The Boston Celtics and the Future of the Eastern Conference

The Boston Celtics are one win away from their first Finals appearance since 2010. Boston finds themselves against LeBron in a winner-take-all game 7 yet again. Tonight’s game will determine whether it works out for the Celtics like in 2008, or for LeBron more recently in 2012 with the Heat.

No matter the result of tonight's game, the future of the NBA looks ripe for change, at least in the Eastern Conference. The young squads featured on the Celtics and 76ers finished as 2nd and 3rd seeds respectively this year, both topping the win count of LeBron’s Cavaliers.

Of course regular season wins alone doesn’t mean anything in the playoffs, as the Cavaliers themselves showed in their second round matchup against the top seeded Raptors. But both the Celtics and 76ers backed up the solid seasons they had with at least one playoff series win already under their belts.

The expected rookie of the year, Ben Simmons, and best big man in the East, Joel Embiid look primed to turn into a dynamic duo for years to come. Pair these two with first overall pick Markelle Fultz, and Philadelphia could be in the beginning of their best era in well over a decade. Admittedly, Fultz is still an unknown, but anyone drafted as number one overall talent shouldn’t be easily dismissed.

The way Philadelphia closed out the regular season, winning 16 straight and holding off the Cavaliers to capture the 3rd seed was impressive in itself. It was playoff atmosphere down the stretch, and the young core showed up. The 76ers made quick work of the Heat in the opening round, before falling to the Celtics in 5 games. Though only getting a single win in the series, three of the games were decided by five points or less. A couple of those losses came down to late game execution failures by the 76ers, nothing to do with skill or talent. Fixing crunch time turnovers comes with experience, which the 76ers will be getting plenty of in the years to come.

The Celtics meanwhile are the current challengers to LeBron’s throne in the East. The greatest part about this run by Boston is how far they’ve gone while being shorthanded. The injuries surrounding the Celtics have been well covered throughout the season. And its this fact that makes Boston such a dangerous team for the future.

Even when this Celtics roster was completely healthy to start the season, expecting them to be a game away from ending LeBron’s seven consecutive NBA Finals appearances would be a stretch. When it was Kyrie Irving leading the way through the months, being in this position wasn’t even a thought, nevermind once he went down too. Yet here we are, a team missing it’s two best players (at least to begin the year) has been the biggest threat to LeBron’s reign since the Big 3 era in Boston.

Whatever happens tonight in TD Garden, the Celtics 2018-19 roster will arguably be the most formidable team in the Eastern Conference. Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returning to action, alongside Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Terry Rozier. If the Celtics could manage to retain Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris too, I don’t see any team in the East standing in their way.

Tatum and Brown will continue to make strides toward greatness that they’ve both already demonstrated in prolonged flashes. Becoming starters this season, though at the expense of Hayward, was important for their hastened development that has them both knocking at the door of stardom.

Irving and Hayward are already proven stars who haven’t even reached their prime yet. When these two return to the court, the Celtics, proven by this season’s postseason run without them, will certainly be contending for a championship.

While bench players on the Celtics, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier could each be starting point guards in the NBA. Luckily for Boston, Rozier is under contract for at least another season. Smart however, the epitome of the heart and grit of this Celtics team, is a restricted free agent this offseason. Boston would be wise to keep Smart, but if another team offers the point guard too high a price to match, he’ll be a huge asset to lose.

A player I think the Celtics have up their sleeve though is Semi Ojeleye. Though Ojeleye played sparingly throughout the Celtics season, he has shown toughness and potential in the playoffs. Against the Bucks specifically, Ojeleye played great defense against one of the best players in the NBA in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Ojeleye is quite an athlete as well, and proved to be a solid shooter in college at SMU. Given the chance, just like the young guns of this year’s Celtic squad, I predict Semi Ojeleye to rise in Boston.

Between the final buzzer at this year’s Finals and the first tip off of next season in October, a lot can happen to shake up teams in the NBA. Three of the four remaining teams in the postseason all underwent some type of major roster change to get where they’re at now. With Danny Ainge at the helm in Boston, things rarely stay stagnant in his pursuit to always improve his squad. Still, I wouldn’t expect anything too dramatic in Boston’s offseason considering the quality of their players.

The real unknown that will determine the future of the Eastern Conference is where LeBron James will end up. If James departs for the West, then the East becomes a battle between the Celtics and 76ers for years to come. If he stays in the Eastern Conference though, will he have enough to compete for more championships? James has yet again willed his team to the brink of another Finals with his worse supporting cast in quite awhile. But a fully healthy Celtics team would blitz through this roster next year. If LeBron James gets some help in Cleveland, or joins another Eastern squad that has more pieces to work with, perhaps he can remain atop his perch.

No matter what James does though, Boston (and Philadelphia) are coming, with the Celtics giving an early taste of what is to come in future seasons through this year’s playoff run.

Whatever happens in tonight’s game, Boston has already outdone all expectations. The 17x NBA champions may soon find themselves in familiar territory for the franchise: atop the Eastern Conference, and even the entire NBA.