Everyone on this blog is so certain of what a team needs to be a contender, I'm amazed that you aren't all filthily wealthy from being able to predict the champions every season and betting all your money on that team.
Let's be real. There are many luxuries that teams would love to have going into the playoffs. And there are many weaknesses that teams would love to plug before the playoffs. But teams have still won titles without some of those luxuries. Teams have still won titles despite having very specific and known weaknesses.
This pistons beat the lakers on 2004. The warriors beat the mavs in 2007. The knicks beat the heat in 1999. The mavs beat the heat in 2010. Upsets happen in the NBA that you would not normally expect, the outcomes aren't as predictable as people think they oughtta be. For a team to win a title, things just have to come together and go right. The celtics have a lot of talent on this roster.
If the celtics take a 1 game at a time approach, I think anything is possible. Is there any one single game that if the celtics are going into, you can say definitively that the celtics have no chance to win? If not, then anything is possible.