Who Should the Celtics Hope to Play in Round One?

The Boston Celtics are in a four-team battle for playoff seeding, but who should they hope to play in the first round?

The playoff race for the third to sixth seed in the Eastern Conference is constantly changing. The Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, and Charlotte Hornets are all battling to acquire home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Celtics, at 43-30, currently hold the fourth seed in the East as they get ready for a tough three game stretch on the road. They have also played the worst basketball out of the four over the past ten games as they have gone a mediocre 5-5. Either way, Boston has continued to stay afloat in the tightly contested Eastern Conference race.

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While the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons are also on these four team’s heels, it’s clear that with only nine games remaining there will be two playoff match-ups compiled of these four teams.

Boston has gone an impressive 5-2 against these three teams, although end the season with a game against each of them. While the Celtics have found success against the Hawks, Hornets, and Heat, who should they be hoping to play in round one?

Both losses against these three teams came against the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta, after winning the Eastern Conference last season, has taken a step back. They are still currently the three seed in the East but have recently stepped up their game. The Hawks were floating around the fifth seed in February, however, after going 8-2 over their past ten games, they have skyrocketed up the standings.

The biggest key for Atlanta is that they’re starting to finally put it together. Sometimes the deadliest teams in the playoffs are the ones who get hot at the right time, not necessarily the best team all season.

Atlanta is as well-rounded of a team as you’ll find in the NBA. They don’t have a superstar per say, however, Al Horford, Paul Millsap, and Jeff Teague all fit the bill of a deadly trio. Not to mention Kyle Korver and Dennis Schroder, along with a deep bench. Paul Millsap and Al Horford were both all-stars this season, and Jeff Teague has started to play a lot better after a slow start to the season. Boston hasn’t fared well against Atlanta this year either.

The Hawks made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, before losing to Cleveland. Their playoff experience makes them a tough match-up against any team, especially an inexperienced one like Boston. They’re also one of the best road teams in the East at 20-17.

The Celtics gave up 107.7 points per game to Atlanta, and barely cracked 100 per game themselves in their three games. The Hawks are deep and getting hot at the right time. This is arguably the third best team in the Eastern Conference and will give either Toronto or Cleveland trouble in the second round.

With the Celtics going 2-0 against both Charlotte and Miami, the question about who they would rather play is up in the air. Both Miami and Charlotte make their name off of defense, as both are in the top-10 of opponents points per game. In their meetings with Boston, the Hornets held the Celtics to 100 points per game in two games, while Miami held the Celtics to 103 points per game. It has been a tough, grind it out, type of series against these teams, and the same should be expected in the playoffs.

With Chris Bosh seemingly out for the rest of the season, Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside will carry the load for Miami. Whiteside isn’t an offensive threat like Bosh, however, he is one of the best defensive big men in the league and have given the Celtics problems this season. He is a force down low and causes a lot of problems for teams who like to cut to the basket. Whiteside’s ability to affect the game in a multitude of ways, whether on the glass, on defense, or on offense, is shown in his team-leading 25.5 PER. He becomes an even bigger threat against the small Celtics who don’t have a dominant big man to match-up with him.

Also, the Heat have a superstar in Dwyane Wade, despite not being at the same level he once was. Wade has proven this season that he is still more than capable of leading a team and stars step up in the playoffs as well. While Boston has the ability to guard Wade, he still put up 24.5 points per game against the Celtics this season.

While the Heat’s away record of 18-17 is not as dominant as the Hawks’, it shows that they’re able to hold their own on the road and have a good chance of stealing one at the Garden in a seven-game series.

Miami may be the only team in the Eastern Conference playoffs that doesn’t average at least 100 points per game, however, they hold their opponents to the second fewest points among teams in the East and you can never count out a bonafide superstar like Dwyane Wade. Besides, Miami has been the three or four seed for much of the past month before Atlanta got hot, proving their dominance all season.

That leaves the Charlotte Hornets as the team Boston should hope to face. It may not come as a surprise as Charlotte is a young team with not much playoff experience on their roster. Al Jefferson has also been hurt for most of the year and it’s unknown the type of impact he’ll have on a playoff series.

With that being said, Kemba Walker has taken his game to new heights this season and has led the Hornets to a surprising season. Nicolas Batum is also one of the most versatile players, and has given Boston some troubles as he averages 19 points and seven rebounds per game against the Celtics this season.

The Hornets have struggled on the road this season and that’s what makes them so desirable to play in the first round. Going 15-20 on the road thus far, and being a young, inexperienced team, usually doesn’t bode well come playoff time. They have gotten hot over their past ten games, keeping them among the conversation of home-court advantage.

When it comes down to it, the Hornets are a solid offensive and defensive team but offer nothing special on either side of the ball. They’re not overly deep either and, besides Kemba Walker, they don’t have a scorer they can rely on every game because even Batum is streaky.

They wouldn’t be an easy out but they cause the least amount of problems for the Celtics, who have seemingly shut down their offense this season.

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Whoever the Celtics play in the first round of the playoffs will be a dog fight. It’s going to be a tough, grind it out, type of series that’s going to be fun to watch. Unlucky for Boston, this is one of the deepest conferences the East has seen in a long time. There is no cake walk for them, and while Charlotte may be their best chance of advancing, they have ways to cause Boston problems as well.