Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle either has a really high opinion of Jae Crowder, his former player, or he’s absolutely sold on the Boston Celtics.
Okay, it’s both.
As Carlisle said after the Mavericks’ Monday night loss to the Celtics, per SB Nation’s Tim Cato:
Rick Carlisle on the Celtics: "They have a legitimate chance to get to the (NBA) Finals through the East with that team."
— tim cato (@tim_cato) February 14, 2017
These words are flattering when you realize they’re true. And they’re even more flatting when you realize Carlisle said them before the Cleveland Cavaliers lost Kevin Love to left knee surgery.
Right now, the Celtics have sole ownership of second place in the Eastern Conference. Their offense has been humming all season, and their defense, which ranks sixth in points allowed per 100 possessions over the last 11 games, per NBA.com, is finally starting to come together.
Boston is made scarier by the fact team president Danny Ainge has the asset firepower to pull off a blockbuster trade that adds a ton of talent without making a dent in the core.
Granted, this only matters so much. The Cavaliers will be the favorites to come out of the East so long as LeBron James is still breathing. Love is due back just before the playoffs, and even without him, it’ll be damn hard to beat the Cavaliers four times in seven tries.
Just ask every team in the East that the Cavaliers faced during the 2015 playoffs, including the Celtics.
If you have to pick a team that’s built to overthrow the Cavaliers at this point, though, it’s the Celtics. The Toronto Raptors come pretty close after trading for Serge Ibaka, and the Washington Wizards are certainly in the conversation, but Boston’s defensive versatility reigns supreme on paper. And that, when combined with the Isaiah Thomas-led offense, ultimately gives the Celtics an edge over everyone else.
