Pressure on the Boston Celtics as the NBA Season Approaches

The Boston Celtics will kick off the NBA season Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks after falling short in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics have been to three Eastern Conference Finals in the previous four years but have come up short every time.

The Celtics have a lot of young talent on this team, and it starts with Jayson Tatum, the best player on the team. It will be a statement year for Tatum after just receiving a five-year super max deal for 195 million dollars. It is a good feeling as a Celtic fan because it’s good to secure a player who can become a top-five player in this league.

However, the Eastern Conference is going to be a lot different this year. Arguably, it has gained the best player in the league in Kevin Durant, and he looked dangerous against the Celtics. Not an ideal situation for the Celtics as expectations for this season are much higher.

The Celtics cannot keep going to the ECF and falling short. The team and Coach Brad Stevens have pressure to exceed those expectations. The Eastern Conference use to be a Conference that was once upon a time, run by LeBron James, and no teams were beating him.

However, there is a total of at least six solid teams in the Eastern Conference, and the Celtics are one of them. They are a finals caliber team, but this season will show whether the Celtics’ young talent is ready to take the next step or take a significant step back with teams improving.

-Zachary Connell (@ZackConnell2)