Now that the Boston Celtics are the reigning NBA champions , they have a target on their back heading into next season. Between the New York Knicks , the Philadelphia 76ers or even the Indiana Pacers, some of Boston’s biggest Eastern Conference threats have stepped up this offseason, so if they try to take a shot at the kings of the NBA, they won’t miss.
However, in the eyes of Celtics fanatic Bill Simmons, the Knicks and 76ers are not the biggest threat to Boston in the Eastern Conference. Instead, it’s the Milwaukee Bucks who keep Simmons up at night.
“I’m more worried about the Bucks in the East,” Simmons said. “That’s where I landed. I’ve had a little bit of vacation the last few weeks. The Bucks are the team that scares me the most; I’m not that worried about Philly; two of their top three are guys with injury potential and they’re putting a lot of dudes together. I still have some questions about Paul George in Philly and how it’s going to play out in an eight month span.
“The Knicks, there’s going to be some weird stuff going on with Randle coming back, who he’s going to finish games with, they don’t have enough size, they’re going to really miss Hartenstein and they’re going to get the same healthy season out of Brunson. Then there’s Milwaukee, who will be stable; you have Doc adding his coaching staff like Mazzulla did last summer.”
So while Simmons may have some bias, given that Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers was a frequent friend of the program, his concerns about Philadelphia and New York may hold water. But it’s not just Rivers adding new assistants this summer that scares Simmons. It’s also what the Bucks have prepared on the field.