Which Eastern Conference Team Should Concern Us Most?

[jpotter33]

I'm of the belief that Thomas will look better and Love should be healthy by the playoffs which still makes the Cavs the biggest threat.  The Raptors would likely be favored in a series against the Celtics as well.  Frankly I wouldn't be overly surprised if a team like the Bucks, Sixers, or Pistons beat Boston in a series in the first round.  All of them have players that are difficult matchups for the C's.

Lol 

[Ilikesports17]

I'm of the belief that Thomas will look better and Love should be healthy by the playoffs which still makes the Cavs the biggest threat.  The Raptors would likely be favored in a series against the Celtics as well.  Frankly I wouldn't be overly surprised if a team like the Bucks, Sixers, or Pistons beat Boston in a series in the first round. All of them have players that are difficult matchups for the C's.

classic.

[the_gunner]

First of all I would still consider Cavs favourites in a playoff-series. I think they can up their game and they will do it in the playoffs, but I sure hope not!

I think Raptors and us are a really close series, but if we can get the best out of Monroe and get our injured players back I consider us 55-45% favourites.

Besides that I believe that we will have a tough matchup in the first round. 76'ers and Pistons can both threaten us with their impressive bigs, but I think Monroe will give us the edge and level the big man duel, and then we will win due to our guards and wings.

[Kaz]

Cavs.

Still potential for Playoffs LeBron, Healthy Love, and 100% Isaiah.  Wade probably still has playoffs magic in him.  Plus, Thompson magically turns into a good player every playoffs for some reason.

The Raptors are the Cincinnati Bengals of basketball; I'm not picking them to go that far.

Wizards and Bucks are intriguing, but I still think the EC boils down to the Cavs and Celtics.

[CelticD]

I'm of the belief that Thomas will look better and Love should be healthy by the playoffs which still makes the Cavs the biggest threat.  The Raptors would likely be favored in a series against the Celtics as well.  Frankly I wouldn't be overly surprised if a team like the Bucks, Sixers, or Pistons beat Boston in a series in the first round. All of them have players that are difficult matchups for the C's.

classic.

I wouldn't be surprised either. We all saw this team nearly get swept by the 8th seed and the team has only since gotten younger and more inexperienced, but albeit, more talented. I'm still cautiously optimistic as whoever the C's will face at the 8th spot will likely be better than the Bulls team from last year.

[colincb]

Celtics. If Tatum and Brown continue this trajectory, I'm more worried about injuries than anything else.

The Cavs need a lot of things to go right to turn their ship around.

The Raptors record is far less impressive than ours when you see how they play on the road and how they play against 500+ and elite teams.

We may not get out of the East, but we're the only team that has a chance against the Warriors and legitimately look like a contender IF healthy.

[Atzar]

Cleveland and Toronto, but the Celtics are not so dominant that they can afford to overlook a lesser seed.  If they’re looking ahead to the Conference Finals, it wouldn’t shock me if they get a serious threat or even lose to a team like Milwaukee.  They need to focus and play with intensity to win.

[Phantom255x]

I'm of the belief that Thomas will look better and Love should be healthy by the playoffs which still makes the Cavs the biggest threat.  The Raptors would likely be favored in a series against the Celtics as well.  Frankly I wouldn't be overly surprised if a team like the Bucks, Sixers, or Pistons beat Boston in a series in the first round.  All of them have players that are difficult matchups for the C's.

Yep, so basically every team in the East is a legitimate threat to Boston. Great to know!

[mctyson]

Cleveland has Lebron.

[Ilikesports17]

I'm of the belief that Thomas will look better and Love should be healthy by the playoffs which still makes the Cavs the biggest threat.  The Raptors would likely be favored in a series against the Celtics as well.  Frankly I wouldn't be overly surprised if a team like the Bucks, Sixers, or Pistons beat Boston in a series in the first round. All of them have players that are difficult matchups for the C's.

classic.

I wouldn't be surprised either. We all saw this team nearly get swept by the 8th seed and the team has only since gotten younger and more inexperienced, but albeit, more talented. I'm still cautiously optimistic as whoever the C's will face at the 8th spot will likely be better than the Bulls team from last year.

I didnt. I saw the 2016 Boston Celtics lose 2 games to the Bulls and then come roaring back to win 4 in a row.

I then saw that team make the ECF despite IT playing with a hip injury so severe it would keep him out until next January.

This team didnt play in the playoffs last year. This team and last years team share exactly 1 starter. We poached 1 of the guys who lit us up for 26 a game on 60/50/90 splits.

This team returns 4 players from last year. This isnt the same team.

Its the playoffs and we arent a super team so anyone can beat anyone but if we lose to a 6-8 seed it will be very surprising to everyone except you and Moranis.

[Csfan1984]

I wonder about the Bucks. Can they make a trade to get the Freak a run mate

[mef730]

Whichever team has LeBron.

But my dark horse team that scares the crap out of me is the Heat. We have a mental block when it comes to them.

Mike

[Ilikesports17]

I wonder about the Bucks. Can they make a trade to get the Freak a run mate

Middleto and Bledsoe are very good players.

Giannis isnt the only guy out there in Milwaukee.

[KGs Knee]

I'm of the belief that Thomas will look better and Love should be healthy by the playoffs which still makes the Cavs the biggest threat.  The Raptors would likely be favored in a series against the Celtics as well.  Frankly I wouldn't be overly surprised if a team like the Bucks, Sixers, or Pistons beat Boston in a series in the first round. All of them have players that are difficult matchups for the C's.

classic.

I wouldn't be surprised either. We all saw this team nearly get swept by the 8th seed and the team has only since gotten younger and more inexperienced, but albeit, more talented. I'm still cautiously optimistic as whoever the C's will face at the 8th spot will likely be better than the Bulls team from last year.

I didnt. I saw the 2016 Boston Celtics lose 2 games to the Bulls and then come roaring back to win 4 in a row.

I then saw that team make the ECF despite IT playing with a hip injury so severe it would keep him out until next January.

This team didnt play in the playoffs last year. This team and last years team share exactly 1 starter. We poached 1 of the guys who lit us up for 26 a game on 60/50/90 splits.

This team returns 4 players from last year. This isnt the same team.

Its the playoffs and we arent a super team so anyone can beat anyone but if we lose to a 6-8 seed it will be very surprising to everyone except you and Moranis.

And it could very easily be argued that was only possible because Rondo went down with an injury.  He was carving us up in those first 2 games.

But the point about this being a totally different team is 100% valid.  We no longer have the defensive liability at PG we had last year.

[KGs Knee]

Personally, so long as the Celtics are healthy, I fully expect them to be in the Finals.

They might not make it, but the odds have to be against it at this point.