The reloaded Celtics are vying to hang their 18th NBA championship banner. In Judaic tradition, No. 18 is the symbol for life.
If Adam Silver’s NBA ever needed more life, the time is now. NBA fandom is bored with Golden State and its dominance, its status as heavy favorite to capture a fourth title in five years. The league’s image isn’t helped by the Warriors being surrounded by so many tanking teams.
But don’t sleep on these Celtics. On paper, this group of green looks gorgeous and primed to upset the Warriors in the Finals. Boston has split the season series against Golden State the past three seasons.
Point forward Gordon Hayward is back from a fractured leg and finally gets to team with Kyrie Irving, whose knee injury late last season has not slowed him. Irving is so giddy in Boston the West Orange, N.J. native already made a public proclamation to spurn New York and become a leprechaun long term.
“We demonstrated the talent and ability to do it last year with a few missing pieces,’’ reserve guard Marcus Smart said. “With those missing pieces coming back, we have a shot.’’
Darn right they have a legitimate shot. The Celtics play the new style that’s a championship recipe — a switching defense, 3-point savvy, talent literally to the 12th man and arguably the game’s best coach in Brad Stevens.
Hayward looked rusty in preseason but has plenty of time to recover. Without Irving and Hayward, the Celtics lost in seven games to Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Hayward and Irving join the glittering youngbloods of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and the perfect floor-spacing center Al Horford.
Depth has never been the Warriors’ strong suit, and the Celtics boast a deep bench headed by Smart. Its self-proclaimed nicknamed: “Bench with Attitude” (BWA).
No team in the East — especially after Toronto’s risky moves and the Sixers’ flimsy bench — can touch the Celtics. LeBron James will be enjoying views of the Pacific Ocean in June and the Warriors won’t have J.R. Smith to kick around anymore in the Finals.
The NBA needs a classic Warriors-Celtics Finals in the worst way.
Eastern Conference
1. Boston: Let’s start with “BWA.” Terry Rozier looked like an All-Star in subbing for the injured Irving and now becomes the NBA’s best backup point guard. He averaged 16.5 points, 5.7 assists and 1.2 turnovers in the playoffs. The bench of Rozier-Smart-Aron Baynes-Marcus Morris-Daniel Theis-Semi Ojeleye is a better defensive unit than the starting five. Irving can’t wait to play alongside Hayward, a 37 percent career 3-point shooter, for real.
2. Philadelphia: The last time the Sixers staged consecutive 50-win seasons was 1984-86 when Charles Barkley and Dr. J were teammates. Following last season’s 52-30 breakthrough from the basement, the Sixers could be hard-pressed to duplicate that feat despite Joel Embiid being wonderful. Many league personnel men believe the bench isn’t good enough after losing shooters Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli. The Sixers never had a chance at LeBron, though they added Wilson Chandler, one of Isiah Thomas’ best Knicks draft picks but who hasn’t been on any winners in Denver. The 2018 Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons begins his third season in the NBA in need of an improved jumper after stinking it up against Boston in the playoffs. Relying heavily on mysterious second-year point guard Markelle Fultz is fool’s gold. The 2017 No. 1 pick has dealt with a bad shoulder and bad jumper.
3. Toronto: After another terrific regular season led to an early playoff ouster, GM Masai Ujiri is rolling the dice new acquisition Kawhi Leonard will recover fully from quadriceps surgery, regain All-Star form and commit to Canada in July. He also is gambling Raptors new coach Nick Nurse will be a worthy successor to esteemed and reigning NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey. Nurse is touted as a player developmental guru and hired a new staff highlighted by Seton Hall product Adrian Griffin and Sergio Scariolo, the head coach of Spain’s national team.
4. Milwaukee: Besides their new arena, the biggest offseason upgrade was hiring coach Mike Budenholzer to replace interim Joe Prunty. Giannis Antetokounmpo, a future MVP, didn’t fare well in the playoffs versus Boston and Budenholzer is tasked with getting him to the next level. Forward Khris Middleton is among the unheralded standouts in the NBA, but point guard Eric Bledsoe has a bigger name than game right now and has to cut his turnovers. Newly acquired center Brook Lopez is on the decline. Beyond Malcolm Brogdon as point-guard backup, the bench is a question mark unless Donte DiVincenzo, the Villanova redhead/NCAA Championship game hero, delivers more magic.
