew what to expect has been pretty uneven.
As the first month of the 2025-26 NBA season is in the books, the Celtics are 8-7 on the year, riding a three-game winning streak ahead of their Friday night matchup against the Nets. This is actually Boston’s second three-game win streak this season, but their first one came after they lost three games to open the year.
Maybe the Celtics hovering around .500 is what you expected for the 2025-26 campaign, with Jayson Tatum out and the team losing a slew of players (Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Luke Kornet) over the offseason. However, the way they’ve gotten there has been a bit surprising.
So, let’s take a look at 10 stats that stand out from the first month of the season as we try to get a better grasp of what to expect from this Celtics team moving forward.
96.4: As the rest of the league plays at a quicker pace, the Celtics’ pace has remained the same. They’re averaging 96.4 possessions per 48 minutes this year, which is last in the league. They trail the Heat by nearly 10 possessions per game. While playing at a quicker pace could be more beneficial for the Celtics, their tempo might be why they’ve remained relatively healthy. Only one of their regular rotation players has missed a game this season (outside of Tatum, of course) due to injury, with Luka Garza sitting out one game in October. That’s pretty rare in this day and age in the NBA.
118: The Celtics were tasked with not only having to replace the near-27 points per game Tatum averaged over the last two seasons, but they also needed to make up for the roughly combined 46 points per game between the players they’ve lost this season. They’ve done a solid job at doing that so far, with their 118 offensive rating ranking sixth in the league.
27.5: With Tatum out, Jaylen Brown has been tasked with taking the lead role on the Celtics’ offense so far this season. He’s done pretty well on that end so far, scoring 27.5 points per game. With his 50.3 field goal percentage, Brown and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the only non-bigs who are in the top 12 in scoring who’ve made at least percent of their field goal attempts this year. Brown hasn’t been tremendous from deep, making 34.9 percent of his 3-pointers.
14: Brown has been a midrange maestro this season, though, and Boston has made the midrange shot a part of its identity this season. The Celtics lead the NBA in mid-range attempts per game with 14. Brown’s six midrange field goal attempts per game are the most in the league, while his 52.2 percentage on such shots is the second-best mark among those who average at least 2.5 midrange shots per game.
44.2: Even as the Celtics have grown more comfortable in the midrange this season, they’re still putting up 3-pointers at a pretty high number. They’re averaging 44.2 3-point attempts per game, trailing just the Cavaliers. However, they’re 19th in 3-point percentage (34.7).
43.4: Even with Tatum’s absence and the departures of Holiday, Horford, and Porzingis, the Celtics have done a good job at getting their opponents to miss shots this season. Their 43.4 opponent’s field goal percentage is the second-best mark in the league, only trailing the defending champion Thunder.
71.7: Tatum’s absence and the departures of Boston’s other top three bigs from last season are being felt in a different way, though. The Celtics rank 23rd in defensive rebounding percentage (71.7), ranking 25th in second-chance points allowed per game (17.1) as a result. Boston ranked in the top 10 in defensive rebounding percentage and second chance points allowed in each of the last three seasons.
112.6: Boston’s step back in getting defensive rebounds has pushed the team’s defense closer to the middle of the pack in the league. The Celtics have a 112.6 defensive rating this season, which ranks 11th. While that might not be a bad mark, it’s a step back from where the Celtics were in each of the last four seasons, when they ranked in the top four in defensive rating.
-31.0: While the Celtics are one of six teams to rank in the top 12 in offensive and defensive rating this season, there’s a reason why their record isn’t better: They struggle in close games. Boston is 27th in clutch time net rating, with opponents outscoring them by 31 points per 100 possessions in clutch time scenarios. Clutch games are defined by when games are within five points at any point in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime. The Celtics are 5-2 in non-clutch games this season.
35.9: As a few players have stepped up for the Celtics this season, Derrick White hasn’t been able to meet the mark this season, at least offensively. He’s shooting just 35.9 percent from the field this season, making only 30.5 percent of his 3-pointers as he’s averaging 15.9 points per game this season. He’s been a bit better as of late, though, scoring, making 41.9 percent of his field goal attempts over the Celtics’ last seven games. He’s averaging 17.7 points per game over that stretch, while still playing at a high level defensively (1.7 steals, 1.3 blocks per game).
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