Celtics are a top 5 team in the league

[Who]

2016/17 Boston Celtics

PG: Isaiah, Rozier
SG: Avery, Smart
SF: Crowder, Jaylen Brown
PF: Amir, Jerebko, Mickey
 C: Al Horford, Olynyk

The addition of Al Horford will be a game-changer for the Celtics next season. I believe it has already pushed them past the Atlanta Hawks (lost Teague, step bacK), the much improved Indiana Pacers, the young and still growing Detroit Pistons and last year's number two the Toronto Raptors (stalled progress) to make the Celtics the #2 team in the Eastern Conference.

So, who out West is still better than the Celtics?

The Warriors obviously are. Probably the Spurs. Are anybody else?

OKC is a borderline playoff team after the loss of Durant. So are Houston and Dallas. None of them are. The Grizzlies have improved but are not better than Boston. Utah? Possibly (surprisingly deep) but they have proven even less than the Celtics so I am going to give the C's the edge for now. How about the Clippers? Arguably so. Arguably not. The Clippers have a great core (top 3-4 guys) but a lousy supporting cast. So I think that poor supporting cast drops them down to about the same level as us.

1 - Golden State Warriors
2 - Cleveland Cavaliers
3 - San Antonio Spurs
4 - Boston Celtics
5 - LA Clippers

Yes, it's true that the Warriors and Cavaliers are way out ahead of the pack of everyone.

And it is true that the Celtics have a lot of work to be done to catch up with them.

But it is truly impressive how much this team has improved in such a short space of time and how highly they stand compared not just to the rest of the Eastern Conference but the entire league ... and I truly believe this will be a top 5 team in the NBA next season.

[mctyson]

I completely agree.  Top-to-bottom the Cs are superior to the Clippers.  I think we are better than the Raptors now for sure.

You could make a very good argument that if everything works out the Cs might have the 3rd best record in the league at the end of next season. 

[CoachBo]

Which means you continue to push for roster upgrades.

[Birdman]

Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons are not to far off..don't laugh ppl

[ashanm10]

remember, its thanks to our SUPERSTAR on the bench that we are the team we are ;p Brad Stevens baby... 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

[The One]

Is this a regular season thing?

Or who would win a playoff series?

If it's playoffs, I think the C's are more like 7th.

Warriors
Cleveland
Spurs
Clips
Blazers
Toronto
Boston/Jazz

[LarBrd33]

I mean, it is pretty funny.   Golden state was already a dynasty.  Matching 73 wins isn't likely.  So they made a move that just ensures they will keep being the dynasty they were already going to be.  Meanwhile, we lose one of the leagues legit contenders with the thunder falling off the map.   

So Boston might indeed be a top 5 team this year.  We should win about 55 games or so if we are healthy.  Pretty awesome.   But being a top 5 team in the Golden State Basketball Association is about as impressive as the Washington Generals being a top 2 team in the league the Harlem Globetrotters play in.   Doesn't mean a whole lot if they are going 82-0 for the next decade.

[jpotter33]

I totally agree, but I think there's a sizable leap from the top-3 to the fourth and fifth teams:

Tier 1: Bonafide Contenders
Golden State Warriors(still have to fill out their roster, though)
Cleveland Cavaliers
San Antonio Spurs

Tier 2: Faux/Semi Contenders
Boston Celtics
Toronto Raptors
Los Angeles Clippers
Portland Trail Blazers

Tier 3: Playoff Caliber Teams
Memphis Grizzlies
Dallas Mavericks
Oklahoma City Thunder (unless they trade Westbrook)
Indiana Pacers
Atlanta Hawks
Miami Heat (if they retain their guys)
Charlotte Hornets
Detroit Pistons
New York Knicks
Washington Wizards

[LarBrd33]

I totally agree, but I think there's a sizable leap from the top-3 to the fourth and fifth teams:

Tier 1:
Golden State Warriors(still have to fill out their roster, though)
Cleveland Cavaliers
San Antonio Spurs

Tier 2:
Boston Celtics
Toronto Raptors
Los Angeles Clippers
Portland Trail Blazers

Tier 3:
Memphis Grizzlies
Dallas Mavericks
Oklahoma City Thunder (unless they trade Westbrook)
Indiana Pacers
Atlanta Hawks
Miami Heat (if they retain their guys)
Charlotte Hornets
Detroit Pistons

if we were doing this in the same manner Chad ford does his annual draft tier article ...

