USATSI
There are two types of teams in the Eastern Conference. Type No. 1 is the Boston Celtics. The best team in the NBA. The reigning champions. The most balanced starting five the NBA has seen in decades. Ideally, every team in the Eastern Conference wants to be the Boston Celtics. There can sadly only be one Boston Celtics.
And then there’s type No. 2: teams that are not the Boston Celtics. Every type No. 2 team’s theoretical goal should be beating the Boston Celtics. The only thing separating these teams is timelines. Either you’re trying to beat the Boston Celtics next season, like, say, the Knicks, 76ers and Bucks, or you’re trying to beat the Boston Celtics three or four years from now, when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will be a bit older (though still in