Celtics Top NBA East Playoff Contenders

0:00It's April 17th. This is Boston Celtics News today, powered by AI everything happening with your team. I'm Corey with the story. NBA playoffs are firing up this weekend, and in the east, four squads stand out with real shots at the crown, the Boston Celtics Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Detroit pistons. Even as the second seed, the Celtics top the sports books odds to dominate the conference. Former NBA champ Kendrick Perkins backs that vibe hard, picking Boston to punch their ticket out of the east. He broke it down on the Pat McAfee show, calling them the clear front runners. Perkins points to their killer duo of Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown as the best in the east, plus the most championship pedigree on their core roster. They lock down on defense and scored will, with Tatum stepping up as the perfect sidekick to Brown's lead role this year. Perkins come back from a long Achilles injury has been seamless, boosting their rebounding, passing, and buckets.

1:00When he's on the floor, they win 13 wins out of 16 down the stretch. That structure makes the Celtics the team to beat, setting the stage for some epic Eastern battles ahead.