Can Celtics Compete With East’s Best? Danny Ainge Responds

The Boston Celtics were busy on trade deadline day, but whether they actually got better remains to be seen.

Also to be determined is if the Celtics can actually hang around with the Eastern Conference’s best teams.

The space between the Celtics and the top teams — the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks — is more of a chasm than a little gap. And while Evan Fournier, in particular, should help Boston out a little bit, it very well might not be enough.

Ainge was asked point-blank Friday morning if he thought his team could compete with the big dogs.

“I’m not sure of that,” Ainge said in a conference call. “But I also feel an obligation to more than just — I mean, we’re dealing with people here. And I feel like we’re trying to get better all the time: Every trade deadline, every offseason. And I felt like there was an opportunity, and we felt like there was more than one opportunity, but some didn’t work out.”

The Celtics will have their first test pretty soon. They’re set to face the Bucks on Friday, and both Moe Wagner and Luke Kornet might be available.