Where Celtics Rank in Eastern Conference After Peyton Watson, Klay Thompson News originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
A couple of moves have happened in the Eastern Conference this week, including the Heat signing Klay Thompson and Peyton Watson being acquired by the Cavaliers.
These have likely been in reaction to other major moves in the East (Giannis to the Heat, Jaylen Brown and LeBron James to the 76ers, etc.)
The Celtics have been relatively quiet since the beginning of free agency, but they still will feel good about the group they have ahead of next season.
Where Celtics Rank in Eastern Conference After Peyton Watson, Klay Thompson NewsLet's take a look at where I see the Celtics ranked compared to the rest of the Eastern Conference right now.
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What Place Would Boston Currently Finish?As it stands, I see the #4 seed as a realistic spot for the Celtics.
The Celtics obviously had some major changes this offseason, but a lot of the core players are familiar with each other, which is a positive.
Many of them have won at the highest level before as well, and having Joe Mazzulla to rally his troops should give fans comfort that things can't go too south this season.
Seeing the roles of Payton Pritchard and Derrick White increase next to #1 option Jayson Tatum is an exciting thought, and they have a great chance to have a successful regular season.
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Which Teams Finish Above Boston?I predict 3 teams to finish ahead of the Celtics, given my #4 seed prediction.
Those teams, in order from best to worst, are...
- 1. 76ers
- 2. Knicks
- 3. Cavs
I think most could agree that at least the 76ers and Knicks are more likely than not to have better seasons, although the Cavs should be closer to the Celtics.
The Cavs will have some questions to answer, but I like where their ceiling is positioned right now, and they're bound to have a bounce-back regular season.
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Who Finishes Just Below Boston?For seeds #5-7, it should be pretty close, but in this order, I predict they will finish...
- 5. Heat
- 6. Raptors
- 7. Pistons
With how competitive the East will be, this could easily be interchangeable.
I still have some questions for each of these rosters, and as of now we don't know what will happen with Kawhi Leonard and Jalen Duren's situations, although they are different ones (we assume both will be with their respective team).
The Pistons won't necessarily get worse, but I don't see them being as dominant as they were last year.
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The Klay Thompson move isn't a massive needle mover, as he's declined over the past couple of seasons, but Miami should still be good enough to finish around the #5 seed.
However, Giannis Antetokounmpo's health often can be an issue, and if it lingers through this season, it will hurt Miami a lot.
Remaining SeedsHere's where I see each team positioned after the top-7.
- 8. Wizards
- 9. Hornets
- 10. Pacers
- 11. Magic
- 12. Hawks
- 13. Bulls
- 14. Bucks
- 15. Nets
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