Boston Celtics
50-32
4th in the Eastern Conference
The History
Nearly three years ago, the most storied franchise in all of professional basketball pulled off a trade that the sports world questioned on a variety of levels. The Boston Celtics traded a lottery draft pick (Georgetown’s Jeff Green) to the then-Seattle Supersonics for sharpshooter Ray Allen. Now, instead of adding to their young nucleus, the Celtics added another dynamic scorer who demanded the ball in order to be successful. It wasn’t until later on in the off-season when the Celtics traded most of that young nucleus to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin
Garnett that the trade began to make sense.
They said all the right things. They seemed committed to sacrificing individual success to attain team glory and have their names remembered in Boston hoops lore. A year later, a banner was raised in their honor and the group was poised to repeat. After a series of unfortunate injuries and a run of tough luck, the Celtics watched their chances for a second consecutive title fade. Now, though, the Celtics are healthy once again and determined to capture the championship that eluded them last season.
The Superstars
The Boston Celtics are a rare find in today’s NBA. They don’t have one dominant scorer, but rather, they have four capable athletes who can go off on any given night. Between point guard Rajon Rondo, shooting guard Ray Allen, 
small forward Paul Pierce, and power forward Kevin Garnett, the Celtics have a plethora of options to keep their opposition guessing.
Their off-season addition of score-first forward Rasheed Wallace was thought to be one of the best moves around the league last summer and finally seems to be paying off with his play in the postseason.
In addition to their offensive prowess, this Boston club can be considered one of the best defensive teams in the league. All-Defense first teamer Rondo gave the 60-win Cleveland Cavaliers fits in the second round and former Defensive Player of the Year Garnett and low-post presence Kendrick Perkins turned the league’s “most dominant center” Dwight Howard into a mere mortal in the Conference Finals.
The Storyline
Should the Celtics beat the Lakers in this series, they would be awarded with their eighteenth NBA title, the most of all time. Seeing as three of the team’s “Big Four” are reaching into the twilights of their careers, this could be their last opportunity for a championship for an extended period of time. In addition, Ray Allen is heading into a summer of uncertainty, as he bottoms out a free agent class led by the likes of superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
— Matt Shanley
Upper Deck Underdogs 