Re-seeding the East: Boston Celtics have real competition after splashy NBA offseason

2. New York Knicks

In a vacuum, the New York Knicks should be improved. Adding Mikal Bridges is a huge win for the team. Whether he will outweigh the loss of Isaiah Hartenstein remains to be seen. At least from a talent perspective, the Knicks did get better. With the addition of Bridges, the Knicks may be finally equipped to take down the Boston Celtics. It will be a tall task for the team, but there's reason to believe that New York could be in as good of a position as any other team in the Eastern Conference to emerge as the biggest rival to Boston.

This past season, one of the bigger obstacles to the Knicks was their lack of health. By the time Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals rolled around, New York ran out of gas. If they can avoid that this season, New York is one of the few teams that will have a good chance to go toe-to-toe with the Celtics.

On paper, there's reason to believe in the Knicks. The question is, can they carry that success over the course of a regular season, perhaps most importantly, into the playoffs.