Boston Celtics DVOA, Stats, & NBA Rankings

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (foot) has been ruled out for the team's season opener against the New York Knicks on Tuesday. The star big man has been rehabbing from surgery on his foot and is not ready to take the floor just yet. There hasn't been a specific timetable reported, so fantasy managers will have to monitor his status in the meantime. Al Horford will take on some more minutes while the other opportunities will likely be spread between Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman Sr., and maybe even Neemias Queta. Horford and Kornet are likely the better streamers to start the season.

Boston Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown has let it be known that he is in great shape ahead of the 2024-25 NBA campaign. Speaking during the Celtics' media day, Brown noted that "this is the best he's ever felt" and "this summer was the hardest he has ever worked." Brown had plenty of time to invest in improving himself as a player after being left off the Team USA Olympics team. After being named the NBA Finals MVP in 2024, he appears to be gearing up for a big regular season, which should excite fantasy managers.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum spent some of the offseason working on his shooting, telling the media on Tuesday that he has worked through "a few mechanical things" on his jumper with trainer Drew Hanlen. Tatum has developed into one of the best scorers in the league, but his numbers dipped in 2023-24. The five-time All-Star went from averaging 30 points a night to getting 26.9 points. Tatum shot a career-low 28.3 percent from three-point range in the 2024 playoffs and couldn't get anything to fall from deep at the Paris Olympics. The Celtics star enters the new season after signing the biggest extension in NBA history and is expected to be out to prove his worth after being largely overlooked by Team USA in the summer.

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (leg) is progressing in his return from the torn medial retinaculum suffered in the postseason. During Celtics' media day, the veteran reported feeling "really good," adding he's been running and doing "light contact work." Porzingis finished his first season in Boston by averaging 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.9 blocks. However, he appeared in only 57 regular-season contests, which limited his fantasy contributions. While the 29-year-old hopes to return sooner than anticipated, fantasy managers should still be prepared to keep him stashed on their roster. Yet, once he is fully healthy, he'll be a difference-maker for fantasy managers come the playoffs. With that in mind, Al Horford will hold things down in the middle until Porzingis is back on the court, giving him value in all formats early in the 2024-25 campaign.

Boston Celtics general manager Brad Stevens said on Tuesday that center Luke Kornet had offseason wrist surgery, but he's 100 percent heading into training camp, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Kornet will likely see an uptick in early-season minutes with Kristaps Porzingis (foot) sidelined. In the 2023-24 regular season, the big man suited up for 63 contests and logged averages of 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game.