NBA offseason grades for Eastern Conference teams: 76ers, Knicks chase Celtics, Heat disappoint with 'D'

There are two types of teams in the Eastern Conference. Type No. 1 is the Boston Celtics .

The best team in the NBA . The reigning champions. The most balanced starting five the NBA has seen in decades.

Ideally, every team in the Eastern Conference wants to be the Boston Celtics. There can sadly only be one Boston Celtics. And then there's type No.

2: teams that are not the Boston Celtics. Every type No. 2 team's theoretical goal should be beating the Boston Celtics.

The only thing separating these teams is timelines. Either you're trying to beat the Boston Celtics next season, like, say, the Knicks , 76ers and Bucks , or you're trying to beat the Boston Celtics three or four years from now, when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will be a bit older (though still in their primes) and the supporting cast will likely have changed meaningfully. But make no mistake -- the Boston Celtics are the measuring stick here.

They are the best team in the NBA today, and barring something unforeseen, they will be among the best teams in the NBA for years to come. Any aspiring Eastern Conference contender, either today or in the future, has to reckon with the reality that the Boston Celtics are standing in their way. So as we grade the offseasons for all 15 teams in the Eastern Conference, know that the single most important component of our rubric will be how each of them has set themselves up to deal with the Boston Celtics.

We'll order our teams by grade here, starting at the top and working .