Boston, MA
Celtics midseason report card: Boston checked all boxes in impressive first half
Before the NBA season tipped off, we outlined a seven-step roadmap for the new-look, Jaylen Brown-led Celtics to exceed expectations in 2025-26.
Exactly halfway through, they’ve successfully checked six of those boxes, with the seventh still pending.
The result: Boston entered the week with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, the fifth-best in the league, and top-three rankings in point differential (third), offensive rating (first) and net rating (second). Joe Mazzulla’s club has been, by almost any all-encompassing metric, one of the best in the NBA through 41 games.
Ahead of Monday night’s marquee matchup against the Detroit Pistons — No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the East — here’s a closer look at how Boston stacks up against those seven preseason benchmarks:
1. “Jaylen Brown looks like a legit No. 1”
“Boston’s clearest path to competitiveness involves Brown playing at an All-NBA level.”
Brown, who’d said for years that he could thrive as a No. 1 option if given the chance, has aced this test thus far, playing his way into the NBA MVP conversation while Jayson Tatum recovers from Achilles surgery. Owning the NBA’s second-highest usage rate behind Luka Doncic, he’s the league’s fourth-leading scorer (29.7 points per game) and is on pace for a career high in assists (4.8).
Though the 3-pointer has been the centerpiece of Boston’s offense under Mazzulla, Brown has found success by becoming one of the premier 2-point maestros, taking more shots per game from inside the arc than any other NBA player. He’s also averaging a career-best 7.3 free throws per game — despite frequent gripes about what he considers unfair officiating.
Simply put, he’s been exactly what this Celtics team needs.
2. “The most important players stay healthy”
“This current Celtics roster does not have (the) luxury (of proven depth). Losing a key player like Brown or White for any significant length of time could tank their season.”
Brown, who failed to reach the 65-game threshold for postseason awards last year, has appeared in all but three of Boston’s 41 games, sitting out two due to illness and one with back spasms. Starters Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser have missed one game apiece. Top center Neemias Queta has missed two. That’s a total of eight DNPs for Boston’s current, Tatum-less starting five.
The Celtics’ key reserves have been regularly available, too. Sixth man Anfernee Simons has appeared in every game, and Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Luka Garza and Baylor Scheierman have been sidelined for a total of two (not including their occasional DNP-CDs).
Outside of Tatum, the only player on the roster who’s missed extended time is wing Josh Minott, who sat out the last six games with an ankle sprain. But Minott fell out of Mazzulla’s rotation in late December and wasn’t seeing meaningful minutes when he suffered his injury.
For context, at this point last season, Brown had missed seven games, Tatum three, Hauser seven, Jrue Holiday six, Luke Kornet six, Al Horford eight and Kristaps Porzingis 23.
3. “Anfernee Simons becomes a playable defender”
“Simons can score. Everyone knows that. … But can he be at least respectable on the defensive end? That’s the big question facing the 26-year-old guard.”
It was telling that, after Simons scored 39 points off the bench last Thursday in a come-from-behind win over the Miami Heat, Mazzulla spent much of his postgame news conference praising the guard’s improved defense.
Simons has gone from liability to legitimately impactful at that end since joining the Celtics over the summer, and those improvements have helped turn him into one of Boston’s most valuable contributors. After an uneven start to the season as he adjusted to his new bench role, the former Portland Trail Blazers starter owns the NBA’s fourth-best plus/minus since the beginning of December.
The big question surrounding Simons now is whether Boston’s front office views him (and his $27.7 million expiring contract) as a trade chip or an asset worth retaining. We’ll find out by the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
4. “The frontcourt exceeds its low expectations”
“The move from Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet to Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman is an enormous downgrade on paper. The Celtics will need career years from at least one of these big men to field even a league-average frontcourt.”
The Celtics essentially took a “we’ll see how it goes and hope for the best” approach at the center position this past offseason — and so far, it’s worked.
