We’re only a quarter of the way through the 2018-19 NBA season, but some basketball fans already have given up on the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics have struggled mightily out of the gate, owning an 11-10 record entering Friday, including bad losses to the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks. But while the Toronto Raptors have looked like the true beast of the Eastern Conference as Boston slides, Stephen A. Smith still likes Boston’s chances of reaching the NBA Finals.
“I’m not giving up on Boston,” Smith said during Friday’s edition of “First Take” on ESPN. “I think Boston’s problems have been primarily about getting Gordon Hayward reingratiated into things along with Jaylen Brown’s and Jayson Tatum’s games suffering. I don’t think that’s going to last. I think as the season progresses, I think in short order the Boston Celtics are going to get their house in order and I think they’re going to make a run and remind everybody that they are one of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. They’re going to play like it, and we will see then.”
The Celtics currently are facing one of the better problems to have in the NBA: too much depth. Head coach Brad Stevens still is trying to figure out the best way to utilize his roster, which by no means is an easy process. But as each player starts to get more comfortable in their respective role, there’s no reason to believe the C’s won’t take off.
And even if Boston isn’t able to grab the top seed in the East entering the postseason, Celtics fans shouldn’t be worried. Only one East No. 1 seed in the last five seasons has gone on to reach the Finals.
