Will the Boston Celtics be a top 6 seed, play-in candidate, or in the lottery?
There are still far too many days before training camp, but the busiest transaction days of the summer are in the rear view mirror. So it only makes sense to peek ahead at the year ahead.
How you feel the Celtics will finish depends a lot upon your outlook. Do you think the goal of the team is to tank and grab as many lottery balls as possible? Do you think they’ll play for pride and build for a quick bounce-back once Tatum is back? Or are you somewhere in the middle?
Where the Celtics actually land in the seedings will depend even more on how the rest of the East shakes out. Right now it looks like the Knicks and Cavs will be favored to finish in the top 2. After that it is anyone’s guess. Did the Magic, Hawks, or Pistons do enough to move from the “promising young team” label to legit contender status?
Then there’s a group that might be going in the opposite direction. Did the Bucks do enough to put a winning team around Giannis? Are the Sixers ever going to get healthy enough to compete with this core group? Will the Heat keep hanging around the Play-In range? Just what exactly are the Raptors and Bulls doing?
I think the Pacers get their own gap-year pass. The Wizards, Hornets, and Nets appear to be poised to maximize their lottery odds once again.
So where do the Celtics fit into that landscape? Are they still talented enough to finish in the top 6? Do you think they’ll be firmly in the play-in range? Or do you think they’ll find a way to lose enough to hit the lottery?