Boston Celtics News: Cs seen as favorites in the Eastern Conference

According to Bleacher Report’s latest championship odds, the Boston Celtics are now seen as favorites to take the Eastern Conference crown.

For months now its been a well-known fact that the Boston Celtics are one of the best teams in, not just the Eastern Conference but, frankly, the entire association.

Finishing the regular season with a 48-24 record — just one win shy of last year’s win total, in 10 fewer games mind you — Beantown ended up in the third seed out east, with the fifth-best winning percentage in the NBA and, in turn, participating in their sixth consecutive postseason.

The word successful doesn’t even begin to encapsulate the C’s 2019-20 campaign, considering all the drama, roster shakeups, unfavorable preseason projections, and injuries they endured.

Now, seven games into this year’s playoffs — soon to be eight with tonight’s 6:30 PM (ET) outing — their high-level of play has seemed to roll right along with the days that pass, as Boston finds themselves boasting an undefeated record, and currently hold a 2-0 Semifinals series advantage over the reigning NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors.

At this rate, we would venture to say that the shamrocks are well equipped to beat just about anyone that comes their way, especially those within their respective conference, and we’re certainly not alone in this mindset.

Recently, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey took to updating the remaining NBA playoff team’s championship odds. In the publication, we saw quite a drastic shift in where a few of these talented bunches reside in the pecking order. Atop of the list were both the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers with +230 & +300 chance of taking home the Larry O’Brien trophy, respectively.

For the majority of the season, it has typically been the three-headed monster of the Lakers, Clips, and Milwaukee Bucks atop the charts in terms of 2020 title-odds. However, Mr. Bailey found himself putting a little spin on the illustrious tricycle, as he has deemed the Boston Celtics (+500) to have a better chance of hanging up banner number 18 by season’s end than Milwaukee does at hanging up banner number two.

His reasoning reads as follows:

"Even without Gordon Hayward for much of the playoffs, Boston has looked like the most complete team in the East.In the postseason, the ability to create something from nothing against consistently locked-in defenses is critical. And though this is looking down the road a bit, that should be an important aspect of a series between the Celtics and Bucks or Heat.While Giannis Antetokounmpo is more physically dominant than Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker, and Khris Middleton is a better shooter than all three, it’s the Celtics who seem more reliable when working from scratch (and regular-season isolation numbers back that up).For Tatum, specifically, the ability to both work off the dribble and shoot over the top of most defenders will make him the most important player in each of Boston’s next two series (assuming it finishes off Toronto).Whether he faces Giannis and the Bucks or Jimmy Butler and the Heat, Tatum will be tested by top-tier perimeter defenders. His star will continue to rise, though.Regardless of who is in front of him, Tatum, currently averaging 27.2 points in the playoffs, will be the Eastern Conference Finals’ leading scorer."

Though finishing with the league’s best record for the second straight season, the Bucks currently find themselves in an 0-2 hole against the unbelievably motivated and scrappy Miami Heat squad.

While they may have had the upper hand throughout the regular season, the postseason is where things truly matter. As of this moment, the Boston Celtics look to be one of the most sound teams in the bubble while Milwaukee finds themselves struggling immensely.

Though fortunes can certainly shift, it would appear the Cs are the team to beat out east.