Heres how i see it:
Outlook-The East is a mucho weak conference. Many of the stars are growing older- most from the Pistons, and the three stars from the Celtics. Thats alright though, since Allen Pierce and Garnett still are putting up consitent numbers even when they are getting older. The Bulls are a pretty good team with some young talented players, but they really feed of Ben Wallace, who is again, getting old. Toronto is getting better due to their international players, and the that could pose as a problem, not a major one just a problem. Miami is getting worse because of Zo and Shaq getting verrry old. D-Wade wil basically have to carry them most of the season. The Cavs will probably not follow the success they had in the playoffs, although watch out for LeBron and Gibson to cause trouble for a number of teams. The rest of the teams are either medicore or below that.
How Celtics will fair-They will do great in East, especially at home games. Only two teams (Cavs, Pistons) will pose as a major threat to take the #1 spot in the East. When they get to the West it will be a challenge for them, for all the games. Virtually all the elite teams are in the west. It will be a challenge for them, they should do fairly well, but hit some road bumps when they hit Spurs, Suns, etc;.
Record:
56-26
How far will they go?
To ECF- winning it or losing it is hard to determine i would at least like to see a mounth of the C's before making my full decision.