Watch: ESPN's Smith doesn’t blame Brown for saying Cs Finals-bound
Granted, I wouldn't put much stock in Stephen A. Smith, a guy known as much for the volume level of his predictions as the results themselves, but when Las Vegas bookies agree the Boston Celtics are the team to beat in the NBA's Eastern Conference, it's a point of view worth at least a listen.
As I noted in the article covering the comments Jaylen made on Portland Trailblazer CJ McCollum's podcast, there's plenty of good reasons why Boston might just grab the East Finals this season with LeBron gone and question marks hanging over the rest of the East's better squads.
There's a lot of basketball to be played next season, however, (be sure to watch for the full schedule coming out later today!) and until those games are in the books, it's anyone's guess on whether Kawhi Leonard is the player he used to be, whether new coaching moves were the right idea for the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks, and whether the Philadelphia 76ers can find some bench shooting...or scoring...or, well, you get it - a bench.
Watch the video above, and let us know what you think of the NBA Media's loudest personality - is he right? Or just being a spectacle as usual?
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