Charles Barkley shifted his infamous “cooked” label away from the Warriors and onto the Celtics- a team he once pegged as a back-to-back championship contender. The turning point, in his view, was Jayson Tatum’s injury. Caught in what some have called the NBA’s “torn Achilles epidemic,” Tatum’s absence derailed Boston’s momentum, and there’s real uncertainty about whether he can make an explosive return this season, if at all.

Still, the Celtics are already recalibrating. One sign came from Neemias Queta, the 7-foot Portuguese center who has been with the organization since 2021. After spending much of his early career bouncing between the NBA and G League, Queta was called up in 2024 and is now secured on a long-term deal. His larger role in training camp signals Boston’s intent to lean more heavily on its big men to help fill the void left by Tatum’s absence.

Veteran Celtics insider, Marc D’Amico spoke to Queta at training camp and the youngster hinted at Head Coach Joe Mazulla’s strategy for the 2025-26 season. “Joe [Mazzulla] said during the year, it’s gonna be different lineups during the whole year and different closing lineups as well.”

It almost sounds like Stephanie White’s playbook after losing Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham and more stars to injuries this season. While the Celtics aren’t going to make dramatic hardship signings like the Indiana Fever did, they will try multiple combinations in their rosters. Which means players like Queta could see a lot more minutes this season.

Mazzulla apparently even warned the youngster to be prepared to come off the bench at any time. “Be ready for when your moment comes, cause, like I said, we’re going to be throwing a lot at teams, and we’ve all just got to be prepared,” Queta revealed to D’Amico.

This is apparently a necessity as the Celtics, under its new ownership, has made several major roster changes. But they appear determined to keep Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Although most observers, like Charles Barkley, aren’t positive about the lineup without Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford- the new rotation appears promising. Especially when they’re down one star.

No optimism surrounding Jayson Tatum’s return

It’s always been a difficult task to put a timeline on Achilles injuries. Kobe Bryant made it look possible, but not easy. This year, the Celtics and Pacers are going to be in trouble with two stars recovering from the same kind of injury. Rumors are swirling about Jayson Tatum’s potential return.

Meanwhile, Pacers’ President Kevin Pritchard, stated clearly that Tyrese Haliburton will not play in the 2025-26 season as he recovers from a torn right Achilles tendon.

Pritchard said, “He will not play next year, though. We would not jeopardize that now. Don’t get any hopes up that he will play.” He expressed full confidence that Haliburton will come back stronger, saying, “I have no doubt that he will be back better than ever.” Pritchard emphasized the importance of Haliburton’s long-term recovery over rushing him back to the court.

Some believe they’d make early but slow returns. That seems impossible when the latest pictures prominently feature braces. But one major rumor circulating Celtics nation was Tatum’s potential return around the All-Star break.

Another Boston insider dashed those hopes too. “Nobody up there is stamping the All-Star break or March as a time to bring him back,” said Chris Mannix. “When I talked to people that are close to Tatum and people around the Celtics, they’re pumping the brakes pretty hard on the anticipation game because they know this injury is a tricky one. It’s a tricky one to fully recover from.”

It appears that Mazzulla is being realistic about it. Going by Queta’s updates, the theme around training camp is learning to play without JT in the lineup. From the sounds of it, the Celtics aren’t completely ‘cooked.’