5. Indiana: GM Kevin Pritchard hasn’t gotten enough praise for his haul in the Paul George trade. Victor Oladipo, 26, turned into a star, and rugged power forward Domantas Sabonis showed flashes of future All-Star potential. The Pacers gave the Cavaliers quite the first-round, seven-game scare and should see more emergence from versatile young big man Myles Turner and added firepower in guard Tyreke Evans. The only cause for concern? The Pacers signed two players who were with the Knicks last season — Kyle O’Quinn and Doug McDermott. O’Quinn impressed Pacers with his defense in preseason.
6. Washington: John Wall and Bradley Beal are still the dynamic duo — among the league’s top-four backcourt tandems. Add efficient and improving forward Otto Porter and this is a playoff team again. The issue is signing Dwight Howard, who missed the entire preseason with back woes and remains an enigma wrapped in a Superman cape. While the Knicks have been out of the playoffs five straight years, the Wizards have posted 40-plus wins five straight years but aren’t yet ready for a title-contending breakthrough.
7. Miami: Pat Riley doesn’t tank for the lottery. To a fault, Riley strives for the playoffs every season and will get there again even if he can’t weave a package for Jimmy Butler as the Heat’s key scoring alpha. Center Hassan Whiteside had a poor playoff last season and frustrates because of his occasional dominance, but he’s rejuvenated and lost 13 pounds. If he comes through, the deep Heat can be real good. Point guard Goran Dragic still is kicking and getting to the rim at age 32. The southpaw earned his first All-Star berth last season. A Butler acquisition would ease the bigger issue that is shooting guard Dion Waiters, whom the Knicks had interest in in 2017. Waiters has become an injury-plagued bust after re-signing for $52 million. On the bright side is Josh Richardson and young center Bam Adebayo playing well in preseason.
8. Charlotte: Knicks fans should pay close attention to the Hornets, who boast rookie stud Miles Bridges, 2017 lottery pick Malik Monk, ex-Knicks draft pick Willy Hernangomez and perhaps their future point guard in Kemba Walker. Bridges, whom the Knicks passed on at No. 9, has been golden in summer league/preseason. The highlight machine out of Michigan State fell to 12 after reports he got outplayed by Kevin Knox in their Knicks workout. Another lottery pick the Knicks passed on was Monk for Frank Ntilikina. Monk, out of Kentucky, had a disappointing rookie year but came on with a late scoring surge. Hernangomez has beaten out Frank Kaminsky and newcomer Bismack Biyombo for backup duty to starting center Cody Zeller. Walker has averaged 18.9 points in his seven-year career in Charlotte. Will the notoriously cheap Hornets let him go home? Add another New York angle — rookie Hamidou Diallo had a good preseason. Playoff spot possible in weak East.
9. Detroit: President/coach Stan Van Gundy is out but the Pistons did well in adding Ed Stefanski as GM and Casey as head coach. It’s on Casey to get Blake Griffin, in his first full season as a Piston, back to All-Star level and lead Detroit back to the playoffs. Riddled by injuries across his career, Griffin hasn’t even made an All-Star game since 2015. Rebounding center Andre Drummond still is a productive low-post, old-schooler, but his type no longer is as cherished. Stanley Johnson, beginning his fourth season, has not emerged as an offensive threat. Johnson was Carmelo Anthony’s pick over Porzingis in the 2015 draft. The addition of center Zaza Pachulia won’t lift them to playoffs.
