Boston Celtics: The Eastern Conference now belongs to the C’s

With the LeBron James move to Los Angeles, the Boston Celtics have cemented themselves as the favorite in the East

In my humble opinion, the Boston Celtics would have been the favorites anyways.

Boston has the most talent coming back for the 2018-19 season in the East and it’s not even close.

We all know that Boston was beat in a grueling seven-game series with Cleveland this past season. However, we also know that Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward were out due to injury.

Not having that leadership on the floor hurt Boston with all their young players trying to figure out playoff pressure on the fly.

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Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Terry Rozier, and arguably the best coach in Brad Stevens all will be back on the parquet floor.

Then add in Marcus Smart (if re-signed) and Marcus Morris. That would be more than the Celtics would need to get by Cleveland, Toronto, or Philadelphia.

Even if LeBron decided to stay in Cleveland it wouldn’t have been enough to stop the Celtics from getting to the NBA Finals.

All the regualar and playoff experience gained by Rozier, Tatum, and Brown will only benefit the Celtics moving forward. These young players of Boston are not going to be intimidated by the likes of Philadelphia or Toronto. They beat the Sixers in the conference semi-finals.

Some of you may say, “They haven’t won anything.” True.

However, before winning anything you need to have some struggle. Boston went through that the last couple of years losing to the same team in the Cavaliers. The first time the Celtics lost to the Cleveland was as the number one seed. The second time had their best players on the bench with injuries.

Injuries are the great equalizer. It was never more apparent than this past season.

Having Irving and Hayward on the floor would have made the Cleveland series a five or six game series this past season.

Now with LeBron moving onto the Lakers, it clears the way for Boston to take control of the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

Toronto, who plays Boston tough, is still learning how to win as well. The Raptors do not have close to the amount of talent that Boston has. I’ll put the talent of the Celtics up against the Raptors next season all day next season.

Boston beats the Raptors in the season series next year and if these same two teams play in the playoffs it’ll end up the same. Boston advances into the next round.

Philadelphia is still trying to process getting knocked out by Boston in the playoffs. The young players for Philly had a hard time with pressure situations, so development is still underway. The young Sixer players have to get a handle on that before taking the next step.

Boston and Philadelphia could return things back to the 1980’s with both teams being young and hungry. If that happens, the Eastern Conference will be fun to watch.

Brad Stevens is starting to be considered Greg Popovich 2.0 by many NBA people. He is absolutely the best coach out of a timeout. The players have completely bought into his ball movement, screen, and cut system he has brought to the Celtics.

Stevens has made a Boston a destination spot for players, so future free agents will want to come to Boston. The players will know that they will be successful in Steven’s system. Look at what Brad Stevens system did for Isaiah Thomas. Just saying.

Must Read: Philadelphia 76ers: How LeBron’s decision impacts the Sixers’ rebuild

At the end of the day, the Boston Celtics were going to be a favorite to win the East next season. LeBron choosing to go out west solidified that thought for many people.

It’s all about getting championship No. 18 for the Celtics. It isn’t about LeBron.