The NBA’s Eastern Conference is unapologetically top heavy, which means losses to fellow teams can have huge effects this early in the season. While the Boston Celtics have looked every bit the part of a team that can represent the East in the NBA Finals, a string of losses could be all the difference between the second seed and the sixth seed.
With the way Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and (when healthy) Gordon Hayward have played this year, it’d be easy to assume the Celtics were running away with the conference.