The Boston Celtics had a mixed bag of a week, blowing out one team and getting blown out by another as they slowly return to a mostly available roster from one without the minimum number of players required to play an NBA game.
And even with the lopsided loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday, the return (and healthy-looking play, if not efficient) of starting point guard Kemba Walker seems to have offset the negative in a lot of weekly power rankings — if not improved their standing. And while it may be early in the season, the Celtics still sit atop the East standings despite the loss to the Knicks after the Milwaukee Bucks dropped a game to the new-look Brooklyn Nets on Monday.
So in light of a hard week to assess given all the COVID-19-related absences and postponements, where are analysts ranking Boston? Let’s take a look.