The Eastern Conference in the 2021-22 NBA season was arguably tougher than the Western Conference. There were many teams in the East that could have very well advanced to the NBA Finals.
But at the end of the day, it was the Boston Celtics that defeated all the amazing teams to qualify for the Finals and are now facing the Golden State Warriors. The Celtics are being considered the favorites to win the title this season.
Initially, most people were shocked to see the odds tilt so heavily in favor of the Celtics. But following the events of Game 1 of the series, most people are now understanding how dangerous the Celtics really are.
One might wonder what is the reason behind the dominance that the Celtics have shown this season and are continuing to show in the finals as well? Well, their new head coach, Ime Udoka, gave a great answer to that question while taking a subtle shot at other big teams in the Eastern Conference as well:
“We look at ourselves as a unit. A complete team. We look at the other teams, Brooklyn with Durant, Bucks with Antetokounmpo, Miami with Butler. We pride ourselves on being a team that plays together.”
Ime Udoka: "We look at ourselves as a unit. A complete team. We look at the other teams, Brooklyn with Durant, Bucks with Antetokounmpo, Miami with Butler. We pride ourselves on being a team that plays together."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 3, 2022
It is true that the Celtics have a squad that prides itself on picking up the slack of their teammates. It was proved in Game 1 of the finals as Jayson Tatum had a terrible shooting night. But players like Al Horford and D White filled the void left by Tatum.
This led to the Celtics easily registering a win over the star-studded Warriors. As Udoka explained, the other teams in the Eastern Conference are maybe a little too dependent on their superstars.
When their respective superstars fail to play at an elite level, their teams fail to win important games. But the Celtics do not have this issue, and they have already proved that.
