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#3 Boston Celtics
Predicted result (54-28)
Many would have the Celtics as #1 or #2 in the East and that is understandable. Their rich history, their playoff run all the way to the Conference Finals only to throw it away in Game 7 against LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers. There are a lot of positives to look at for the Boston Celtics.
They made it so far after losing their newest recruitment, Gordon Hayward with a nasty injury very early on in the 2017-18 NBA Regular Season. Kyrie Irving majorly carried the Celtics during the regular season but when the playoffs came, injury kept Uncle Drew out as well. In stepped a young rookie, Jayson Tatum, who did more than he was asked for the TD Garden faithful. But by no means was he alone.
The Celtics were probably the best team in the league after the Golden State Warriors, last season. They have an incredible head coach in Brad Stevens who knows the team's limitations and utilizes his resources to their optimum abilities.
With their big names out last season at crucial junctures, the veteran Al Horford stepped up to lead the team and made the Celtics competitive on a nightly basis. To support him, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and Jayson Tatum contributed, sharing the spoils. It was great to watch the young Celtics perform last season.
With Hayward and Irving back and having retained most of their players, the Celtics will want to go one step further than last season and try to make the NBA Finals this time for a chance to bring Championship #18 to Boston.
Last season, the Celtics finished 2nd with a 55-27 record. Surprisingly, they ended up with a better away record than home. If the Celtics can win a few more games at home then they are sure to better that record from last season. But with the trades over the offseason, it will be extremely difficult for Boston to finish with 28 wins again as they did last season, on the road.
