What is the Celtics’ Ceiling?
By Jeremy Karll
The Celtics have surprised everyone this year, but how far can they go?
The Boston Celtics have defied all odds this season and own a 38-26 record with 18 games left to play. The Miami Heat are still on their tails for third place in the Eastern Conference, but they have a good grasp on home court advantage in the first round. With Boston blowing expectations out of the window, and winning the hearts of everyone in Boston, there have been a lot of talks about how far this team can go in the playoffs.
The talks may have reached its peak when Avery Bradley hit the game-winning three against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics have proved to everyone that they have what it takes to be successful in the regular season, but the playoffs is another season.
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If the playoffs started today, the Celtics would take on the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets have been led by Kemba Walker, who was an all-star hopeful, and Nicolas Batum, one of the best all-around players in the league. Charlotte has also been somewhat of a surprise in the NBA this season. They lost Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for the season, and Al Jefferson for a good chunk of the year as well. Yet, they have gone 8-2 over their past 10 games and seem to be a pretty safe bet to make the playoffs.
Either way, the Hornets don’t pose much of a threat in a seven game series. They’re a good defensive team, that is in the middle of the pack offensively. Besides, if Isaiah Thomas doesn’t count as a star then neither does Kemba Walker, and the Celtics have a better overall team. When it comes down to it, the Hornets have a solid team, but won’t make noise in the playoffs.
Whether the Celtics face the Hornets, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, or someone else is unknown. However, I have a hard time believing that any of those teams could take the Celtics in a seven game series, especially one in which the Celtics own home court advantage.
The real question is, how will the Celtics fare against the Toronto Raptors or Cleveland Cavaliers?
There is no question that Toronto and Cleveland are the two best teams in the East. They both have multiple all-star caliber players on their teams, and have proven over the past two seasons that they’re among the conference’s elite.
Right now, Boston would have to take on the Raptors in the second round, barring an upset. Thus far, the Raptors have a 2-0 series lead on them, scoring over 110 points in each matchup. Boston will have a chance to prove that they’re a different team, which they are, as they take on the Raptors two more times this season.
However, in a seven game series the Celtics don’t have a great shot. As good as the Celtics are at home (22-10), the Raptors are better (23-6). Toronto is also 18-13 on the road, while Boston owns only a 16-16 record. The Celtics are a totally different team on the road, as most teams are, because they aren’t able to feed off the crowd’s energy. Boston is still more than capable of winning a couple of games on the road come playoff time, but since the all-star break they have gone 1-3 on the road.
Even if you throw out the home and away records, Toronto just owns a better team. They have proven it throughout the entire year, showing that they’re the biggest threat to the Cavaliers. The Raptors own one of the best defenses in the league, but can beat the Celtics at their own game as well.
Boston may have the faster paced, high scoring offense, but Toronto is able to slow the game down with their bigs and star point guard, Kyle Lowry. Toronto has proven that throughout the year as they have allowed the third fewest shots per game this season, allowing a mere 81.5 shots.
There are a lot of people who continue to bring up their poor showing against the Washington Wizards in the playoffs last year. However, at this point that’s irrelevant. It’s a new season, a year later, and no team is the same. Toronto looks as good as ever and have continually tormented the East, going 26-10 in the conference and 9-1 in the division.
Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley have taken huge strides this season for Boston, but Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan are both all-stars, and is as good of a backcourt as any in the NBA.
If the Celtics drop to the fourth seed, or upset the Raptors, they’ll most likely have the LeBron James led Cavaliers next.
Boston had a huge lead in their most recent loss, but Cleveland was able to take control of the game and run away with it for a 17-point win. The Celtics also lost in a tough-fought, defensive matchup earlier in the year, 89-77. Also, in Boston’s lone win over Cleveland, they barely squeaked by and didn’t look great.
Just like with the Raptors, the Cavaliers have the better team. Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and LeBron James are three type of players the Celtics don’t have. It’s hard enough to guard James, let alone having the other two stars to worry about. For as good of a defender Jae Crowder is, LeBron has had his way with the Celtics this season.
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Most recently, he went off for 28 points on 11-20 shooting, also adding 11 rebounds, eight assists, and two steals. On the season, James has averaged 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and five assists per game against the Celtics. He has been nearly unstoppable when playing Boston this season, and we’ve seen that his play only gets better once he gets into the postseason. During last postseason, James averaged just under a triple-double, it’s no joke when saying he’s arguably the best player to ever play. James is one of the few players in the NBA who can change the whole series by himself. He has shown this throughout his career, constantly leading his team to the NBA Finals.
Cleveland has the ability to win on either side of the ball, and just like Toronto, can slow down the game. Cleveland only allows 81.8 shot attempts per game, the fourth lowest amount. During their most recent matchup, the Cavaliers held the Celtics to 80 shot attempts, nearly 10 less than their season average. If Boston doesn’t run they’re not as effective, as shown in their most recent loss. They don’t shoot a great percentage from the field, and transition baskets add a lot of emotion and energy to the game for them.
Boston has done a lot better than anyone could have ever expected this season. A lot of their players are having career years, and head coach Brad Stevens has put every puzzle piece in the right place and the team is clicking because of it. However, they still don’t have another go-to guy late in the game to go along with Isaiah Thomas. Besides that, their roster still has a lot of holes that will show come playoff time.
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Their fast-play style could come back to haunt them, and the Raptors and Cavaliers are just the better teams. Boston is one of the most fun teams to watch this season, but there’s no reason to get ahead of ourselves. This is a very good team, the third best team in the East, but the chances that they can get past either Toronto or Cleveland is very slim. I fully expect them to get to the second round, but then lose in a hard-fought matchup to either one of them.