Boston Celtics: Power ranking the Eastern Conference post-Harden trade

Where do the Boston Celtics sit on the totem pole in the Eastern Conference following the blockbuster James Harden trade to the Brooklyn Nets?

The James Harden trade rocked the NBA landscape and reshaped the Eastern Conference. Where did the Boston Celtics rank in the east after the league-shifting deal?

15. Detroit Pistons

The poorly constructed Detroit Pistons roster is predictably at the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference. With all of this losing in 2020-21 (2-8), the only players that are capable of carrying them to wins (Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose) will likely be dealt for draft picks and/or young rotation depth.

14. Washington Wizards

Russell Westbrook has not proven to be much of a fit next to Bradley Beal, and there only figures to be a finite amount of time that these two will fail to co-exist before one (or both) of them is dealt.

13. Toronto Raptors

I’m not sure if this is an early-season struggle due to a temporary COVID-19-related relocation or if the Raptors-Celtics series was truly a turning point for the franchise, but this team no longer instills any fear in anyone after seemingly having their talent deficiency (at least relative to other contenders) exposed in the bubble and in the early portion of this season.

12. Cleveland Cavaliers

Andre Drummond will anchor this team down as long as he continues to waste post-ups on wonky hook shots and errant passes…no matter how hard Collin Sexton wills this team forward. If Isaac Okoro could establish himself offensively, the team could have a promising core with Jarrett Allen now in town.

11. Chicago Bulls

Chicago looked dreadful to start the season, but have since gone on respectable runs since. They have the talent, and Billy Donovan is the best coach they’ve had since Thibs. They can rise as high as Zach LaVine can take them.