{"id":96307,"date":"2024-09-18T08:32:32","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T12:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=96307"},"modified":"2024-09-19T17:22:41","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T21:22:41","slug":"ranking-the-3-biggest-eastern-conference-threats-to-the-celtics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/18\/ranking-the-3-biggest-eastern-conference-threats-to-the-celtics\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the 3 Biggest Eastern Conference Threats to the Celtics"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NBA Champion<\/a> Boston Celtics enter the season as favorites<\/a> to repeat. The Celtics have a loaded roster led by star wings Jayson Tatum<\/a> and Jaylen Brown<\/a> along with crucial supporting pieces Jrue Holiday<\/a>, Derrick White<\/a>, and Kristaps Porzingis<\/a>. As a result, it’s easy to see the Celtics repeating as champions. However, many Eastern Conference teams upgraded their roster in hopes of dethroning the Celtics. Let’s rank the Celtics’ biggest threats in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

Ranking the 3 Biggest Eastern Conference Threats to the Celtics<\/h2>\n

3. Milwaukee Bucks\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The first year of the Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> and Damian Lillard<\/a> duo didn\u2019t yield favorable results for the Milwaukee Bucks. However, there\u2019s no denying the duo\u2019s offensive upside. While the Bucks’ only major free agent signing was Gary Trent<\/a> Jr. there\u2019s good reason to believe this team is talented enough to figure out their problems from last season. The Bucks\u2019 19th-ranked defense<\/a> was the most concerning issue last year. The addition of Trent combined with Milwaukee’s imposing frontcourt of Giannis,\u00a0Brook Lopez, <\/a><\/span>and\u00a0<\/a>Bobby Portis<\/a>, <\/span>off the bench\u00a0should be enough for them to rank in the top half of defenses however, that still needs to be seen.\u00a0<\/span>The Bucks frontcourt size could be particularly problematic depending on\u00a0Porzingis<\/a>‘ health. Additionally, the Bucks always play the Celtics<\/a> well; they notably beat Boston twice last year.<\/p>\n

The Bucks are a perennial Eastern Conference powerhouse and a proven playoff team under Giannis. Nevertheless, the Bucks need to show us more with this roster and especially need to improve on defense. Notably, they don\u2019t have the wing defenders to contain\u00a0Tatum and\u00a0Brown. The Bucks also don’t have much star power outside of Giannis and Dame. While Khris Middleton<\/a> is an efficient three-level scorer, it’s unclear if that will be enough for the Bucks to truly contend. Furthermore, the Bucks have an aging roster at 36, Lopez could significantly decline, similarly at 33, it’s risky to overly depend on Middleton, Dame showed signs of decline last year and is now 34. Ultimately,<\/span>\u00a0given Milwaukee’s overall struggles last season, and with their aging roster it’s hard to rank them higher than three however, you can never count Giannis out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Philadelphia 76ers<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n

After signing Paul George<\/a> in free agency the Philadelphia 76ers have high expectations heading into the season. On paper, the 76ers have a strong case to challenge the Celtics as they have an All-Star-level guard and wing with a superstar-level big man. The fit between George, Joel Embiid<\/a>, and Tyrese Maxey<\/a> is about as seamless as it gets. This trio makes the 76ers incredibly balanced and well-rounded, much like the Celtics. Additionally, last season the 76ers posted a 31-8 record<\/a> with Embiid in the lineup. All of this is good reason to believe in the 76ers and they could ultimately be Boston\u2019s biggest challenger. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, both Embiid and George have extensive injury histories. Embiid has never made it past the second round and has consistently been injured in the playoffs. Moreover, the Sixers don\u2019t have the wing defenders to contain\u00a0Tatum and\u00a0Brown. While George is still a high-level defender at 34 he is no longer an elite on that end of the court. Caleb Martin<\/a> is a solid defender and free-agent pick-up but certainly not elite defensively. Kelly Oubre<\/a> notably struggles defensively. Overall, the Sixers have the star power to challenge the Celtics but must prove themselves in several ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. New York Knicks\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The New York Knicks<\/a> made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by trading for Mikal Bridges<\/a>. The acquisition of Bridges paired with the OG Anunoby<\/a>\u2019s extension gives the Knicks two elite defensive wings. These moves were clearly to match up with Tatum and Brown. With two all-defensive wings, the Knicks are better equipped than anyone to guard the Jays. Furthermore, Jalen Brunson<\/a> is one of the league\u2019s most prolific scorers and Julius Randle<\/a> offers excellent production for a second option. The Knicks also have one of the league\u2019s deepest benches highlighted by Donte DiVincenzo<\/a> and Josh Hart<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Similar to Boston, the Knicks have an incredible level of balance and two-way excellence. With Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, the Celtics<\/a> have the best defensive backcourt in the league which could allow them to contain Brunson. This highlights how the two teams are ideally equipped to stop the opposition’s star creating an intriguing matchup. The Celtics’ experience and offensive firepower give them the edge. Regardless, the Knicks will be Boston\u2019s biggest challenge in the East.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n

The second spot was a toss-up between the Bucks and the 76ers. Both teams have reasons to believe in them, but also significant negatives. While the Sixers got the edge due to their overall talent, their playoff shortcomings and history of injuries make them incredibly difficult to trust. In my eyes, the Knicks are clearly the Celtics’ biggest threat due to how they match up with Boston and their overall roster balance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NBA Champion Boston Celtics enter the season as favorites to repeat. The Celtics have a loaded roster led by star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown along with crucial supporting pieces Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis. As a result, it’s easy to see the Celtics repeating as champions. However, many Eastern Conference […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4779,"featured_media":96397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,5,15,12,13],"tags":[49979,187,1090,306,1417,450,798,267,239,510,138,1484,1082,2478],"class_list":["post-96307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-celtics","category-bucks","category-knicks","category-76ers","tag-2024-25-nba-season","tag-damian-lillard","tag-derrick-white","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-jaylen-brown","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-joel-embiid","tag-jrue-holiday","tag-julius-randle","tag-kristaps-porzingis","tag-mikal-bridges","tag-og-anunoby","tag-tyrese-maxey"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}