The Celtics might have a Western Conference problem

The Boston Celtics unexpectedly became title contenders this season, which is why their run against the top of the Western Conference should be scrutinized.

To get this out of the way, I thought the Celtics would at least be a top-four team in the Eastern Conference. That's not me being a hipster or a contrarian. I genuinely thought that even without Jayson Tatum, Boston had the roster talent and Joe Mazzulla's coaching ability to at least finish fourth or, at worst, fifth, unlike the general sentiment that they'd be a play-in team. I didn't buy into many teams from the Eastern Conference and didn't think they'd be strong enough to take advantage of a Tatum-less Celtics. However, I didn't think the C's would reach the level they have this season.

That being said, I do think it's worth looking at how they've performed against the top of the Western Conference. After all, if they're suddenly in championship talks, we should see how they stack up against the NBA's best.

This should especially be under scrutiny after a primetime loss to the Timberwolves at TD Garden on Sunday. It was Minnesota's first win in Boston in 21 years and the first time it swept the season series since the 1999-2000 season.

The Celtics offense was stagnant in the fourth quarter through a combination of multiple factors. The Wolves' defense deserved credit for stifling Boston's ballhandlers. Boston's off-ball movement wasn't very inspired, which served to help Minnesota, and it's clear Tatum is still trying to find his rhythm, especially in clutch situations.

After Sunday, the C's moved to 18-10 against Western Conference teams. Their most concerning results came since the start of this year. They lost twice to the Denver Nuggets and suffered losses to the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

There certainly are excuses for two of those losses. The second loss to Denver was on the second night of a back-to-back and the last game of a five-game West Coast road trip. Jaylen Brown was ejected in the loss to the Spurs because Tyler Ford is the worst referee in the NBA.

However, the first loss to the Nuggets was when they were without Nikola Jokic, and the Thunder simply outlasted the Celtics. Was that last foul kind of bogus? Sure, but that's basketball.

Mazzulla has done a fabulous job reworking the new pieces of the Celtics. Baylor Scheierman and Hugo González give Boston real minutes, and Mazzulla has found clever ways to use Neemias Queta despite his lack of 3-point shooting. It's still up in the air whether Nikola Vucevic will be a positive for Boston, but his ability to stretch the floor and be a better version of Luka Garza should benefit the Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

But are these pieces enough to compete against the depth and experience of the top teams in the West? I'm skeptical.

OKC's defense remains elite, and depth pieces like Jaylin Williams continue to develop. Victor Wembanyama is obviously a matchup nightmare, but Stephon Castle's Year 2 leap has been great to watch, and, similar to the Celtics, the Spurs' role players can be utilized in any defensive matchup. The Nuggets are always in the conversation as long as Jokic and Jamal Murray are healthy, and don't sleep on Peyton Watson. Minnesota showed its ceiling on Sunday and why it was willing to trade Karl-Anthony Towns.

The East has intriguing teams like the Charlotte Hornets, but Cade Cunningham's collapsed lung might have opened the doors for Boston, as the Detroit Pistons are, in my mind, the only legit team that can compete against the C's. The New York Knicks have been a Jekyll-and-Hyde team all season, and I'll believe it when I see it if they can win another series against the Celtics. The Cleveland Cavaliers also need to show me they can compete at the highest level, and the other teams in the conference just don't have the firepower to be legit contenders.

Wednesday will be a big test and a bounce-back opportunity for the Celtics with the Thunder coming to town, and it could show Boston's ceiling if another Western Conference team sweeps their season series against the Celtics.

Thank you for reading until the end. At the end of every post, I like to recommend a K-pop song. I don't necessarily have any crazy takes on music, but I do want to show my love for my favorite or soon-to-be-favorite groups. That could be Latency, which debuted on March 18 with the title track "Latency." The group features Loossemble member Hyunjin, one of my favorite former Loona members, former Cignature members Jeewon, Haeun and Semi and influencer Heeyeon. You don't often see girl bands in the industry, and I thought this was a solid debut album and am looking forward to hearing more from Latency.