The Celtics make the playoffs, but fail to make it out of the first-round

When you look at the Eastern Conference as a whole for the 2021-22 season, it is actually safe to say for once that they have more competitive playoff teams than the Western Conference. For years, the Western Conference has triumphed over the Eastern Conference, but times are changing in the NBA. 

The Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers all got better this offseason, with the likes of the Knicks, Hawks, Nets, 76ers and Bucks still being top-tier teams, which makes limited playoff spots up for grabs.

Ultimately, the Celtics will likely make the playoffs somewhere in the 6-8-seed range, but to think they will win a playoff series right now is tough. 

Tatum and Brown are great talents, but if they are going up against the likes of the Nets, Bucks or Heat, three teams all with All-Star trios, it is hard to imagine that the Boston Celtics will be able to pull off a massive upset. Boston is a really strong team on paper and they have plenty of experienced guys, but they are still missing that one “x-factor” that a lot of teams in the conference added this offseason. 

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Josh Richardson, Dennis Schroder and Al Horford are all solid players, but are they really championship-level guys that can push Boston to new limits? I guess that is a question that will be answered this season, but as of right now, I just do not see the Celtics making it out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.