Queta has been more than solid as a first-year starter (10.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks per game), and Garza, after being exiled to the end of the bench for much of December, has been a consistent difference-maker off the bench, excelling as a screener and on the offensive glass while shooting a team-best 48.9% from three. It hasn’t mattered that Boucher and Tillman — the Celtics’ two most experienced bigs — have hardly played.
Even Boston’s rebounding — an unsurprising early-season issue for a team that lost its top three big men and its leading rebounder (Tatum) from last year’s squad — has become a strength of late. With help from their crashing wings, the Celtics rank sixth in defensive rebounding rate and fourth in offensive rebounding rate since the start of December, and seventh in overall rebounding rate this season.
Still, trade rumors have linked the Celtics to several established big men, so they could make a move to bolster this group in the coming weeks.
5. “Multiple depth wings become reliable rotation players”
“Jordan Walsh? Baylor Scheierman? Josh Minott? Hugo Gonzalez? With no proven depth on the wing behind Brown and Hauser, the Celtics will need at least half of those inexperienced backups to play real roles this season.”
How about all four?
Gonzalez, an instant contributor as a 19-year-old rookie, boasts the NBA’s second-best individual net rating. The Celtics went 15-5 with Walsh — who’s having by far the best season of his three-year career — in their starting lineup. Scheierman has become an everyday rotation player, earning his playing time through deflections, drawn charges and the occasional timely 3-pointer. Even Minott has been a net positive, starting 10 games and playing big minutes as a small-ball center before falling down the pecking order. All four have swung games with their chaotic energy and hustle plays.
6. “The East is as wide-open as expected”
“Any argument for the Celtics remaining competitive this season should start with the quality of their conference.”
Seven Eastern Conference teams — from the second-ranked Celtics to the No. 8 Heat — entered the week with between 22 and 26 wins. The New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic have underachieved relative to preseason hype, and the defending conference champion Indiana Pacers have cratered amid a tidal wave of injuries.
The Pistons sit comfortably atop the East standings, carrying a 4 1/2-game cushion into Monday night’s matchup. But is a franchise that’s won just two postseason games since 2008 an NBA Finals shoo-in? Hardly. The Celtics should be viewed as real conference contenders, especially if…
7. “Jayson Tatum returns for the stretch run (and looks like himself)”
“If Brown and Co. can scrap their way into the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, they couldn’t ask for a more helpful midseason addition than a healthy Tatum.”
By all accounts, Tatum is on or ahead of schedule in his Achilles rehab. The Celtics have insisted they will not rush him back, but a midseason comeback appears realistic. If he returns and looks like Tatum, even in a reduced role, watch out.
Boston, MA
What we know about wrong-way driver killed in head-on collision with state trooper in Lynnfield – The Boston Globe
Court records show that Marrero was the father of three children, the oldest of whom is 17. The youngest two children, twins, are 13 years old; Marrero’s death came days before their 14th birthday.
Records in Middlesex Probate and Family Court also suggest that Marrero faced financial difficulties and personal troubles, stemming in part from a work injury that family members said caused a bout of depression and deteriorating behavior in his personal life.
For nearly a decade, Marrero worked at Dewberry, a Boston engineering consulting firm, court records show, obtaining a job as an architectural design apprentice in 2005. He left the company in 2014, according to a company spokesperson.
Throughout that time, he doubled as a bartender on the side, working at Mexican restaurants in Boston and Waltham, court records show.
A knee injury ended Marrero’s career at Dewberry, court records show, and he left the company shortly thereafter.
That injury, according to court documents, was the catalyst for what his wife described as a “major depressive episode,” which she said contributed to the strain in their marriage. The couple, who had been married for more than 20 years, separated in 2022.
Records also show that Marrero struggled with debts to family members and credit card companies. During his divorce proceedings, it was unclear how much money he was taking home in income.
Marrero briefly owned and operated a contracting business, 109 Construction, but the corporation was administratively dissolved in 2024, according to state filings.
