After blowing a 3-1 lead and losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7, the Boston Celtics have been eliminated in the first round of the 2026 playoffs
The Celtics headed into the 2026 season with the mindset that it was a rebuilding year with superstar forward Jayson Tatum being out for most of the season. However, Tatum’s co-partner Jaylen Brown took the role of being the best player and led the Celtics to the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Tatum also ended up coming back at the end of the regular season to help the team and looked very healthy and polished after some time.
All this led to a first round matchup against the 76ers who hadn’t beaten Boston in the playoffs since 1982.
2023 MVP Joel Embiid had never beaten his nemesis before and this didn’t seem like the year to do it, but clearly things were different.
Embiid missed the first three games of the series and the 76ers were down 2-1. However, after that point he went on a tear averaging 28 points per game according to stat muse and leading his team to a game 7 victory.
Now, it hasn’t been mentioned that Tatum actually did not play in Game 7 after being ruled out right before the game with knee tightness.
This meant it was up to Brown and his teammates to carry the load, and they did the exact opposite. Brown played very well scoring 33 points, but his teammates didn’t do anything to help.
The Celtics went 13-49 from 3 point range and had an abysmal offensive performance.
This has led to many questions about the offensive philosophy of head coach Joe Mazzulla.
The Celtics were virtually unstoppable this season when the shots from beyond the arc were falling, but struggled to create any offense without threes.
Mazzulla’s strategy has led to success as his team led the NBA in threes made and attempted in 2024 and 2025. They were third in threes made and fourth in threes attempted this year according to stat muse, but it could be assumed they’d be higher if Tatum was healthy the whole year.
When the shots weren’t falling, the Celtics looked stagnant, which is a big reason for why they got upset in the first round. Mazzulla’s offense has resulted in a championship and three very disappointing playoff exits since he’s taken over.
Mazulla’s offense is at its best when there are big men who can stretch the floor. However, starting center Neemias Queta couldn’t do that, so general manager Brad Stevens traded fan favorite Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls for center Nikola Vučević .
However, Vučević was a big disappointment for the Celtics and didn’t play a single minute of Game 7 and he’s the only unrestricted free agent on the team, so it’ll be interesting to see where he lands and for how much money.
Many wonder what the next step is for the Celtics. Brown has made some questionable comments on his live streams as of late.
On a twitch live stream, Brown said, “I wouldn’t say by far. By far would be a stretch because obviously winning the championship is great. But I’m telling y’all, this was my favorite season.”
Many think the team could end up trading Brown this offseason for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo or other pieces on the team to extend their championship window with the current core. The Celtics don’t have too many holes to fill this offseason, but still many questions to answer.