People will likely disagree with me, but I think people are underrating the Celtics. I think the Celtics are the second best team in the East this year.
We spent most of the second half of last season as the #3 seed in the East until we started running into some untimely injuries (KO, Crowder, etc) which saw us slip a little, but still finished the season in a four-way tie for the #4 seed.
This year we have added Al Hoford. I must admit that I underestimated this acquisition initially, but watching him play with that first unit - his presence is a legitimate game changer. Boston's entire style of play changes with Horford on the court in place of Sully. On offense the ball is constantly moving, we finally have a big who can score efficiently and who demands attention from the D, no matter where he is on the court. On defense we have a bit who can move his feet well enough to defend the P&R and cover multiple positions, and we have a guy who can protect the paint. For the first time since Kevin Garnett, we have a legit starting caliber (and All-Star caliber) big man. That change is going to impact the win column more then people realize, I think.
When you have Horford/Johnson/Crowder/Bradley all on the court at the same time, you have a legitimate chance at having the best defense in the NBA.
Yet when you have Thomas/Bradley/Crowder/Horford on the court all at the same time, you have a legitimate shot at being one of the best offensive teams in the NBA.
For this reason, I predict that our starting 5 is likely going to be one of the most dominant +/- lineups in the league this year.
Then the bench.
We have Marcus Smart - an outstanding defender and hustle guy who seems to have improved his offensive game quite substantially.
We have Terry Rozier - a guy who has come out of nowhere and shown that he can really put the ball in the bucket. If he plays as well as I anticipate he's capable of, he might be a potential 6MOTY candidate (the award tends to favor scorers).
We have Gerald Green - a guy who provides shooting, scoring and athleticism - some of the things we desperately lacked last year off our bench.
We have Jaylen Brown - a guy who I initially didn't expect to see much off, but that's changed after the way he played in the preseason. This kid has serious talent, and he's got the ability to impact the game on both ends of the court.
We have Jonas Jerebko - a solid energy guy who can defend multiple positions and is a knock down shooter.
We have Kelly Olynyk - a hugely underrated defensive player, a skilled playmaker and one of the best shooting 7 footers in the game.
Last year we had a bench that couldn't shoot. This year if we need scoring we can put a second unit of Rozier, Green, Brown, Jerebko and Olynyk on the court and every one of those guys can hit the three.
Same with the starters - Thomas, Bradley, Crowder, Johnson and Horford are all capable of making the defense pay defense pay if left open from three.
This roster may not be filled with celebrity names, but we have pretty much everything you could want from a team - we have elite defenders, we have quality scorers, we have a plethora of outside shooters, we have athleticism, we have depth, we have chemistry, we have hustle, we have heart, and we have one of the best young coaches in the game.
This team is going to be very, very difficult to beat. I have to put Cleveland and Golden State above us. Probably San Antonio too. Beyond that, I can't think of a single other team in the league that stands out as being a cut above the Celtics.
The Bulls won't touch us. The Pacers and Raptors will probably make it tough on us, but I believe we're better then both. The Bulls won't touch us.
I'm predicting we finish #2 in the East behind the Cavs - and I think we'll give the Cavs a REALLY tough run every time we play them, too. With guys like Smart, Crowder, Brown and Jerebko on the roster there are few teams who can throw as many capable defenders at Lebron as we can. Thomas is a match for Kyrie in every way. Horford is practically built to compete with Kevin Love. Our depth far exceeds theirs.
Not saying we'll be Cavs-killers, but there will be few teams who can give them a tougher time then us.