Who Are The Boston Celtics’ Biggest Threat In The Atlantic Division?

There are two teams the Boston Celtics will need to fend off in the Atlantic Division

The preseason is upon us, and that means that the Boston Celtics will be returning to the TD Garden again. Celtics fans have seen their team go through lots of changes this offseason, but thankfully, the team is expected to continue to put up a great season.

Whether it was the additions of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, or the departures of Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder, some key players have been swapped around the league. And now, Boston fans are eager to see if their team can recapture the East and post a great playoff run for the 2018 season.

And while Boston has emerged as the clear favorite to win the Atlantic Division, there are still a couple of teams that the Celtics should keep their eye on throughout the course of the season. Those two teams include the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors.

I’ll start with Toronto first because, although this team has been a significant presence in the East the past couple of years, they’re not expected to be an Eastern Conference favorite. That being said, Boston should still keep the Raptors in the back of their minds for two reasons.

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First, Toronto has the tremendous backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. I shouldn’t have to say much on this, but this dynamic duo in Toronto can really hurt Boston in a number of ways, DeRozan averaged 27.3 ppg along with 5.2 rpg while Lowry averaged 22.4 ppg along with 7.0 apg.

If those numbers aren’t scary enough, the two can really spread the floor well and this could hurt Boston on the fast break as well as defensively in general. All of that being said, Boston still has a lot of talent on their roster and they should be able to handle whatever Toronto throws at them throughout the season.

Second, Philadelphia has gotten a lot scarier since they last played back in April. With the emergence of Joel Embiid this past season, the 76ers have found someone who can truly rally and galvanize the entire team. On top of that, the team is expecting lots of young talent to support Embiid in the 76ers conquest to return to the Playoffs.

These players include Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz and Jahlil Okafor. These young and talented players are starting to find their way through the NBA, and with the help of role players such as J.J. Redick, Robert Covington and Amir Johnson (Celtics fans know he’s important), this team is sure to be a force to be reckoned with.

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With all of this mind, Boston fans should know that the Celtics are better than both of these teams and should have no worries of Boston giving up their 1st place spot in the Atlantic Division. However, it’s never too early to start planning ahead, and it surely won’t hurt Boston to start scouting these two teams in their journey towards domination in the East.