How will the Celtics fare in the East? Who makes the Finals? Here are the Globe’s predictions for the 2026-27 NBA season.

DETROIT — The one coherent theme emanating from Celtics training camp and the post-Jaylen Brown era is that the franchise feels comfortable and confident in the team it will field this season. With Brown on to Philadelphia, replaced by 36-year-old Paul George, and Jayson Tatum healthy and ready to reassume his status as a top-five NBA player, the Celtics enter the season as an overshadowed entity — a team that has the potential to emerge among the elite teams in the Eastern Conference but carries a plethora of unknowns and question marks that will take time to resolve. Tuesday’s afternoon opener at Detroit will be the first opportunity for the Celtics to unleash a roster brimming with potential, depth, and the ability to defend tenaciously. The East is difficult and balanced. With the new antitanking rules implemented to prevent teams from purposely losing to gain a premium draft pick, there will be no easy trips to Brooklyn, Washington or Indiana. Get Court SenseKeep up with everything Celtics with news, commentary, and analysis from the Globe's all-star team. Arrives twice weekly.

Celtics guard Payton Pritchard sometimes reflects on the winter of 2023, after his playing time dipped, his frustrations mushroomed, and his request to be traded was submitted. “It was probably a little delusional confidence that I have, but it’s from my work, the hours I put in, I believed I could help this team win and at a high level,” Pritchard said Sunday. “Now, many people didn’t believe it at the time or thought I was crazy, but I truly believed that. Obviously, things opened up for me, it worked out and I took advantage of it, and hopefully I continue to take advantage of it.”Pritchard stayed in Boston, helped the Celtics win the 2024 NBA title, was named Sixth Man of the Year in 2025, and this weekend officially signed a two-year, $44.2 million extension that will begin during the 2028-29 season. Everything has worked out for the 6-foot-1 guard. Get Court SenseKeep up with everything Celtics with news, commentary, and analysis from the Globe's all-star team. Arrives twice weekly.

Gary: I think the Celtics can be as good or better than last season, but they definitely lost a security blanket and a player guaranteed to get buckets and attack the rim. They’re going to need productive seasons from Mitchell Robinson and Paul George, both of whom have had injury and durability issues in past years. Get Court SenseKeep up with everything Celtics with news, commentary, and analysis from the Globe's all-star team. Arrives twice weekly. Enter EmailBut the real key is Derrick White having an offensive bounce-back season, and the group of Payton Pritchard, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, and Sam Hauser taking steps forward. The defense should improve with the presence of Robinson and Neemias Queta, and they can compete with teams like the Knicks and 76ers if several players perform better than last season. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is going to need big scoring years from guards Derrick White and Payton Pritchard to make up for the loss of Jaylen Brown. Barry Chin/Globe StaffAdam: The additions are nice, and the departures are notable, but in the end the Celtics will go as far as Jayson Tatum will take them.

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know! The William Penn School District on Monday afternoon reinstated a number of fall sports  following last week’s abrupt decision to suspend all middle and high school athletics in response to an unspecified incident involving an unnamed Penn Wood sports team.

Mississippi's attorney general says a Senatobia police officer was justified in the use of force in the June shooting death of a 1-year-old boy while responding to a shoplifting call.

The government's tree removal justification centers on a 2019 landscape report.