The Boston Celtics still do not know who they are going to be playing in the first round of the playoffs
As the regular season comes to a close within the next few days, it’s important to think about the Boston Celtics and they’re possible opponents in the 1st round. The Celtics have worked hard throughout a long and tough season filled with injuries.
With Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving officially out for the Playoffs, the Celtics’ hopes are slowly shrinking, however, there is still plenty to look forward to in the coming days.
As of now, the Celtics only have three possible teams that they may face. Those three teams are the Miami Heat, the Milwaukee Bucks, or the Washington Wizards. All three of these teams have shown flashes of brilliance but lacked durability at certain points in the season, so the Playoffs could go either way for them, but here are a few reasons as to why each of teams needs to be watched carefully for Boston:
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The Heat are currently the 6th seed and are not in position to play Boston in the 1st round. For Miami, the two names that always come to mind are Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside. Dragic proved himself this season, notching his first all-star appearance.
For Whiteside, his defensive presence will for sure be felt as well as his impressive post-moves in the paint. Boston will really feel the Heat from Miami if they meet in the Playoffs.
The Bucks are currently the 7th seed and are in position to face Boston in the 1st round. Now, this is the last team that Boston should hope to face. Giannis Antetokounmpo is posting and MVP-calibre season and he’s joined by stars such as Eric Bledsoe, Jabari Parker and Khris Middleton.
Although they’ve been majorly inconsistent this season, they’ve still shown how dangerous of a team they can be and will only grow in the coming years.
Finally, the Wizards are currently the 8th seed and are not in position to play Boston in the 1st round. This is probably the biggest 50/50 team that the Celtics could face. With John Wall and Bradley Beal in the backcourt, those two have the potential to completely obliterate the Celtics’ defense. However, the Wizards could also have a miserable performance and be an easy win for Boston, but it would be in the Celtics’ best interest to not test their luck.
In the end, the Celtics still should be giving themselves a pat on their backs after what they’ve accomplished this season. Despite so many unfortunate injuries to the team, they’ve continuously battled and never given up, and most teams wouldn’t be able to do the same in a similar situation.
Next: 5 Most Importat Players in First Round
No matter who Boston faces and where they finish, at the end of the day, the Celtics gave fans what they wanted: A successful year.