Now that the Celtics are nearly through their treacherous stretch against Eastern Conference contenders and a pair of Western heavyweights, and they coasted to their ninth win in 11 games over a shorthanded Lakers club, it’s time for the expectations for this team to rise dramatically.

Competing for a play-in spot should be replaced by a top-four seed. About a quarter into this season, when teams are developing identities, the Eastern Conference is simply a collection of mostly evenly-matched teams that will spend the season beating up each other.

There is no prohibitive favorite. The Pistons are 3-3 since their club-record-tying 13-game winning streak. The Knicks are great at home but can’t win on the road. The Cavaliers have already lost twice to the Celtics and have been maddeningly inconsistent and injured. Clubs such as Toronto and Miami have been surprises but are in no way daunting. Chicago, Milwaukee, and Atlanta got off to fast starts but have cooled and are now amongst the ordinary teams.

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There is a pathway for the Celtics to make noise in the Eastern Conference, and that’s not considering if a certain superstar recovering from a torn Achilles returns later this season.

The Celtics wasted the Lakers, 126-105, on Friday at TD Garden, a victory that is more impressive than it appears. Despite Los Angeles being without Luka Doncic and LeBron James, they remain a capable team and won here last season without LeBron and Anthony Davis.

Coming off a back-to-back, the Celtics bombarded the Lakers with 24 3-pointers, 54.8 percent shooting, and led wire-to-wire for the second consecutive night. The days of the upstart Celtics with Jaylen Brown leading a bunch of unproven kids are over. They are now a legitimate team in the East, and their ascension will only increase as roles cement and confidence grows.

Jordan Walsh (27) lines up a 3-pointer en route to a 17-point effort against the Lakers. Barry Chin/Globe Staff

Jordan Walsh backed up his career-high 22-point outing in Washington with 17 more against the Lakers. Derrick White nailed another five 3-pointers and has 14 in his past three games. Brown continued his All-NBA quest with 30 points in 34 minutes along with 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

The Celtics blitzed the Lakers early and then staved off a series of rallies. They took care of business despite the fatigue, played with the necessary energy to dispose of a weary opponent, and continue to use their depth and fortitude to win in various ways.

With the departures of Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Luke Kornet, the Celtics were going to have to get unexpected contributions from unproven players, and that’s what has happened. Walsh’s growth over the past month has been stunning.

Meanwhile, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has still kept Josh Minott engaged and involved with his bench role. Neemias Queta has developed into a quality center, taking his lumps against opposing bigs early in the season but improving his decision making and defensive presence.

The Celtics are developing quicker than expected, and many questions that surrounded this new-look team during training camp have been answered. Now it’s time for Mazzulla to ensure the improvement continues and perhaps, in the next several weeks, Brad Stevens to even make a roster addition to add more support.

“We have a bunch of guys figuring it out for the first time,” Brown said. “Of course you all expected it to sink right away, but we had five or six new players and we were all figuring it out. I know you guys don’t care about that. We’ve been getting better every single day and it’s coming together a little bit now, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Brown has been preaching patience for the past several weeks. The Celtics started the season 0-3 but have lost consecutive games only once since. The ability to bounce back and develop strategies against quality teams have ensured the Celtics have avoided any prolonged losing streaks.

For the club to be successful in this transition season, it had to be the harder playing team on most nights. And that’s been the case. There have been hiccups — such as home losses to Utah and Brooklyn, and late-game breakdowns against Philadelphia and Orlando — but overall the Celtics have been a consistent club that has not become lackadaisical with the growth process. That was the same ingredient that led to success two years ago.

“I think the expectation level has always been the same in my brain,” Brown said. “Just come out and compete and maximize our potential and go from there. Don’t focus on the end result. Focus on what you can control that’s in front of you, and that’s winning each possession, being the harder playing team. Sounds boring, but that’s the type of stuff that leads to building a really good team.”

Team leader Jaylen Brown has kept the faith with this new group around him. Barry Chin/Globe Staff

The process is ongoing for a season that will far exceed expectations. The pathway to success is to continue to build on those established habits, remain healthy, and grow into an elite defensive team that can knock down 3-pointers and rely on Brown to carry the offense at times.

The Celtics have about two months to make a further positive impression on Stevens. Considering their recent success, it would be negligent if this roster wasn’t upgraded by the trade deadline.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.