Golden State would be sitting in Tier X - an unprecedented tier we haven't seen since Russell's Celtics

Cavs would be a tier 1 prospect.

Everyone else would be a tier 4 prospect at best - Ceiling:  also-ran.  The nick stauskas tier of NBA contenders. 

[CelticSooner]

I mean, it is pretty funny.   Golden state was already a dynasty.  Matching 73 wins isn't likely.  So they made a move that just ensures they will keep being the dynasty they were already going to be.  Meanwhile, we lose one of the leagues legit contenders with the thunder falling off the map.   

So Boston might indeed be a top 5 team this year.  We should win about 55 games or so if we are healthy.  Pretty awesome.   But being a top 5 team in the Golden State Basketball Association is about as impressive as the Washington Generals being a top 2 team in the league the Harlem Globetrotters play in.   Doesn't mean a whole lot if they are going 82-0 for the next decade.

I thought they deserved an asterisk? lol Hold up on the dynasty talk. Plenty of teams have had that label way too early. So many things can happen to prevent that from happening.

[jpotter33]

I totally agree, but I think there's a sizable leap from the top-3 to the fourth and fifth teams:

Tier 1:
Golden State Warriors(still have to fill out their roster, though)
Cleveland Cavaliers
San Antonio Spurs

Tier 2:
Boston Celtics
Toronto Raptors
Los Angeles Clippers
Portland Trail Blazers

Tier 3:
Memphis Grizzlies
Dallas Mavericks
Oklahoma City Thunder (unless they trade Westbrook)
Indiana Pacers
Atlanta Hawks
Miami Heat (if they retain their guys)
Charlotte Hornets
Detroit Pistons

if we were doing this in the same manner Chad ford does his annual draft tier article ...

Golden State would be sitting in Tier X - an unprecedented tier we haven't seen since Russell's Celtics

Cavs would be a tier 1 prospect.

Everyone else would be a tier 4 prospect at best - Ceiling:  also-ran.  The nick stauskas tier of NBA contenders.

Well, I wasn't necessarily following that model but more of just a regular tiered model.

But I'm not ready to put GS in their own category yet. They still have a lot of work to do to make that a championship-caliber roster with a supporting cast and starting center. Until they do, I think the Cavs should be the favorite to win next year.

[walker834]

We basically need one guy still.  A big man preferably.

[PaulP34]

I love my Celtics but sorry, they are not even close to being the top 5 team in the league. Even with Al Horford who has automatically made them a better team. When Jaylen Brown develops then I will revisit this. But the Clippers with Blake and CP3 are much better then Boston at this point.

Don't mortgage our future picks for boneheaded trades to go n try to compete now. There's no reason to do that. Keep the picks and make the picks so in 3-4 years from now the Celtics will be the best team in basketball. The future is bright but don't trade the future for the Butlers or Loves of the world. If Cousins available then that's a different story he's still young. Don't be stupid Danny. Build through the draft and let Al Horford take Jaylen under his wings.

[Ilikesports17]

Vegas gave us the 4th title odds. Tied with LAC.

Not bad at all, but the league is so top heavy right now I'd say we are closer to 20 than #1.

[Ilikesports17]

I love my Celtics but sorry, they are not even close to being the top 5 team in the league. Even with Al Horford who has automatically made them a better team. When Jaylen Brown develops then I will revisit this. But the Clippers with Blake and CP3 are much better then Boston at this point.

Don't mortgage our future picks for boneheaded trades to go n try to compete now. There's no reason to do that. Keep the picks and make the picks so in 3-4 years from now the Celtics will be the best team in basketball. The future is bright but don't trade the future for the Butlers or Loves of the world. If Cousins available then that's a different story he's still young. Don't be stupid Danny. Build through the draft and let Al Horford take Jaylen under his wings.

Well I'll give you the clips, but I think we are arguably better than Toronto Indiana Atlanta and Portland. If you agree we are better than those 4 then we are top 5 right?