Are the Celtics a Threat in the Eastern Conference?

With the Boston Celtics currently being (13-9), some may argue that the Celtics have already started the season on a better note then others may of expected. If the NBA playoffs were to begin today, the Celtics would be the 7th seed. However, the Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be a bit unpredictable to say the least. So that just leaves the question, can the Celtics be a threat in the Eastern Conference?

Well let’s start off with this, the Celtics are surprisingly enough 7th in the NBA in scoring with 103.2 points-per-game. Not bad for a team that is supposed to be known as a defensive minded unit. Also, believe it or not the Celtics have more offensive weapons than just the expected Isaiah Thomas 21PPG, but also from other teammates who are picking up the slack. For example, even though Jared Sullinger is only averaging 10.3PPG, he’s still a threat to not only get a double-double, but also to score 20 points at any time. Not to mention, Avery Bradley is averaging a career high 15.9PPG. You can thank his improvement with the three ball for his recent success.

Then you think of the scheduling the Celtics have had thus far this season. The Celtics have already beaten playoff contending teams or last year’s playoff teams. It wasn’t that long ago that the Celtics almost beat the second best team in the Western Conference in San Antonio against the Spurs. Currently the Celtics have beaten playoff contenders such as Houston, Miami, Atlanta and last year’s surprising playoff team in the Washington Wizards. Not a bad resume to start the NBA season with if you ask me.

Now of course when you think of the Boston Celtics in the past year or so, you probably think of them being built on defense, which is still the case. The Celtics have played hard defense with guys such as Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger and even Amir Johnson. To think the Celtics are even doing this without one of their best young defensive players in Marcus Smart as well who has been out with an injury for a couple of weeks.

Not to mention the Celtics are doing all of this not due to just one player or two people or heck even three guys, they are playing as a team. Simply meaning that you can’t just point out a couple of players saying “Yeah they are the star of this team,” you just simply can’t do that with this squad. Let’s face it, when you don’t have a “Superstar” on your team there’s only one way to win really, win as a team. On any given night any Celtics player can have a big night, yes even Evan Turner can have a big night for the Celtics from time to time. Call me crazy but the more I think and look at this team, the more I see a possibility of them being similar to the 2004 Detroit Pistons. Think of it for just a moment, you have a young squad who doesn’t really have a flashy player to them, but they are built on defense and play hard basketball. Sound familiar to anyone?

Above all though, it’s not like I’m suggesting that the Celtics are going to the NBA Finals or dethroning LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers as the top team in the Eastern Conference. Or even suggesting that the Celtics are a top team in the NBA as a whole, however I am suggesting that you should not be sleeping on the Celtics and realize that this is not just a rebuilding team, they are thinking of the here and now. So are the Celtics a threat in the NBA as a whole? No not yet, but are they a threat in the Eastern Conference? I believe they just might be.