The Boston Celtics seem like a cut above the rest with the way they are playing this 2023-24 NBA season. Led by Jayson Tatum, the team is sitting pretty atop the NBA with a league-best 35-10 record. Boston is second in both offense and defense. They have the best net rating in the NBA. They rank atop nearly every offensive and defensive category imaginable. With the Celtics establishing themselves as this season's standard-bearers, their Eastern Conference rivals are scrambling ahead of the 2024 NBA trade deadline to improve their chances of taking down Boston and coming out of the East.

With the race getting tighter in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics can't expect a cakewalk to the NBA Finals. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers are probably just a step behind them in the upper echelon of the conference. The New York Knicks and the reigning Eastern Conference champs Miami Heat are also on the doorstep and they just made moves to upgrade their roster ahead of the postseason.

As it stands, the Celtics are still the favorites to make it out of the East and are right there with the Denver Nuggets to win the 2024 NBA championship. But it wouldn't be smart for Boston to remain complacent with the NBA trade deadline just right around the corner. Regardless, the Celtics are still title favorites no matter what happens. But if these things happen at the deadline, their path to the Larry O'Brien trophy is only going to get tougher.

Celtics stand pat at the trade deadline

It's rare that we see championship contenders just stand pat throughout the regular season. Sure, the Celtics already have perhaps the best core in the NBA. But a little more tweaks around the edges would only further bolster their chances to win a championship.

Luckily for Celtics fans, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens isn't one to just watch on the sidelines. He also isn't afraid to make bold moves, either. The Celtics haven't been a noisy name in the trade market this season, but based on his track record as an executive, Stevens could be working in silence to bring in more help for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

While they have a firm championship core, this Celtics team is still pretty top-heavy. Tatum, Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Al Horford are the likely fixtures of their playoff rotation. Looking at the rest of the landscape, nobody can match Boston's top-six. Their starting lineup is perhaps the most formidable in the NBA. Horford, meanwhile, has become a terrific super-sub and is thriving in a reduced role.

After Horford, however, the Celtics could start to look pretty thin come playoff time. Payton Pritchard is the next man in the rotation. And in his fourth season, he could take the next step in becoming a legitimate playoff contributor for the Celtics. But after Pritchard, there's really not much else. Can the Celtics rely to put Sam Hauser out there for 10 minutes in the playoffs? What if Porzingis goes down, can they tack on Luke Kornet to bump up the rotation as the backup big?

The Celtics' top-heavy roster limits their capabilities to make a splashy trade. But Brad Stevens still has the assets to continue improving this roster. Boston has two 1st round picks it can trade and eight seconds at its disposal. They also have a $6.2 million trade exception from signing and trading Grant Williams this offseason. With that, the Celtics don't have an excuse to stand pat at the deadline. Doing so would be a nightmare, especially if the competition gets even better.

Each contender in the Eastern Conference gets even better

As we've noted, some of the Celtics' rivals in the East have already made moves to inch closer to their title aspirations. Milwaukee has already made a coaching change. The Knicks traded for OG Anunoby. Indiana acquired Pascal Siakam. Miami brought in Terry Rozier. There has been a ton of movement in the East, and a lot more is about to happen within the next couple of weeks.

The Bucks can still get better if they can acquire a defensive wing to pair with Damian Lillard in the backcourt. New York, who has had the best record in the NBA since trading for Anunoby, has the salary pieces and the draft capital to make a big move for another star. The Sixers do, as well after gaining draft picks and a trio of expiring contracts from trading away James Harden earlier this season. Pat Riley could still have something up his sleeve to further bolster the reigning Eastern Conference champion's chances to make a return trip to the Finals.

If all of these Eastern Conference contenders make moves ahead of the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline, the road to the NBA Finals is only going to get tougher for Boston.