A few weeks before the season started, new acquisition said the Celtics

As good as everyone expected the Celtics to be, that statement might have seem a little far-fetched at the time. 60 wins? Easily. 65? That’s more than doable too. But more than 72? Crazy, right?

Well, with the way that ‘Sheed and the Celtics have come roaring out of the gate, they might not break the record that the Jordan-led Bulls set, but they look like they could come pretty darn close.

At the very least, they’ve thrown down the gauntlet and made a statement to Cleveland and Orlando that the title will go through Beantown once again.

Last night’s 105-74 rout at Philadelphia took the Celtics to 5-0, and with Miami and Orlando both losing, Boston is the only unbeaten team left in the East and one of three left in the league.

And the way they’ve done is nothing short of impressive, and as of late, absolutely merciless.

They made an early statement with their 95-89 win at Cleveland in their season opener, and from there, it’s been a stroll and a half. Charlotte was dispensed by 33, Chicago was dropped by 28, New Orleans by 10, and then came last night’s walloping of a 76ers squad that had taken the Celtics down to the wire in both of last season’s meetings in Philly.

Astute predictor as I am, I thought that the 76ers would provide a stiff test for the Celtics last night, but Boston put the game beyond doubt early in the third quarter, and a barrage of 3s in the fourth quarter put the finishing touches on the rout. The scariest part of the whole thing was that the rout came without much help from and , who each had only three points last night.

There’s still a long, long way to go in the season, but the Celtics have by far been the most impressive of the expected contenders, including the Cavaliers, who, as mentioned above, they already have a head-to-head win over.

Perhaps Garnett is still shaking off some rust after being shelved early last season because of his knee, but once he’s really in his groove, the Celtics will be even better on both ends, but just as important as the return of Garnett is the quality depth that Doc Rivers has to work with.

Wallace has quickly proven to be a valuable addition off of the bench, and former Duke star has also shown his worth quickly. Williams bounced around from Atlanta to Sacramento to Minnesota in his first three NBA seasons and came into this season with career averages of 4.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, but he’s averaging 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds off the bench for Boston so far.

It remains to be seen if Boston can keep up this torrid start to the point of seriously challenging the Bulls’ record, but whether or not they finish with 70, 72, or 75, it’s looking every bit so far like the Celtics are not only be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, but the team to beat overall.

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