The Boston Celtics may have moved on from Jaylen Brown, but Brian Windhorst isnt expecting them to suddenly disappear from the Eastern Conference picture.Boston enters the 2026-27 season looking very different after trading Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster deal that brought Paul George to the Celtics.While questions remain over how George will fit alongside Jayson Tatum, Windhorst believes head coach Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics will have plenty of motivation to prove people wrong.I believe the Celtics will have a good year this year. I think were going to have to retrofit what we think is a good year because I think theres going to be fewer wins for teams across the board, Windhorst said on ESPNs The Hoop Collective. So, Celtics might win fewer games than they did last year, but still have a very good year. I just think Joe Mazzulla is going to be obsessed, and the team is going to be obsessed with proving everybody wrong. And I think theyre going to have a very good regular season.Now, whether or not theyre going to be better as a playoff team, having lost Jaylen Brown and swapping him out for Paul George, that, I think, is a different conversation. But I would not be surprised if the Celtics end up with a top-5 or 6 record this season.Browns departure ends a decade-long run in Boston and leaves the Celtics facing their first season without the former Finals MVP since he entered the league in 2016.The Celtics were recently placed third in ESPNs NBA Future Power Rankings, which assesses how teams are positioned over the next three seasons. Windhorst believes that may be slightly optimistic, even if Bostons organizational track record gives it a chance to justify the ranking.This is too high. I think we all can agree this is too high, but it may not be ridiculous, Windhorst said. Youre basically saying the coach and the organization has a track record of getting it right, and youre betting on them getting it right.Whether George can replace what Brown provided in the postseason remains a major question, but Windhorst clearly isnt ready to count Boston out.READ MORE: Lakers New Owners Have Their Eyes on a $30 Billion Valuation