10. Cleveland: The post-LeBron Cavs face the dilemma on whether to compete for an eighth seed or a lottery pick to initiate a rebuild. Management states it want to win with the leftover talent. There’s a lot of players on Cleveland’s roster who want to prove they weren’t just James’ Uber drivers. Kevin Love is the new franchise face, but score-first point guard Collin Sexton of Alabama will determine whether the Cavs are more than pitiful the mourning after. Larry Nance, Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson didn’t play nearly well enough after the deadline deals to persuade James to stay. Tristan Thompson, meanwhile, is angling to go down as one of the league’s most overpaid players if he doesn’t mount a reversal in 2018-19.
11. Chicago: How well did the Bulls do in getting rid of malcontent Jimmy Butler? Very well, even if 7-foot Finnish big man Lauri Markkanen suffered an elbow injury in preseason and is out the season’s first six weeks. He looked like a better — if smaller — version of Porzingis in his rookie season with a fluid inside-outside game. In addition, point guard Kris Dunn is on the right track. To date, the Jabari Parker signing hasn’t looked swell. Off an ACL tear, Parker was benched in preseason for effort issues, but the Bulls added big time to the talent pool in drafting Duke forward Wendell Carter Jr.
12. Nets: See preview.
13. Knicks: See preview.
14. Orlando: Harlem center Mohamed Bamba will attempt to reverse a slew of draft busts the sad-sack Magic have obtained in recent years — many of them with Knicks GM Scott Perry on staff. Bamba looked extremely assertive during preseason. Jonathan Isaac, their 2017 lottery pick, was the latest disappointment after showing little as a rookie. But he’s a project power forward — more defensive guy than offensive. The one draft bright spot is Aaron Gordon, improving every year and stealing the spotlight in the movie “Uncle Drew.’’ Steve Clifford is Orlando’s fourth coach in seven years and best known for defensive-minded approach. Orlando allowed 108.2 points last season. Still a year away from being a year away.
15. Hawks: The Knicks’ opening-night opponent is amid a hard tank, forcing Budenholzer away. However, electric rookie point guard Trae Young, who sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in preseason, is always a headliner. After a rough summer league, Young, the first player to lead the NCAA in scoring and assists, has had good moments in preseason. Meanwhile, Jeremy Lin no longer is “Linsanity’’ and will back up Young as the ex-Knick/Net takes it slow from his latest rehab. The Hawks have a new coach in former Philly assistant Lloyd Pierce and building around a young core of Young, John Collins, Taurean Prince and Omari Spellman. Atlanta GM Travis Schlenk is trying to build the Hawks into the 3-point image of his former employer in Golden State. Good luck.
Western Conference
1. Golden State: Is this the Warriors’ last dance? Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are free agents and might want something fresh. As The Post reported when Durant added an opt-out to his new contract July 1, the Knicks could be on his radar with agent/manager Rich Kleiman a proud native New Yorker and Durant’s father a Knicks fan. The defending champs got richer by adding another All-Star in center DeMarcus Cousins on the cheap. Opponents can only hope Cousins is a distraction. Steve Kerr’s Warriors have reinvented the game — and don’t underestimate assistant coach Ron Adams’ influence. Kerr-Adams will coach the most richly talented sextet in NBA history — 3-point-shooting Splash Brothers Stephen Curry/Thompson, Durant and two-way extraordinaires Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. Can great teams get tired of winning? Friction existed on the way to the last crown.
2. Houston: At age 34 and coming off a mediocre season, Carmelo Anthony is likelier to sink the Rockets than put them over the top. Mike D’Antoni, from his Knicks experience, probably knows Anthony is not the savior, but he’s got to take this gamble in one last attempt to win his first title. D’Antoni had all summer to lament his club losing a 3-2 lead to Golden State — which likely wouldn’t have happened if Chris Paul didn’t miss Games 6 and 7 with a hamstring injury. Paul, Anthony’s closest NBA friend, wanted him here. So did James Harden. GM Daryl Morey, the sabermetrics kingpin, has been a longtime Melo admirer but ripped up his analytics folder to sign off on the acquisition. After their franchise-best 65-17 season ended in disappointment and the losses of forwards Trevor Ariza and defensive-minded Luc Mbah a Moute, D’Antoni also needs even more from center Clint Capela.
