Over the past three weeks, the Eastern Conference has changed dramatically and has opened up for any team to take advantage of for the first time in years. 

At the start of July, LeBron James confirmed that he would be leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Eastern Conference to go play for the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference.

Earlier this week, the dynamics of the East were changed further when Toronto Raptors traded DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Kawhi Leonard.

East still tough

Despite the arrival of Kawhi, many believe the Boston Celtics are the favourites to go all the way in the Eastern Conference thanks to their combination of Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

However, Hayward still believes that the Eastern Conference is going to be tough despite the changes at the Raptors, as well as LeBron departing for the Lakers in the West.

He said during media appearances Thursday at a "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" event at an Xfinity Store 15 minutes west of TD Garden, via ESPN: "The East is still going to be a tough conference; I think a lot of people are writing the East off.

"There were some surprises last year in the East, and there are still going to be teams that have young talent that gained a lot of experience last year that will be tough matchups for us.

"That said, I'm confident that we've got everything we need to make the run at the whole thing."

Raptors still good

Hayward believes that the Raptors will still present a challenge in the East despite the departure of DeRozan because Leonard will mean they're just as good next season.

He said: "Toronto was a good team with DeMar, so with Kawhi, they'll be just as good.

"He changes them a little bit. They'll for sure be a good team. I still like our chances, and I feel like we've got enough to win the whole thing.

"He's a guy that will add some toughness to their team defensively, a little versatility. He's a two-time defensive player of the year, so he's always a matchup problem out there on the wing. We'll be ready for him."

The Celtics haven't really experienced what life is like with Hayward and Irving on the court as the former has been out of action since suffering a fractured tibia and a dislocated ankle in a botched alley-oop attempt during the opening game of last season.

If he plays like he did for the Utah Jazz before being traded to the Celtics last summer, the Eastern Conference could very well be his and Boston's to lose.

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