Marrero had lived in US since at least 2001, holding legal status. He became a naturalized citizen in March 2021, court records show.
Social media posts suggest he was active in the tight-knit Venezuelan community in Massachusetts. Photos show him cheering on Venezuela at a World Baseball Classic watch party in Brighton earlier this year.
Court records appear to show Marrero’s interest in art and music, owning a Venezuelan guitar, conga drums, and several Venezuelan paintings, as well as homemade winemaking setup.
Marrero’s family could not be reached for comment. A close friend reached by the Globe declined to comment.
Trainor had just completed his shift at about 2 a.m. on Wednesday and was driving home when he responded to a report for a Jeep traveling south in the northbound lanes of Route 1, near the Lynnfield overpass.
Raised in Salem, Trainor began his public safety career as an Essex County correction officer before graduating from the State Police academy in 2023, State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said.
Trainor’s fiancée, Jessica D. Ostrowski, of Georgetown, posted an emotional message to social media Thursday, describing the late trooper as “my absolute best friend.”
“I am beyond proud for the amount of love you have been given by those who loved and cared about you,” she wrote.
Travis Andersen and Jeremiah Manion of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Material from previous Globe coverage was used.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.
Boston, MA
Funding scandal-hit Croft schools in Boston to close this summer after all
Administrators at the Croft School, struggling after allegations of financial fraud, haven’t been able to find a buyer for its Boston locations, which will now close at the end of the school year, parents were told Friday.
Millions of dollars were raised by families and community members to keep the private school open for a few more months while Croft School administrators scrambled to find a buyer. But in Friday’s email, the chief restructuring officer and independent sale advisor said that two parties expressed interest but they ultimately had to pivot toward winding operations down.
“To be clear, the 2025-2026 school year will be completed based on the availability of parent funding. However, without a viable timetable for a transaction, we are faced with this difficult decision,” the email said.
About 350 students had attended the Croft School’s three campuses, two in Boston and one in Providence. Regular tuition starts at $31,000, according to the website.
Millions were raised to keep the private school open for a few more months but the Croft School is looking for a buyer as a long-term fix to its financial problems.
More than 60 families unenrolled from the South End campus over the weekend, the email said.
News of the debt crisis surprised parents in March, when the school’s board revealed in a letter that founding Executive Director Scott Given admitted to fabricating a letter of credit regarding a possible expansion and keeping two sets of books, overstating the school’s revenue while understating its expenses.
The discovery that the school was more than $13 million in debt came after police were alerted to possible fraud. The school has said it’s cooperating with multiple investigations involving Given, who has been suspended.
The private school, with two locations in Boston and one in Providence, requires $5 million to stay open for the rest of the schoolyear.
Given has been sued by at least one Boston parent, accusing him of running a Ponzi scheme. His legal team has said he has no comment.
Parents rallied to save the school, raising enough funds to keep classes going.
The officials in charge of the sale noted “how hard many of you worked to maintain The Croft School as you know it,” but added that the “difficult circumstances, uncertain financials and condensed timeframe made this a trying environment for purchasers to timely make a binding offer for the schools.”
Boston, MA
Where to watch Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 8
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
Baseball is back and finding what channel your favorite team is playing on has become a little bit more confusing since MLB announced plans to produce and distribute broadcasts for nearly a third of the league.
We’re here to help. Here’s everything you need to know Friday as the Tampa Bay Rays visit the Boston Red Sox.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox?
First pitch between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. (ET) on Friday, May 8.
How to watch Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox on Friday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Friday, May 8, 2026, at 6:33 a.m.
- Matchup: TB at BOS
- Date: Friday, May 8
- Time: 7:10 p.m. (ET)
- Venue: Fenway Park
- Location: Boston, Massachusetts
- TV: NESN, Rays.TV and WMOR
- Streaming: MLB.TV on Fubo
Watch MLB all season long with Fubo
MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for May 8 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
See scores, results for all of today’s games.
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