Last year, the Boston Celtics made it all the way into the Eastern Conference finals where they were obliterated by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston lost that series four games to one. The Celtics find themselves in the same round against the same opponent, but this time around, Marcus Smart does not believe that it’s going to end up with a similar result primarily because he thinks that the current version of his team matches up better opposite the Cavs, per Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.

Despite the absences of Irving and Gordon Hayward, Smart believes he’s also on a team more ready to handle the Cavaliers than past Celtics versions. “We’re better and better equipped to play the Cleveland Cavaliers this year, just from the fact that we have more bodies, more changeable guys that can play different positions, more guys that can have an impact at both ends of the floor,” he said.

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Last season, the Celtics had Isaiah Thomas, who was as great of an offensive force for the team as he was a defensive liability for them. With Thomas gone, the Celtics are no longer making several inconvenient adjustments to hide the point guard on defense. And while the Celtics traded pesky guard Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons, they got in return Marcus Morris, who is now providing Boston with a more able body to match up with James.

After Game 1’s 108-83 win over the Cavs, the Celtics look exactly the same team Smart thought would fare better against the defending conference champion.