It's not often a team has the best odds at first pick overall and the best odds at the number one seed in their conference. In fact, its nearly impossible, yet the Celtics accomplished that feat at a point this season. Granted their chance at the top seed in the east is now less than that of the cavaliers, it is still a huge feat to be in prime position for the second seed and to have the best odds at the number one overall pick. So how did the celtics accomplish such a feat?
It happened way back in 2013, when the Celtics made what many thought to be a fairly even trade with the Brooklyn nets. The Brooklyn Nets received future hall of famers in Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce along with two role players in Jason Terry and DJ White. They were now thought to be a monster of a roster, possibly even with the power to dethrone the king at the time, Miami Heat. In exchange, the Celtics received Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans and three first round draft picks (2014, 2016 and 2018), as well as the right to swap first round picks in 2017. None of those players are still with the team, but the Nets are feeling the blow of trading so many of their first-round picks away. With their loss to the magic, they have secured the worst record in the NBA, thus allowing the Celtics, the best chances at the top pick in the NBA. This comes with an already stacked Celtics roster that features star player Isaiah Thomas, who's averaging nearly 30 points per game. Add the third overall pick in last year's draft, Jaylen Brown, who's starting to show signs of life as a true starter in the NBA along with the possibility of Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz or another lottery talent in this stacked draft. You're taking a team that's only half a game away from the top seed right now, and just adding more and more young talent. Even more so, they have the nets 2018 first round pick, which is almost assuredly going to be in the top five as well, unless the nets do the impossible in free agency. It's just a matter of time before the young talent develops into NBA-ready players.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, are on the decline. Many think of them to be invincible, yet the defending champions are at their worst yet this season. They've fallen into the bottom ten of defensive efficiency. No team has ever won a championship outside the top 20 in defensive efficiency. Along with that their roster is by no means young. Lebron James' body has been taxed more than it has ever been yet, and he's already on the wrong side of his 30s. They've shown signs all season of impending collapse, but everybody just sees the cavaliers as that one invincible team. Times are changing in the NBA though, and before long, fans of the sport could be looking at the Boston Celtics as the household name atop the eastern conference.
