Here’s How Boston Can Overtake the Cavs In the East

Boston has home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals, but nonetheless started the series as a significant underdog. You'd have to bet $700 on the Cavs winning to receive $100 if they actually did.

Cleveland cruised to a 13-point win in Game One. In the second game, which tips at 8:30 p.m. EST tonight on TNT, the Cavs are expected to win again; the spread is 6.5.

Forget this year in the East. It’s over. The only question is whether the Cavs will sweep Boston.

LeBron and company have been toying with their conference all year. They have the No. 2 seed because they mailed it in for the second half of the regular season—and it was the right decision.

LeBron is rested, putting up 35-9-7 a night, and calling for alley-oops off the backboard. And don't sell his supporting cast short. LeBron’s VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) is the lowest he’s ever had in a postseason, simply because Cleveland hasn’t needed him to go into Beast Mode.

LeBron is a brick wall in the East. He’s about to go to his seventh-straight finals.

When you look at next year and the year after that, although Boston is a part of the East’s second tier with Milwaukee and Washington (R.I.P. Toronto—sorry, Drake), the Celtics still fall into the "everyone else" group.

So, how can Brad Stevens and company break through the brick wall and make it to the NBA Finals? Here’s the formula they need to follow this offseason and thereafter.

Deserving players get left off the All-NBA teams every year, and Hayward deserved to make it this year. Stevens is the only reason Hayward ended up at Butler, and it’s seemed like destiny for years that they would reunite. Put Gordon Hayward on the C’s and this Eastern Conference Finals doesn’t totally even out, but it becomes a lot more interesting.

Boston will have about $31 million in cap space this offseason, and if Hayward opts out of the final year of his deal with Utah—which became likelier when he missed out on All-NBA—he could sign with Boston for the max at $30.6 mil. Or he could sign a deal in the $25 million range and leave Danny Ainge with some flexibility to pick up spare parts. (For reference, Kevin Durant signed for $26.5 million with Golden State last year).

Johnson is a no-brainer; he’s 30 years old, making $12 million this season, and only playing 11 minutes a game. Despite his Herculean Game Seven against Washington, Olynyk is also a pretty clear-cut decision.

You know some team out there is going to talk itself into giving Kelly Olynyk and his terrible goatee $20 million a year to set illegal screens. (I'm looking at you, Knicks and Nets.) Besides, Jae Crowder looks a lot better coming off the bench than he does as a starter, and the Celtics are married to Al Horford through 2020. With Hayward, Horford, Crowder, and the not-to-be-slept-on Jaylen Brown as your top four forwards, the Celtics' frontcourt is looking good.

There is definitely an argument to be made that the Celtics should shop 28-year-old Isaiah Thomas. A trade would be painful for Boston fans—that city loves the little guy—but this has been the best season of his career, it's hard to picture him maintaining pace, and he'll never be an MVP. His value is probably at an all-time high.

With that being said, Thomas is the hub of Boston's roster, and they don't need to tear it all apart; they just need to make some improvements. For the time being, this shouldn't be a discussion; Thomas is playing on $6 million a year through next season. Talk about a bargain.

If the Celtics land Hayward and things don't mesh, maybe you consider dealing Thomas at the deadline next season. If the Celtics seem to be gaining significant ground on the Cavs or overtaking them, however, it would make sense to give Thomas the max in 2018. The cap will keep going up anyway, and the Celtics franchise makes the fifth-most money in the NBA; if they want a title, they may have to flirt with the luxury tax.

Rumors have indicated the Celtics may consider dealing the No. 1 pick for one of these two unhappy stars. There are a number of reasons not to do it: (1) the cap situation would get really hairy, (2) neither George nor Butler would fit Boston’s strategy or roster, (3) they may disrupt the harmonious, nobody-believes-in-us culture, (4) neither guy is good enough to make the difference on his own against LeBron, and (5)...

Fultz is the best player in an absolutely loaded draft. He projects to be James Harden with a better attitude.

Because there are so many promising prospects in the top 10, it may be tempting to move down and snag multiple picks (wouldn’t it be nice to acquire, say, De’Aaron Fox and Jayson Tatum?), but Fultz fits perfectly with what Boston is building. He’s strong and can play off the ball, so he would pair well with Thomas in the backcourt, and the two former Huskies already know each other and have trained together.

Fultz has the right attitude to fit in with Boston, too. So much of what the Celtics have accomplished is because of the culture Ainge and Stevens have established; it’s Spurs-esque. Lonzo Ball, who declared for the draft immediately after UCLA was eliminated from the NCAA tournament, would not be a fit. Even LaVar Ball knows this!

If LeBron wins the title this year in Cleveland, what more does he have to prove? What if things get crazy and he wins the title this year and next year?

He’s already brought a title to the Land. Why should he stay there forever? Maybe he’ll unite with the Superfriends somewhere, or maybe he’ll decide to take on a new challenge in the West. Never underestimate LeBron and his diabolical plans to take over the world.

If the Celtics move their chess pieces shrewdly, they could potentially assemble a conference champion-caliber roster, but perhaps their greatest hope above all else hinges on LeBron leaving the East.