All summer long, the narrative surrounding the Boston Celtics has been focused on the franchise entering a retooling phase and the moves Brad Stevens has made because of it. The focus has also rested on the limited depth in the front court and the questionable defensive talent throughout the roster. And, yet, in truth, all of those changes occurred on the back of Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury.

Boston is entering the 2025-26 season with a depleted roster. Not only has there been a significant talent drain, but there is also the fact that the best player on the roster is set to miss most, if not all, of the upcoming campaign. The Celtics aren’t alone in that reality, as the Indiana Pacers will also be short-handed after ruling Tyrese Haliburton out for the upcoming season due to his own Achilles injury.

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Interestingly, the Celtics (and the Pacers) could look toward the Philadelphia 76ers to try to learn some important lessons. Nick Nurse’s team free-fell out of the playoff race last season, as injuries to Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey shredded the team’s top-end depth. By looking at what went wrong with the Sixers last season, the Celtics may find some pitfalls they should avoid.

In a recent episode of “The Big 3” podcast, host A. Sherrod Blakely was joined by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The two discussed the lessons Boston could look to learn from their rivals, and what potential hurdles the team faces in the upcoming campaign.

You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded video above.

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Watch or listen to the “Celtics Chronicle” podcast on:

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3QnlPcS

Spotify: https://bit.ly/40JRevf

Apple: https://apple.co/45sAUBG

Substack: https://bit.ly/3WoA0Cf

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Can the Celtics learn from the injury-hit Sixers mistakes?