Boston Celtics: Cs rank No. 1 on list of best young cores in NBA

As things currently stand, the Boston Celtics are one of the best teams, not just in the Eastern Conference but, rather, the entire NBA.

Having made it to within just two games of reaching their first NBA Finals in over a decade last season, the Cs are following things up quite nicely, coming into 2020-21 guns blazing as they boast a second-seeded record of 10-6 (sixth-best in the NBA).

Perhaps the most impressive part about all of this is the fact that they have managed to do a majority of this without their franchise point guard, Kemba Walker, who was sidelined for the first month of action while rehabbing an offseason knee procedure — though has looked great in his return.

A large portion of the credit can go to the team’s other two stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, both of whom are in the midst of career years averaging 25+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 3+ assists on about 44 percent shooting from downtown.

However, a team is a lot more than just two people, and the rest of their young core has done a tremendous job keeping the Cs more than afloat during the first quarter of play.

The young core of the Boston Celtics is playing unbelievably well

In fact, they’ve played so well to start the year that Bleacher Report has went on to deem their youthful group of ballers as the best in the entire NBA.

Place ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, and even Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks, writer Mandela Namaste believes the C’s core led by the ‘Jays’ is the best of them all:

"Tatum and Brown are averaging a combined 52.7 points per game while shooting 41.6 percent from three and have emerged as arguably the best perimeter defensive tandem in the NBA. They’re no longer the future Kawhi Leonard and Paul George—they’re a direct rival to that pair right now.The rest of Boston’s young core has had varying degrees of success. Payton Pritchard was always going to find a role in the NBA, but his success thus far has been especially surprising given how much the Celtics have needed him. Grant Williams is already a quality defender who can play small-ball center, although he needs work on offense. Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith have both struggled to start their careers, but it’s far too early to give up on them.Boston will likely need contributions from its ancillary young players to win a title in the next half-decade. But as long as Brown and Tatum stay healthy, the franchise has a higher floor than virtually any other team over that timeframe."

Once we finally get the entirety of the young core talked about above fully healthy and playing together, this Boston Celtics team has the true ability to be scarier than many had thought when coming into 2020-21.

** Post written before the conclusion of Wednesday night’s game **