The Boston Celtics are leading the pack so far in the 2023-24 NBA season, and other teams are adjusting accordingly.
As of now, the C's boast a league-best 34-10 overall record and are in first place in the Eastern Conference. Not far behind them are the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks, who both made big moves ahead of the trade deadline on February 8th.
The Heat traded for former Celtic Terry Rozier on Tuesday while the Bucks fired coach Adrian Griffin and officially hired former Celtics skipper Doc Rivers on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, current Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla took questions about the significant changes implemented by Boston's Eastern Conference rivals. He was asked specifically if these shakeups were made to keep up with the C's, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
“I don’t think they’re competing with us. First of all, we haven’t won. So I don’t know why anyone’s competing with us,” Mazzulla said. “We haven’t won a championship since 2008. We’re certainly not the standard. We’re chasing people as much as people may say they’re chasing us. We don’t even look at it in that standpoint. We just have to keep that healthy balance of knowing we’re a really good team but there’s also other really good teams and how we match up against them and how do we continue to get better as a team.”
The Eastern Conference tightens up
While Boston is arguably the team to beat at the moment, Mazzulla's sobering response sheds light on what the Celtics are still missing: Banner No. 18. The C's have nearly won it all in recent years, with Mazzulla himself being a part of the Green Team's run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, yet they haven't been able to finish the job in over a decade.
Despite eliminating the Celtics last postseason and making it to the 2023 NBA Finals, the Heat have also been ringless for more than a decade. Only the Bucks, who ended their 40-year championship drought in 2021, have reached the promised land lately.
If all the aforementioned teams have proven anything though, it's that they're all desperate for another title. The Bucks performed a major offseason move by trading for seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard, the Heat finally mixed up their roster with the Rozier deal, and the Celtics may have had the busiest summer in the NBA. Boston's front office dealt veteran guard Marcus Smart, reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon, center Robert Williams, and others to land stars like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
So far, the offseason gamble has worked out for the C's, and the rest of the league has noticed. Before the trade deadline passes, a few other Eastern Conference foes could strike some deals too.
As for the Celtics, they'll get to see Miami's new roster in person on Thursday night, as they face their rivals on the road at the Kaseya Center.
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