Celtics seemingly silencing ‘gap year’ predictions

The Celtics weren’t supposed to look like this. Not after trading two starters, watching two more walk in free agency, and bracing for what some in Boston politely labeled a “gap year.”

But here they are anyway, thumping the Lakers on Friday and winning nine of their last 11, forcing a recalibration of expectations in the East.

What once looked like a play-in team suddenly feels like a top-four threat.

The newcomers have clicked faster than anyone predicted. The returning core has tightened up.

And the Celtics have stacked a handful of wins that suggest this group might be more than just a placeholder for whatever’s next.

“We have a bunch of guys figuring it out for the first time,” Jaylen Brown said, via The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “Of course you all expected it to sink right away… We’ve been getting better every single day and it’s coming together a little bit now, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

That’s the thing. Boston expected patience. Instead, they got a team ahead of schedule — and that changes the calculus.

There was early-season chatter about ducking the tax, maybe moving Anfernee Simons or Sam Hauser to get under the line.

Now? As Washburn puts it, it would be “negligent” for Brad Stevens not to push in and upgrade the roster by February.

The gap year might already be closed.