It’s almost like the entire NBA community has gone through different stages of acceptance of the Jaylen Brown trade and how it has been perceived. At first, the general consensus was that Boston got fleeced and took a big step back, nuking their championship window. Eventually, some of that negativity faded, and people talked themselves into the Celtics being a good regular-season team, but having very little championship equity.
Now, as the regular season rapidly approaches, it seems like people have gotten all the way there and talked themselves back into Boston being right at the top of the East contenders, perhaps having as good a shot as, or better than, last year to raise another banner.
This was evidenced by Michael Pina’s column for The Ringer on Monday, where he power-ranked and tiered the entire league based on regular-season finish and chances of winning it all. Maybe it will be viewed as a controversial take, but he had the Celtics at number four in the league, atop the tier named “Title Contenders With a Puncher’s Chance”.
That’s behind only the Spurs, Knicks, and Thunder, the clear top three favorites who were in a tier titled “If You Aren’t Picking One of These Teams to Win It All, God Bless You”. But after the big three, Pina had the Celtics next in line, ahead of other Western powers like the Nuggets, Rockets, Timberwolves, and Lakers. And ahead of every other East team that has been deemed to have a higher ceiling, like the Raptors, 76ers, Pistons, Cavaliers, and Pacers.
Celtics finally getting deserved respect as legitimate contenders
The Ringer is owned by Bill Simmons, one of the most famous Celtics fans out there, but this staff has been as tough on the team and the JB trade as anyone. Good for Pina for going against the grain and having a reasonable take on this team.
It makes no sense to assume teams that haven’t proven anything suddenly have more playoff equity than the Celtics. Sure, they had one bad showing in the postseason, but that was a different team. With Jayson Tatum fully healthy and leading the way, flanked by an incredibly deep supporting cast of elite role players and a championship head coach, why is this team being so thoroughly dismissed as a contender?
It makes absolutely no sense, and if people in the media don’t start coming to this realization, they are going to end up looking very foolish. They doubted a much lesser Celtics team last year, and they ended up with egg on their face. This year, the team is clearly better and more experienced and has extra motivation with all of the offseason hate they’ve received.
And yes, the Eastern Conference is better, but none of these teams have the pedigree that Boston does.
Other East contenders haven't earned benefit of the doubt over Celtics
We are trusting a Raptors team with zero history of winning in the playoffs just because they added a freshly punished 35-year-old Kawhi Leonard who hasn’t had a meaningful playoff run this decade?
We’re trusting a 76ers team that hasn’t reached a conference finals since Allen Iverson and was quickly thrown together with a 41-year-old LeBron, a broken-down Joel Embiid, and zero depth?
A Heat team with no shooting or depth and an aging, oft-injured Giannis? A Pacers team with Tyrese Haliburton off a torn Achilles? A Pistons team that lost Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris and may lose Jalen Duren? A Cavs team that relies on James Harden?
Sure, one of these teams could break through and defy the odds, but that’s exactly what it would be. The Celtics, on the other hand, won a title just two years ago with the same coach and a lot of the same players. Brad Stevens has earned the benefit of the doubt, and he thinks this team is going to be better. It may not come to fruition, and they’re still rightfully below the Knicks, but this idea that they can’t win in the playoffs is completely nonsensical.
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