Boston Celtics ranked top team in the NBA for contention odds pre-stretch run

The Boston Celtics may have seen other teams around the league loading up on talent at the 2023 trade deadline, but still find themselves at the top of potential title contenders.

The Boston Celtics may have seen other teams around the league loading up on talent at the 2023 trade deadline, but still find themselves at the top of potential title contenders according to SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell. Per O’Donnell, the “Celtics have been playing like the best team in basketball for more than a year now.”

The SB Nation analyst points to how “last season’s stunning turnaround at the halfway point” under the ball club’s prior head coach Ime Udoka would lead to a berth in the 2022 NBA Finals, one Boston would eventually squander to lose in six games, only to return with a vengeance on Game 1 of the 2022-23 season.

Now, O’Donnell notes how Boston has since morphed into “a group with the best net rating and point-differential at the All-Star break this year.”