Some of the biggest takeaways from last night's Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers matchup are going to be around the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown "rivalry" and Paul George's incredible revenge game, but what might somehow be lost in all of this is that Boston now owns sole possession of the No. 1 seed in the East.
We're still very early in the season, and this isn't meant to be some sort of victory lap, but there were a lot of questions about the Celtics heading into the season, and they look phenomenal.
With a 9-2 record, they sit atop the Eastern Conference (the 76ers were the No. 1 seed heading into last night's game), and only the Los Angeles Lakers (10-2) have a better record than they do. Additionally, according to Basketball Reference, they rank third in offensive rating, sixth in defensive rating, and first in net rating.
Boston is looking like one of the best teams in the league already, and if this pace continues, then it will be able to re-establish itself as a legitimate title contender.
Maybe the Celtics can be title contenders after all
Things have gone downhill for the Celtics since their championship win in 2024. They lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the 2025 Playoffs (then moved on from Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet the following offseason). They blew a 3-1 lead to the 76ers in the first round of last season's playoffs (then traded Brown for George). And this past offseason, teams like Philadelphia, New York, the Indiana Pacers, the Toronto Raptors, the Miami Heat, and the Detroit Pistons were looking like teams the Celtics needed to be scared of in the East.
Very few people expected Boston to actually be in the title picture this season, but as it stands right now, the team is in a great spot, especially after Tuesday's win.
The Celtics' schedule hasn't been all that difficult to this point (last night's win against the 76ers was the first time they defeated a team that had a winning record going into the contest), but there's no denying how well they have played on both sides of the ball.
The Tatum-George connection looks great. Derrick White is still providing a ton of value, even if his shot is still up and down. Boston is getting good play out of Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson. Payton Pritchard is finding his groove. And the Celtics' depth is still playing a big role in their success.
It's a long season, and less than a month of play doesn't define Boston's whole season, but fans should be happy with how the team has played so far. They just had their biggest challenge of the season and not only rose to the occasion; they were dominant. The Celtics are proving they're a team the rest of the league needs to be wary of, and if they keep this up, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see them playing gearing up for more basketball once June comes around.
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