Since winning the NBA Finals in 2024, the Boston Celtics have stayed among the top contenders in the Eastern Conference and have continually stood in front of the Cleveland Cavaliers' hopes of reaching their potential.
Boston's long-standing dominance centered on the dynamic talent of Jayson Tatum and his former co-star Jaylen Brown. A commanding supporting cast composed of Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Derrick White helped bring the Celtics their 18th franchise championship.
As this offseason concludes, Boston enters the year with only two of those players still in green and white. Tatum and White are the only remaining core members of the 2024 championship roster, albeit with fringe rotation players like Payton Pritchard now rising to prominence as well. Still, as the Celtics continue into the latter half of the decade, few moves have helped elevate the Celtics back to that position as a conference titan.
Last year, Brown's MVP-caliber season catapulted a team expected to tank all the way to the second seed in the conference. Despite enjoying the best season of his career, the Celtics traded Brown in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, bringing back nine-time All-Star Paul George. The Celtics also added rebounding extraordinaire Mitchell Robinson on a three-year, $47.4 million contract.
With a presumed starting lineup of White, Pritchard, George, Tatum and Robinson, the Celtics have constructed a physically-imposing starting unit with a few high-quality role players like Neemias Queta on the bench. Where Boston has fallen, however, is exactly where the Cavs are improving.
Boston's roster lost its identity over the years
With Horford and Porzingis gone, the Celtics have yet to replace the floor spacing both big men provided. A short stint with Nikola Vucevic last season only exposed the veteran center's horrendous defense. While Robinson and Queta provide incredible interior defense and rebounding, neither one fills the offensive role the Celtics so happily enjoyed during their contending seasons.
Veteran point guard Derrick White saw his least-efficient season of his career from deep, shooting 32.7 percent on three-pointers in the regular season and just 27.3 percent in the playoffs. At 32 years old, White showed noticeable decline last year, and Boston does not have the backcourt depth to survive another down year. Pritchard is the only experienced guard on the roster other than White, leaving the Celtics with a clear hole in their depth chart.
In the Celtics' championship run, they were composed of a well-rounded, deep roster filled with floor spacers and defensive stalwarts. This season, Boston's frontcourt and backcourt lack the two-way prominence they enjoyed for years. A team predicated on living and dying by the three has suddenly lost that consistent ability to find the spark in any number of players.
Tatum and George will enter the season as the top options for Boston, and while George resurrected much of his reputation with the Sixers, he is still a concern as a go-to star. Behind PG, the Celtics only have Sam Hauser and Hugo Gonzalez as reliable small forwards. While both can shoot from deep, neither one provides any positive defensive capabilities.
Tatum's return from injury last season showcased that the six-time All-Star should be of no concern. Tatum is still as fearsome and talented as before, but the cast around him is notably worse in every aspect.
Depth, shooting and versatility are all lackluster aspects of the once-great Celtics.
The Cavaliers are better than the Celtics, finally
The Cavaliers are still an imperfect team with flaws that can be exposed. The defensive liabilities of James Harden and Donovan Mitchell will surely bite the Cavs again this year, but Cleveland's answers to that flaw have improved. Adding Peyton Watson provides the Cavaliers with a player they have never had in the Mitchell era. Watson is a true 3-and-D wing, providing excellent off-ball shooting, athletic cuts to the rim and truly versatile defense.
Off the bench, the Cavaliers are just as shallow as ever behind the frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, but the wing is loaded with size and talent. Jaylon Tyson is entering the third year of his career after showing steady growth last year, transforming into a Josh Hart kind of wing. Newly-added Mario Hezonja returns to the NBA after accumulating numerous awards in European play, including the FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers MVP in 2026.
All three of the Cavaliers' small forwards are two-way players. Watson has been one of the best shot-blocking wings in the NBA all four years of his career. Tyson displayed intensity and improvement all season. Hezonja has never been a top-tier defender, but his play in Europe prove he has developed on that end.
Sam Merrill fills in as a sharpshooter and solid defender at the two-guard spot, offering another layer of lineup versatility when the Cavaliers rest one of their star guards. Slotting Merrill and Tyson off the bench allows the Cavs to add a pair of two-way players with Watson moving up to the four and half of the star quartet still on the floor.
Cleveland no longer has to choose between size and defense (Dean Wade) or volume offense and athleticism (Max Strus) to fill out the wing rotation. That one area of weakness has repeatedly punished and embarrassed the Cavaliers over recent years.
With size on the wing finally being addressed, Cleveland enters next season with the exact roster needed to surpass the declining Celtics in the conference rankings. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a plethora of star power and a depth chart filled with long-range shooters and defenders to back up that core. While the Celtics will still be a force, the Cavs are undeniably more talented top to bottom.
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