3. New Orleans: This is a huge season for the Pelicans, who need to convince otherworldly Anthony Davis to sign a super-max extension next summer and not go the trade-demand route of Butler-Irving-Leonard. New Orleans didn’t miss a beat in the land of jazz after Cousins and Rajon Rondo (Lakers) bolted for Cali. The Lakers may one day regret letting athletic big Julius Randle sign with New Orleans. Replacing Rondo is Elfrid Payton, whom Perry attempted to obtain for the Knicks last February, to solidify a tandem with starry and still-underrated combo guard Jrue Holiday, who messed up Portland’s Damian Lillard in the playoffs. Holiday does everything well, including defend.
4. Utah: Credit the Jazz for selecting the best player in the 2017 draft class in guard Donovan Mitchell. Off a 48-34 season and second-round berth, Jazz officials are confident in the roster and coach, unsung Quin Snyder. The Jazz made no significant alterations. The franchise likes Ricky Rubio as starting point guard and the Rudy Gobert-Derrick Favors frontcourt is set in stone. Point guard Dante Exum still may have a good future and lightning-rod rookie Grayson Allen (Duke) will be fun to watch.
5. Denver: The Nuggets are the poster team on why the West is mighty. Denver posted a 46-36 record and still missed the playoffs. Paul Millsap missed a chunk of the season, yet the Nuggets still finished respectably. There’s a slew of talent, led by European big man Nikola Jokic. Porzingis gets the publicity as the top Euro star, but Jokic is healthy and the real triple-double threat. The Nuggets have solid young guards in Jamal Murray and Gary Harris and added Isaiah Thomas. If they catch lightning in a bottle with minimum-wage free agent Thomas, they are playoff locks. Denver had enough talent to take the flier at 14 on Michael Porter Jr., on whom the Knicks took a hard pass. Porter, out indefinitely following back surgery, still may debut this season.
6. Oklahoma City: GM Sam Presti’s pristine reputation took a hit with the Anthony trade, giving up a strong backup center in Enes Kanter and a second-round pick that turned into promising center Mitchell Robinson. Now he’s all in on Atlanta point guard reject Dennis Schroder who has terrific potential. He’ll be Russell Westbrook’s backup. Paul George and Westbrook will be better minus Melo’s bad body language. A healthy defensive specialist Andre Roberson can be a difference-maker and center Steven Adams is a beast.
7. Portland: The Blazers got bounced embarrassingly in the first round and didn’t add to the core in an event-free offseason. Without a first-round pick, they drafted second-rounder Gary Trent Jr. of Duke. The potent Lillard-C.J. McCollum backcourt got stymied in the first-round sweep by the Pelicans, ruining a 49-win season as third seed. McCollum didn’t make New Orleans pay for triple-teaming Lillard. GM Neil Olshey has signed a lot of expensive contracts that aren’t being fulfilled in Meyers Leonard, Evan Turner and Mo Harkless. The Blazers did add a Curry, but it’s Steph’s brother Seth Curry. They have one of the smartest coaches in Terry Stotts.
8. Lakers: The hysterical hype now over, it’s a reality check. This is a purple-and-gold transition season in every sense. There’s movement to have LeBron James do less this season and relinquish some offensive control. That way youngsters Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball can further develop and be ready for Kawhi Leonard’s free-agent arrival in 2019-20. Veterans Rajon Rondo, center Javale McGee, Lance Stephenson and ex-Knick Michael Beasley have been brought in to try make them a playoff team after their five-year hiatus, but the championship chase won’t start until next season. Don’t sleep on summer-league star Josh Hart, tough defensively and allows them to play speed-ball. He’s a good James fit. The Warriors-Lakers war is already heating up after Beasley and Draymond Green got into an altercation last week. “We won’t just rely on LeBron making all the shots for people in terms of creating shots for people,” team president Magic Johnson said.
