Despite being one of the most successful franchises across all major sports, the Boston Celtics face constant scrutiny. The Jaylen Brown max extension was polarizing to many, Derrick White’s status as an unsung hero received pushback, and the trades to acquire Kristaps Porzingis/Jrue Holiday weren’t necessarily viewed as surefire home runs at the time. Even after winning the title, there have been questions surrounding Jayson Tatum and his ability to lead a team. While these might be unfair criticisms, it’s the nature of playing for a Boston-based organization. Regardless, they proved doubters wrong by solidifying themselves as NBA Champions last season.
While the Olympics have arguably put Tatum (and Brown, to a lesser extent) under an even bigger microscope, the Celtics are in a great place overall. Not only did maxing out their star-wing pairing go according to plan, but they’ll also retain basically the entire rotation (minus Al Horford) for two more full seasons. Although Porzingis is the first guy due for a potential payday, it wouldn’t be impossible to extend him and keep the rest of their core. How much is another title worth to new ownership? If they are willing to shell out some serious money as luxury tax repeaters, this group could realistically contend for several more seasons. Their continued success is (obviously) contingent upon a healthy team and the development of cheap, young pieces to fill out the roster. However, it’s still difficult to envision anyone else winning the Eastern Conference barring several injuries and drastic improvements from Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Indiana, New York, Cleveland, or Orlando.
It’s boring, but Boston will remain a heavy title-favorite unless something unforeseen happens. They have the most complete roster and talented rotation throughout the NBA. Not only do Tatum/Brown outmatch the majority of notable duos but the group of Holiday, White, and Porzingis are clearly better than any other third, fourth, and fifth options. Furthermore, the structure of the team is incredibly well-defined. There’s really no confusion surrounding roles or pecking order, and that’s a big part of what separates them from other organizations. Add that they were a top-five offense and defense, and no one should be surprised at their continued success.