Celtics No. 7 in Zach Lowe's league pass rankings

For Boston Celtics fans outside of the NESN market, watching games can prove to be a little difficult sometimes. Thankfully there's NBA League Pass for that. But with 30 teams across the NBA some viewers without a favorite team may find it difficult to decide which one to tune into. Well, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe, the C's are the 7th most worthy team to watch with a League Pass subscription.

His scoring metrics fall into five categories, starting with 'Playoffs/Zeitgesit:'

A rough estimate of a team's place in the national barroom debate. This naturally favors good teams, controversy and teams that might drive the trade marketplace.

Predictions across the board have the Celtics coming in as the No.2 seed in the Eastern Conference so they obviously would qualify as a playoff team. They're also in the middle of nearly every single conceivable trade rumor. Next up is 'Individual Highlight Production:'

We're looking for players who make Twitter explode and force everyone not watching them to change channels. Curiosities such as Joel Embiid and (sigh) Ben Simmons pump up a team's score here.

With the No. 3 draft pick Jaylen Brown in tow and his ability to get to the rim almost at will and dunk with tenacity, highlights should be aplenty with this years squad. Oh, and former dunk champion Gerald Green is on the roster. Moving on, Lowe also considers 'Style:'

Fast breaks and fancy passing are more fun than plodding iso-ball. Starless teams, such as the peak Mike Budenholzer Hawks, can gain ground in this category.

Thanks to free-agent acquisition Al Horford, the Celtics will become very well acquainted with fast breaks and fancy passing. Tommy Heinsohn, Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine should be happy with this next metric, 'League Pass Minutia:'

Instead of looking at your spouse, you'll be gazing at the court and the uniforms. Instead of hearing about his or her workday, you'll listen to announcers yapping about the action. On some level, these things define the look and feel of an NBA game.

These three commentators come together for a lot of homerism but they genuinely make Celtics game so much more fun. A 'Tommy Point' for all three of them. Finally, Lowe factors in 'Unintentional Comedy: (otherwise known as the Brooklyn Nets)'

This was Bill Simmons' pet category, back when we started this at Grantland. The silly, stupid and Vine-worthy get you points here: Dion Waiters' forlorn pleas for the basketball, everything JaVale McGee has ever done, Kendrick Perkins taking 17 steps without dribbling, teammate feuds, Nick Young's shot selection, Tom Thibodeau's bellow and much, much more.

Coming all together, the Celtics received a score of 33.5 out of a possible 50. Three Eastern Conference teams ranked better than them: the Cavaliers, Raptors and Knicks. Lowe said of the Celtics:

I can hear the eyes rolling: more hype for a team that has won zero playoff series since busting up its championship nucleus. (Hey, did you know Boston never lost a series when Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Kendrick Perkins were all healthy? Have you heard that before from anyone? It's true!) Oh, sure, Horford dribble hand-offs and tenacious team defense are going to have people leaping from their couches. Well, sorry. Brad Stevens' motion-heavy offense is fun to watch, and Horford's jack-of-all-trades game is going to make it sing. Isaiah Thomas brings the "holy crap, rewind that!" highlights -- the meanest hesitation dribble on Earth, circus floaters, unconscious off-the-bounce 3s, and insane passes he has to thread over and around much larger humans. Short guys are fun to watch because of all the contortions required for them to do stuff 6-7 wings pull off standing still. Remember this pass from last season? Like, what even is that? Stevens prefers an aggressive defense, and Horford gives him a big man comfortable trapping dudes 30 feet from the hoop. Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Marcus Smart disregard your personal space. Only two teams forced more turnovers than Boston last season, and they might snare more this time around -- thefts that generate needed transition chances for a team that can get a little cramped in the half-court. We haven't even talked about the background: parquet floor, best jersey set in the league, the sonorous tones of Mike Gorman, and the hammy combination of Tommy Heinsohn and Brian Scalabrine cutting promos.

These rankings are all in good fun but it's great to see the Celtics, once again, rank highly on lists complied by analysts. Whether it's predictions on betting odds, division champion, NBA champion or League Pass worthiness, this squad is held in high regard.



Photo credit: David Liam Kyle/Getty Images
Follow Luis on Twitter @luisdgnyc