10. Boston Celtics (43-31)
Touched on earlier in this piece, the Boston Celtics will be headed into the playoffs under immense pressure. Even though they won’t enter the playoffs as a top 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, there will still be many that expect Boston to make it out of the conference to face the Warriors (probably) in the NBA Finals.
Aside from the public pressure, every movement and word that Kyrie Irving does and utters will be placed under a microscope. He’s a free agent after this season and has been flirting with the possibility of signing elsewhere during the summer.
What will the narrative be on the Celtics after the playoffs? Who knows, but this team needs a deep playoff run like any other team in the NBA.