Only two teams in the Eastern Conference have a top-five offensive rating and top 10 defensive rating — the Boston Celtics, who are No. 5 in both, and the New York Knicks, who have the No. 3-ranked offense and No. 8-ranked defense. The Detroit Pistons are close with the No. 9 offense and No. 2 defense, so they can't be forgotten, either. Since the All-Star break, the Charlotte Hornets actually join the Celtics in the top five on offense and top 10 on defense, but the C's have done it all year.
This doesn't mean the six other Eastern Conference teams in the playoffs should waive the white flag before the postseason even starts, to be fair. In 2022-23, the Nuggets won the NBA title with the No. 15-ranked defense during the regular season.
It's not an exact science, and these numbers don't mean the Celtics will roll over, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers (who have the No. 15-ranked defense) or the Philadelphia 76ers, who have the No. 16-ranked offense. When the playoffs start, regular-season numbers do feel less important — but they don't go out the window. For instance, the Celtics were No. 1 and No. 2 in offense and defense in 2023-24. The idea that the regular season means nothing is mostly a myth.
Celtics have no glaring questions on either side of the court
There's no clear answer to whether the Celtics have a better offense or defense, and that's a great sign for fans. Unsurprisingly, the Celtics rank last in assist rate and second-to-last in assists per game.
That could be concerning, but they ranked No. 21 in assist rate in 2023-24, too, and cruised to an NBA title. In other words, we know this team relies on impressive individual scoring a lot, and we've seen that work all the way to a ring.
They are also the slowest team in the league by pace; in games where other teams get hot, the Celtics could have trouble getting back into games because of their propensity for slowing the game way down. But in the postseason, the game slows down anyway — this team being so used to playing at that pace anyway, that is should benefit them if anything.
Most other teams in the East — even ones with impressive offensive and defensive numbers — can be nitpicked. The Knicks are wholly inconsistent, the Hornets and Pistons lack high-level experience, and the Cavaliers' defense is less than inspiring. Only one team passes the numbers test and the eye test on a consistent basis.