This season has been somewhat of a half-success for the Boston Celtics franchise. Why half-successful? Well, before the start of the campaign, most analysts had them somewhere around a playoff-caliber squad in the wide-open Eastern Conference, let alone legitimate title contenders.
After all, arguably their No. 1 superstar, Jayson Tatum , was projected to miss the season altogether while recovering from his Achilles injury, while the organization also made a bunch of cost-cutting moves to avoid the dreaded second apron.
As a result, the Celtics parted ways with most of their reliable supporting cast. Al Horford , Kristaps Porzingis , Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet all found their place under the sun elsewhere. Everything pointed toward this being somewhat of a "pause" season for the most decorated franchise in NBA history. However, it turned out to be anything but that.
The C's, led by the masterful coaching of Joe Mazzulla, who was recently and rightfully crowned Coach of the Year, and then by MVP-esque level performances from Jaylen Brown , completely shattered all expectations.
The squad definitely surpassed what everyone believed, at least up until the very end of the regular season and playoffs, when the narrative suddenly shifted, because the odds, with Tatum's speedy comeback and stellar play from the rest, flipped back.
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Boston secured the second seed in the East, and for a moment, it looked like another walk in the park was ahead of them. They even jumped to a 3-1 lead in the series against the Philadelphia 76ers . But from there, everything slowly went downhill, and they found themselves out of the postseason. The three-point shooting, their bread and butter throughout the season, completely disappeared, and everything else followed with it.
However, more than the playoff disappointment itself, the bigger questions quickly started surfacing around Boston. Should they enter trade maneuvering territory and potentially move one of the "Jays" to chase another superstar? Or should they simply run it back with the same core, just with a different offensive philosophy?
Well, Shaquille O'Neal , the legendary big man turned analyst and everything in between, gave his own two cents on the situation in Beantown.
"I don't think they should break up the Jays, they just have to learn how to have better in-game adjustments. The Celtics, you know, they are going to live by the jump shot and die by the jump shot," the Hall of Fame big man pointed out in his appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show."
"It's tough to watch. When it's falling, it looks pretty, but you have to have that mentality, 'Hey, I just missed two threes, let me go take a high percentage shot. And that's why they lost," O'Neal added. "It can still work. You can still have two alpha males on the same team, doing the same thing."
For O'Neal, the situation is more than clear. Having two dominant players with somewhat similar styles on the same team is not necessarily a bad thing. What has to change, though, is the overall concept.
Sure, shooting threes (and making them) was exactly what carried Boston to its championship run back in 2024. But once those shots stop falling, that is when problems begin and questions immediately follow. That is why a more versatile and structured offensive approach could be the answer, according to the "Big Diesel." Now, whether Boston actually chooses that route remains to be seen.
The fact is, the Celtics have already been linked in multiple trade scenarios involving some of the league's biggest names this offseason, including Giannis Antetokounmpo , who for quite some time now has looked increasingly likely to search for a new home outside of the Milwaukee Bucks organization.
Still, the big question remains whether trading Brown, especially after a tremendous season in which he featured in MVP conversations almost until the very end, is truly the right move for Boston. Those will definitely be tough decisions for current Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens moving forward.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
