The Celtics cruised to one of their easiest wins of the season on Monday night, capping off a 3-1 road trip with a 123-93 win over the Hawks. The schedule has been relatively soft but the Celtics have looked dominant, improving upon last year’s record breaking offense despite the absence of Kristaps Porzingis. The defense (6th in NBA) is coming around too. Jayson Tatum is building a strong MVP case, Payton Pritchard is emerging as a sixth man of the year candidate and surprise contributors (Neemias Queta) have rounded out a balanced roster through a 7-1 start.
The road was supposed to be tougher for the Celtics this year in a revamped Eastern Conference yet most of the team’s challengers have gone MIA. The Bucks and 76ers are lingering towards the bottom of the East amid injury and defensive woes. The Knicks are still building chemistry amid an uneven start. The Pacers look inconsistent despite their OT win over Boston.
Incredibly, through two weeks of the regular season there are only two Eastern Conference teams above the .500 mark. Yet, the Celtics may have found themselves a legitimate foe in that small group with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Under new coach Kenny Atkinson, the Cavs are one of the two remaining unbeaten squads in the league along with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their 8-0 start has come without sharpshooter Max Strus but that has not stopped them from putting up the second-best offense in the NBA behind Boston. After a soft early schedule, the Cavs have beaten five straight likely playoff teams with advanced numbers on par with Boston (+12.7 net rating).
The Cavs have a lot to prove in the postseason to be considered legitimate threats to Boston but the regular season is another matter. They have a deep group with a lot of continuity and a coach that has a proven track record of getting the most out of his roster (see Brooklyn Nets before Kyrie/KD signings).
That fact should help Joe Mazzulla keep this group locked in for the long haul of the regular season. Boston essentially ran away with the East regular season title by March last year which helped them look fresh for the East playoffs amid a dominant campaign. Another runaway campaign looks unlikely this time around after the Cavs undefeated start, although there won’t be much competition towards the top beyond the Cavs. Cleveland looks like they have the talent to make things interesting this time around, joining a select group of teams with elite starts out of the gate (Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Golden State).
The Celtics get their first chance to test themselves against that level of completion on Wednesday night at the Garden as the Warriors come to town. The Cavs following shortly in two weeks for an in-season tournament matchup.
By that time, we should have a better idea of whether the Cavs’ start is for real but early indicators are the Celtics have some worthy, , albeit unexpected challengers emerging from the woodwork this year.
