What if the Celtics are too good?

Is it possible that the Celtics are just too good?

After Boston thoroughly washed the ballyhooed new-look Knicks under a deluge of deep-cleaning threes, it’s fair to wonder where the regular-season drama will come from. Can anybody stop Boston’s mean, green machine?

“It’s only been one game,” I hear you saying. “Relax!”

But that’s not strictly true. This is basically the same team as last year, one that led the league with 30 wins of 15+ points, nine more than last year’s second-place team (the Knicks, ironically), set the record for offensive rating, and steamrolled every opponent in the playoffs. It was awesome last year, when Boston had to implement their system and prove it could climb the mountain; now, it feels expected. Pedestrian. Inevitable.

And inevitability, that lack of uncertainty, can lead to disengagement, even boredom, until the stakes are higher.

Some people worried that a championship hangover might lead to more lackadaisical effort, but what if the opposite is true? What if, free from the burden of expectations, the Celtics can play looser and freer than ever? What if Joe Mazzulla and his staff spent another summer tinkering under the hood and figured out a way to rev Boston’s engine even higher? What if this team never loses again?

Okay, obviously, the Celtics will lose again. Might be as soon as next game (although I certainly wouldn’t bet on the rebuilding and horrible Washington Wizards)! But if they win 65+ games this year, and 40 of them are demolition derbies in which the Celtics are the monster truck, there is a risk that the casual fan tunes out until the playoffs. It’s hard to imagine right now, riding the highs of Opening Night and the ring ceremony, but there’s a point at which blowouts become less than must-see TV.

As a writer, my creativity will be pushed to its limits. I will have to break out the thesaurus to find new ways to say “great,” “unstoppable,” and “juggernautian.”

To add some drama to this season, particularly for the non-die-hards, we’ll need to set some new, smaller goals. Will Payton Pritchard earn Sixth Man of the Year? (Not if he keeps shooting 1-for-10 from the field!) When (not if, when) will the Celtics hit 30 three-pointers? Can Boston match the Lakers with an NBA Cup micro-banner (Yes, I very much want Boston to go for the NBA Cup)? Can they make a push for 74 wins?

It’s hard to imagine a 70-plus-win team in a league that increasingly values health and…