Address Newsletter
Our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design, with expert advice and insider neighborhood knowledge.
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:
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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…
“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.
Surprise: Another weekend and there’s more rain on the way. It’s bad enough we’ve had to post a First Alert.
For now, we’ll watch as clouds thicken today. We’ll squeeze out some drops later this afternoon and evening.
A weather maker is winding up in Canada, wrapping in cold air. All of that is going to dive down to New England.
We’re in the thick of it tomorrow. Rain will be coming at us in bursts with some dry time in between. Winds will likely push past 50 mph in Boston.

Those winds will eat away at temperatures; with wind chills barely above freezing. And no – not just in the morning – but the afternoon, too!
It’s so cold there’s the threat of snow as that rain bumps into colder air over the Berkshires, Worcester Hills and southern New Hampshire right up to Mount Washington.
The snow isn’t going to pile up but just know there could be some flakes flying over our highest hills.
The blue on our Futurecast map marks the spots where snow could mix with rain.
Rain spins out by Saturday evening but not before dumping about half an inch over Boston.
We’ll try to salvage the rest of the weekend with temperatures in the upper 60s by Sunday. Still, there’s the threat of bits and pieces of rain.
By the way, this isn’t any weekend, it’s the last weekend of spring. Meteorological summer starts on June 1.
The first day of summer remains drab and dreary with more rain chances and temperatures in the low 60 on Monday.
Federal immigration demands are once again centered on Massachusetts.
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday sent three letters to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins and Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden demanding, among other things, information on how many ICE detainers BPD has received and declined to honor from 2022 to 2026 and any communication between the three departments related to immigration.
House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said in a statement that “releasing repeat criminals back to the streets solely because of their immigration status is crazy, and that’s exactly what Boston is doing.”
But Democrats push back on that framing.
“You’re familiar with Jim Jordan and his antics,” said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. “This is more circus, it’s more theater and it’s not making our community safe.”
A spokesperson for the City of Boston wrote, “the city has provided this information many times…” going on to say “…these policies are part of keeping Boston the safest major city in America.”
The letters call for the documents to be sent to the House Judiciary Committee by June 10th at 5:00 pm. District Attorney Hayden’s office told NBC 10 they are reviewing the letter, neither Commissioner Cox or Sheriff Tompkins responded to requests for comment.
On the Market
At first glance, Joan Bennett Kennedy’s Back Bay home may not appear all that unusual, but the endless stories held within its walls illustrate how a sacred space became one woman’s shelter from the storm.
After divorcing Ted Kennedy in 1982, Bennett Kennedy returned to Boston and moved into 250 Beacon St. #10, and remained there for more than four decades until her death at age 89 in October. Now, her three-bedroom, three-bathroom home, which measures 2,075 square feet, is on the market at $2.59 million.
“Her home really played an important part in the transformation of her life,” her son, Ted Kennedy Jr., told the Globe. “She was a newly divorced woman coming back, trying to reestablish her roots in Boston, and she had her music, which was part of her unique identity, apart from being married to my father. She was seeking to reinvent herself and live on her own terms.”
It was there at 250 Beacon where Bennett Kennedy restarted her life. She earned a master’s degree in music education at 44, and became a staple on the Boston classical music scene, thanks to her lifelong dedication to the piano. But it was also where she faced significant struggles, ranging from depression to alcoholism. She didn’t hide her battles at a time when they weren’t commonly discussed.
“She paved the way for many other women who were suffering in silence,” said Kennedy Jr. “The Boston community just took her in and provided her with friendship and support.”
The circa-1925 building features an elegant lobby that leads to the elevators. Inside the fifth-floor unit, a foyer flows into a hallway and into the spacious living room, where hardwood floors run throughout and a wood-burning fireplace sits under a unique carved mantel surrounded by marble. But it’s the windows that capture the eyes, with views of the treetops and the Charles River in the distance.
“She would sit at her piano in the condo every afternoon for hours,” said Kennedy, who noted that the home later served as the spot where his mother penned “The Joy of Classical Music,” a guide for introducing classical music to families. Prominent musical figures, including John Williams, Seiji Ozawa, and Arthur Fiedler, were frequent guests.
The open floor plan continues in the dining area and library, filled with built-in bookcases and oversized windows.
The living room fireplace is two-sided; on its opposite side is the primary bedroom suite, with built-in bookshelves and a massive bay window with beautiful views. The primary suite features an en-suite bathroom with a pink vanity.
“These front rooms, all three of them, the amount of glass and the size of these windows are just magnificent,” said Linda Barrett of Douglas Elliman, who has the listing and knew Kennedy for years. “Being on the fifth floor, she sat right at the tree line, looking at the Charles River.”
A second of three full bathrooms has elegant marble tiles and a step-in shower. Across the hallway are two closets for storage and the galley kitchen with green/blue cabinetry and stainless steel appliances.


There are three bedrooms, one with teal carpeting and ample built-in storage.
The home has central air, and the building has a live-in superintendent. The fee is $1,725.39 per month. The piano is not included as part of the sale.
Our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design, with expert advice and insider neighborhood knowledge.
This Puerto Rican filmmaker honored his family with an unconventional movie called ‘TheyDream’
L.A. Affairs: I went on 53 first dates in one summer. Here’s a look at my spreadsheet
Trump holds Situation Room meeting to decide on Iran deal
Oxnard man smuggled baby crocodiles, among 1,700 reptiles, gets 5 years
A new board game mocks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for ‘foul baiting.’ He wants it destroyed
Israel, Russia among new additions on UN sexual violence ‘blacklist’
Which first lady feared her husband might be having a stroke? The quiz knows
Rescued sea lion pups released in Manhattan Beach