Boston Celtics

With Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis arriving in Boston to join Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics should easily be the class of the division and maybe even once again the entire Eastern Conference after falling one game shy of the NBA Finals in 2022-23.

Payton Pritchard scored 17 points to lead Boston in scoring for a third straight preseason game and the Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers for the second time in four days, 112-101 on Wednesday night.

Payton Pritchard scored 26 points hours after agreeing to a four-year, $30 million contract extension, and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 114-106 on Sunday in the preseason opener for both teams.

The season has yet to begin, but it seems already decided that should the year end in anything other than Banner 18, it will be a failure in Beantown.

Boston gave up two key pieces — point guard Malcolm Brogdon, the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year, and forward Robert Williams — and Portland gets two future first-round draft picks. The Blazers will receive what would have been Golden State's first-round pick in 2024 (top-four protected) and Boston's first-round selection in 2029.

While the dust has yet to fully settle on this deal, Vegas has already bumped the Bucks not only past Boston in the East, but ahead of the defending champion Nuggets as the overall title favorite entering the '23-'24 season.

CBS Sports lists Tatum as the 7th-best player in the game entering '23-'24, with only Embiid (No. 6), Durant (No. 5), Luka (No. 4), Steph (No. 3), Giannis (No. 2) and Jokic (No. 1) ahead of him.

The Boston Celtics say they expect forward Kristaps Porzingis to be ready in time for the start of training camp after being diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

Who is under more pressure? The Celtics to win an NBA title, or the Patriots to return to the postseason?

The Boston Celtics have answered their most pressing question of the offseason. Jaylen Brown will be part of the franchise for the foreseeable future.