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No. 8: Boston Celtics
Last Season: 40-42
7th place in East; Lost 4-0 to Cleveland in Round 1
The playoff drought lasted all of one season. It took Brad Stevens just two seasons to get the Boston Celtics back into the postseason after the franchise bid goodbye to Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers. Sure, it took a historically weak Eastern Conference and a Rajon Rondo trade to pull it off, but the Celtics finished with a better record than the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets last season. That's a stunning achievement no matter how you couch it.
Can the Celtics build on it? That's a tougher question. The organization certainly beefed up the frontcourt by acquiring David Lee and Amir Johnson, but the chase for a star continues. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge wields a chest of as many as four 2016 first-round picks (though not all four are likely to convey) and attractive contracts to flaunt in a trade. With an overachieving coach leading a boatload of solid players, the Celtics could be a winning, if boring, team. But if a star like DeMarcus Cousins or Kevin Love shakes loose, the Celtics will be ready to pounce just like they did in 2007.
The writing was on the wall that Rajon Rondo might be moved at the deadline, but he didn't even last until Christmas. The longtime C's point guard would be a free agent at the end of the season and the Celtics had just drafted at his position. With Rondo dishing out double-digit assists a night, the Celtics sold high and netted Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson and two picks on Dec. 18. And then the Celtics lost 12 of their next 16 games as the season appeared to spiral down the toilet. At mid-January, the Celtics unloaded another veteran, this time the listless Jeff Green, and sent him to Memphis in a trade that brought back Tayshaun Prince, Austin Rivers and a future first-round pick. The Celtics were officially treading water with a roster chock full of youngsters.
And then the Isaiah Thomas era began. Traded by Phoenix at the February deadline the 5-foot-9 Thomas led the Celtics' resurgence from the bench. The Celtics were looking at a 20-32 record at the time of the trade and promptly went 20-10 the rest of the way. Over the last 20 games of the season, the Celtics were the best team in the Eastern Conference, outscoring opponents by 4.6 points per 100 possessions.
Though Tyler Zeller and fellow deadline pickup Jonas Jerebko had strong finishes, the story was all Thomas. Playing for his third team in less than 12 months, Thomas torched the opposition, averaging 19.0 points per game from the bench with an electric 57.9 percent true-shooting percentage and 22.3 player efficiency rating. The previous two Celtics to average 19 points and a PER higher than 22? Pierce and some guy named Larry Bird.
With just a 20 percent chance to make the playoffs as late as mid-March, according to SportsClubStats.com tracking, the Celtics poured it on, winning eight of their final nine games to earn the seventh seed in the East and a matchup with, gulp ... the Cleveland Cavaliers, who swept them in four games. Hey, they made the playoffs.