9. San Antonio: The NBA slid off its axis with Leonard’s divorce from the league’s model franchise, Tony Parker bolting for Charlotte and Manu Ginobili retiring. And now the bad luck continues pouring the Spurs’ way as starting point guard Dejounte Murray has been lost for the season with an ACL tear. That streak of 21 playoff berths is in danger with Patty Mills as his replacement. Defense — San Antonio’s staple — already has become an issue after the losses of Leonard, Danny Green and even Kyle Anderson. DeMar DeRozan, acquired from Toronto for Leonard, has always been lax on defense. At least they still have Gregg Popovich.
10. Phoenix: Eight dark seasons with no playoffs in the Valley of the Sun. The Suns have discarded five coaches in that span, including Jeff Hornacek. The Knicks’ David Fizdale turned down the gig not knowing they’d win the lottery. The prize, Arizona center Deandre Ayton, is added to a deep pool of young talent and Fizdale one day may have regrets. Ayton led all rookies in preseason scoring average (18.2), rebounds per game (9.8) and blocks (2.0), and ranked 14th among all players in scoring average, sixth in rebounds and seventh in block. Last year’s lottery pick, forward Josh Jackson, averaged 5.0 assists in preseason. Devin Booker has emerged as a star, but the Suns need 2016 first-rounder Dragan Bender to emerge. Trevor Ariza was added as a veteran free agent and the club has a new coach in Serbian Igor Kokoskov, longtime assistant for six clubs. The Suns are rising and they will should easily top their league-worst 21-61 mark.
11. Memphis: The Grizzlies have no regrets in letting Fizdale go last December and keeping Marc Gasol happy. The interim coach, JB Bickerstaff, was retained to squeeze what’s left out of the effective 30-something tandem of Mike Conley and Gasol. However, the future on Beale Street is No. 4 pick power forward Jaren Jackson Jr., who defends at the rim and has a silky outside game. Jackson is worthy of being a foundational block. With Conley healthy, Memphis has to improve on its 22-60 clip.
12. Minnesota: What a mess. Jimmy Butler still hasn’t been traded despite his demands as teams wonder how much to give up on a player who has earned a malcontent reputation. Such a shame after the brain trust of Tom Thibodeau/Scott Layden led the Timberwolves to their first playoff berth since 2003-04. Sources say Thibodeau still wants to prove everyone wrong and keep Butler despite pressure from ownership. Young guns Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, to whom Butler has objections, form a nice young core, but they need more from Jeff Teague and the dysfunction looks too large to overcome.
13. Dallas: Mark Cuban’s Mavericks posted their fewest wins (24) since 1988-89 and that’s the good news, as Cuban’s organization was under fire for sexual harassment allegations. In lieu of a formal NBA fine, Cuban agreed to pay $10 million to women’s charities. It’s tough for Knicks fans not to follow the progress of explosive point guard Dennis Smith Jr. after he sat there at No. 8 in 2017. He has so much upside, but now all eyes are on rookie Slovenian stud Luka Doncic. Not a bad tandem of Smith-Doncic to lead Dallas into the post-Dirk-Nowitzki era. The ancient German legend is back for one more go-round, still capable of double figures, and center Deandre Jordan signed past his shot-blocking prime. Meanwhile, past Cuban free-agent signings of Wesley Matthews and Harrison Barnes would be harpooned on “Shark Tank”.
14. Clippers: Lob City is history, but in its place is 6-foot-6 rookie point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Knox’s Kentucky teammate. Gilgeous-Alexander was picked by GMs to be the best player among the rookie class in five years, but the Clippers have resumed their role as second banana in L.A. Alexander didn’t perform pre-draft workouts for anyone but the Clippers in a prearrangement. The roster is a hodgepodge of talent in Tobias Harris, Danilo Gallinari and Montrezl Harrell that may not fit into a playoff puzzle. They’ve added 34-year-old veteran Marcin Gortat to replace Jordan.
15. Sacramento: Rookie forward Marvin Bagley III and 2017 lottery pick De’Aaron Fox give hope for the distant future. But the Kings have gone against convention of small-ball, adding Zach Randolph last year to young bigs Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere and Kostas Koufas. The Kings wanted to add Mario Hezonja. Why does it seem they still will be rebuilding in 2025? The city should have let them move to Seattle.