For the last two years, the Boston Celtics have been the class of the Atlantic Division, but it hasn’t come without a push from at least two other teams.
In 2021-22, the Philadelphia 76ers fresh off a mid-season trade for James Harden matched Boston’s 51 wins, only losing the division on tiebreakers.
Last season, it was the Brooklyn Nets who looked as though they might finally be a threat to Boston. Then, Kyrie Irving’s trade request led to a series of moves to dismantle that roster.
However, after an offseason where Boston made trades to acquire Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday — and the Sixers’ president managed to tick off Harden — the Celtics appear to finally be the runaway favorites in 2023-24 and a serious contender to return to the NBA Finals.
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The Celtics are legit title contenders in a weak conference
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Two years removed from the NBA Finals, the Celtics still have the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the way, but this is a much different team than the one we’ve been accustomed to.
In the deal to acquire Porzingis, they traded Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies. And for their new point guard, Holiday, they sent Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon to the Portland Trail Blazers.
So, while they may have upgraded the talent at the top of their roster, questions still remain about how deep this team is. But those will be questions for the playoffs more than the regular season. The Celtics should be one of the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, and if their depth proves adequate, they’ll have a real shot at making it back to the finals.
Other playoff teams: Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers
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The Nets, Knicks and Sixers all made the playoffs last season, and though I don’t believe any of them push the Celtics at the top of the conference, I do think they can all return this season. The circumstances under which they make it back could change drastically, though.
76ers
The Sixers and Harden saga still hasn’t come to a conclusion, and it doesn’t seem like it’ll end in any way other than Harden being moved. So Philly could end up looking a lot different very soon, which is why I’m no longer willing to place them in the top tier of teams in the East. With reigning MVP Joel Embiid leading the way, they’ll still be good enough to make the playoffs, but this could be a season full of turbulence.
Knicks
It’s kind of odd having the Knicks as the team that represents some type of stability and continuity in the division, but that’s exactly where they are right now. After finishing fifth in the conference and pushing through to the second round of the playoffs, New York didn’t make any massive changes to the roster, but they should be good enough to eclipse 45 wins again.
Nets
The Nets go into this season with a different core than the one they went into last season with, so I don’t think they cruise to a top-six seed again. Remember, Irving and Kevin Durant gave them a huge playoff cushion before they were traded away last year. Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are really good building blocks, and Ben Simmons is a welcomed return, but I think this team will have to qualify for the playoffs via play-in tournament.
So that means the Toronto Raptors will miss the playoffs?
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Yep. Toronto’s odds to win the division aren’t that much longer than Brooklyn’s, but I just don’t see much success for the Raptors this year. After an uninspiring .500 record last season, they didn’t do much in the summer besides downgrade at point guard by replacing Fred VanVleet with Dennis Schroeder and add Gradey Dick in the draft.
Dick joins a promising young core that includes Scottie Barnes, but we don’t know if it includes Pascal Siakam, because he’s on an expiring deal that makes him seem like a prime candidate to be moved at the trade deadline. Toronto has been slowly descending into mediocrity since winning a title in 2019, and I think this is the year they finally dip into just being bad.
Any good prop bets?
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You can get 12-1 odds on Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla to win Coach of the Year, which are tied for third best with Dallas’ Jason Kidd behind OKC’s Mark Daigneault (+800) and Milwaukee’s Adrian Griffin (+900).
But out of those four coaches, only Mazzulla and Griffin have teams I believe are capable of not only winning their conferences, but competing for the best record in the NBA. Given that potential, I don’t hate these odds for Mazzulla, who should show some growth in his second season with the team.
