As the NBA Playoffs continue to inch closer and closer, the true contenders in each conference are beginning to make themselves clear. In the East, there is the Philadelphia 76ers led by James Harden ad Joel Embiid, they are joined by the Milwaukee Bucks, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Miami Heat in championship contention conversations.
However, there is one team that not a lot of people are discussing and that is the Boston Celtics.
The C’s got off to a really tough start as they were adjusting to new coach Ime Udoka’s play style. However, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as well as a stout defense, the Celtics are 28-9 since the calendar turned to 2022 including knocking off the Sixers by 48 and leading by as many as 51 in a matchup before the All-Star break.
Sixers guard Danny Green discussed the contenders in the East on his podcast “Inside the Green Room” and he believes Boston is the sleeper team to watch out for (h/t NBC Sports):
“I think that’s a team that might be the sleeper that comes out or gets to the Eastern Conference Finals when people don’t expect them to because they’ve been hooping,” Green said. “They’ve been playing defense. Their offense has helped their defense because they’ve been playing a lot smoother, more together, which was interesting to me.”
“We played them before James (Harden) got a chance to play, it got ugly on TNT and for a reason, they were hooping,” Green said. “I said if they keep playing like this, they’re going to be the team to beat.
“But we’re still figuring it out, other teams are figuring it out and waiting to see if people get healthy, but I do think Boston is one of the sleeper teams that could sneak into the Eastern Conference Finals if not the Finals.”
It will be interesting to see all of this play out. The East is filled with some really tough teams and the Sixers will obviously be towards the top with Harden and Embiid leading the way. However, they will be challenged by the Celtics, Bucks, Heat, and the Nets. Especially now that the vaccine mandate will be lifted to allow Kyrie Irving to play in home games for Brooklyn.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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