Celtics basketball is back starting Wednesday, looking like a new team with lower expectations. It’ll be the first time Jayson Tatum doesn’t play in a season opener since the 2016-17 season. It’ll also be the first time they don’t have title expectations in years. In other words: lots of firsts.

But there are familiar faces from the 2024 title team. The Celtics are still led by coach Joe Mazzulla , who enters his fourth season as Boston’s top guy. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard are also returning rotation pieces from last season. Behind them is a mix of young, hungry players looking to prove they belong in the league.

The Celtics will have their weaknesses (defensive rebounding), but they’ll try to make up those margins in other ways (crashing the glass,

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