Danny Ainge appears content to pack it in for the summer and head into the upcoming season with the existing roster. But do the Boston Celtics have enough to dethrone the Golden State Warriors?
The Boston Celtics made the trade of the 2017 summer in the NBA. It was a three-team deal that irrevocably altered the Eastern Conference.
The trade involved the Celtics receiving — from the abyss — Kyrie Irving. The abyss, of course, received LeBron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Cavaliers received some prime real estate for a new banner on the side of a building in downtown Cleveland.
Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic. But for Celtics fans, it certainly feels as though their team has improved leaps and bounds over the past year or so.
This “trade” has made the Celtics significant favorites to win the NBA’s Eastern Conference. The Philadelphia 76ers — barring the acquisition of Kawhi Leonard, who the Celtics are inexplicably uninterested in — are years away from truly competing with this team.
Yes, the Sixers went on a win streak against subpar competition in March and April. And yes, they were able to do away with the feisty Miami Heat who happened to have a gaping hole at the “superstar” position. But the reality is that the Celtics simply have the most talented team in the East, and it really isn’t close.
This brings us to the Golden State Warriors. You know, the NBA’s version of Flappy Bird — the game nobody can beat, but hey, maybe you did better than the last guy did.
The Boston Celtics will, in all likelihood, face off with the Golden State Warriors in June. Here’s what that series would look like.