The Boston Celtics’ road to Eastern Conference supremacy just got a bit tougher.
The Philadelphia 76ers, who already were poised to be a force in the East this season, added some star power by trading for Jimmy Butler in a blockbuster deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A three-headed monster of Butler, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons has the chance to be downright frightening, adding to Boston’s already stiff competition in the conference with the likes of the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers.
Kyrie Irving, however, didn’t bat an eye when Butler relocated to the City of Brotherly Love.
Irving is right. The 2018-19 campaign is less than a quarter of the way through, and teams still are in the process of figuring out who they really are. Look at the Celtics, for example. They’ve dropped four of their last six games despite being widely viewed as the premier team in the East heading into the season.
The Butler era in Philadelphia also didn’t get off to a shining start, for what it’s worth. The two-way star finished with just 14 points in the 76ers’ loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
