The Celtics are the Eastern Conference contender lying in the weeds

They're not a flashy or vibrant team, but the Boston Celtics are the Eastern Conference contender that can't be slept on.

The Milwaukee Bucks' formidable two-way play and the Toronto Raptors defending their NBA championship are the prevailing talking points in the Eastern Conference, and rightfully so. But don't sleep on the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics are where they've been in each of the last four seasons: near the top of the East. Currently 43-21, the Celtics will head into Walt Disney World in July as the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

This is arguably the most underrated team in the Brad Stevens era; they do a little bit of everything and are scoring among the league's best.

The Celtics are fifth in the NBA in offensive net rating (112.3), 23rd in turnovers (13.0), and 11th in points per game (113.0). Meanwhile, they're second in opponent points per game (106.8), third in opponent three-point shooting percentage (34.2 percent), and fourth in defensive net rating (1o6.2) and opponent field goal percentage (44.2 percent) .

Once complementary youngsters, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are now indispensable parts of Boston's offense. They're adept at finishing with ease off the dribble, shooting from beyond the arc, playing in isolation, and operating at a high level defensively. The two are averaging a combined 44.0 points per game this season.

Kemba Walker has seamlessly replaced Kyrie Irving at point guard. Walker has been his prolific play-making self, scoring at a high level, smoothly running the offense, and getting his teammates involved. Walker is averaging 21.2 points per game.

Gordon Hayward is having a resurgent season, averaging 17.3 points per game while shooting 39.2 percent from beyond the arc. He's performing like the player the Celtics signed up for — albeit for a hefty $128 million.

Marcus Smart has been his gritty self on both ends of the floor while averaging a career-high 13.5 points per game; Daniel Theis has been steady in the paint; Enes Kanter has come off the bench and been a double-double threat.

The narrative with the Celtics this season has been that they're exceeding expectations, but close to no one is giving them a chance to win the East. Why is that? They're in better shape both on and off the floor compared to previous seasons.

Their offense is clicking, they have young legs, are fluent on both ends, and have a roster with a boatload of playoff experience.

Walker, Hayward, Kanter, and Smart have started and played in heated playoffs series. Tatum and Brown's young careers have been dominated by manning high-leverage minutes in both the regular season and postseason.

Moving forward, the heart and soul of this team is in place. It's a matter of when are the Celtics going to max out Tatum and whether Hayward will opt out of his contract for next season.

There's close to nothing this team hasn't seen, and they'll be the ones the opposition faces, for the most part. In the playoffs, rotations shrink. Whereas in the regular season a team might have a consistent 10-12-player rotation, coaches slim their rotations down to single digits in the playoffs. Boston's best eight-to-nine players can matchup with any team in the East.

Boston's rolling out a star guard, two great and still budding wings, veteran scorers, and proven bigs. What's their weakness? Maybe three-point shooting; the Celtics are 13th in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage (36.3 percent).

At the same time, the game slows down in the playoffs. Players get hesitant, coaches run more plays for their best players, and execution is the make-or-break factor. The Celtics can get around their mediocre three-point shooting with isolation play and Tatum and Brown's athleticism. Plus, their offensive weakness isn't even a true detriment; it's merely worse than the other parts of their offense.

Boston will have its hands full in the playoffs. They're projected to face the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, who they went 1-3 against this season. If they get past the 76ers, they'll start looking into the eyes of the Bucks, Raptors, and Miami Heat, three fundamentally sound and high-octane teams.

Some of the faces are different, but a considerable chunk of the youth and signal callers are the same. It's still a Stevens-designed offense, an elite defensive unit, and a depth chart with high flyers that can come out of hiding at any given point.

The Celtics have made it past the second round of the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. Of course, they've never won the East under Stevens and are coming off an irritating second-round series loss to the Bucks. Concurrently, there isn't any public finger-pointing and everyone is playing their best basketball.

Few teams can say they have four players who can score 20 points any given night and a rotation that's defensively stout; the Celtics can.

They've been there before, endured the ups and downs of a contender, are a composed group, and a well-oiled machine.

The Celtics aren't likely to make you jump out of your seat, nor are they the surefire best team in their conference, let alone their division. That said, they shouldn't be slept on. They're the type of team that can ambush the playoffs.