Boston Celtics: Power ranking C’s 5 most realistic first-round matchups

No. 1) Brooklyn Nets

Around this time last year, it was a widely noted fact that the Brooklyn Nets were the ultimate winners of the NBA’s offseason. Signing the likes of superstar Kevin Durant and All-Star Kyrie Irving while also bringing in solid role players like Taurean Prince, Wilson Chandler, and DeAndre Jordan, the Nets had a sense of hope and promise that had not been felt in Brooklyn — nay, New York — in quite some time, regardless of the fact that Durant was likely to sit out the entire year as he recovered from his Achilles tear from last season.

Now, with the fact that Irving had season-ending shoulder surgery in late February, Spencer Dinwiddie & DeAndre Jordan both tested positive for COVID-19, and both Jordan and Wilson Chandler have already made it clear that they will not be traveling with the team to Orlando, it appears the hope that once was has simply been shelved, as their lineup for Orlando will likely resemble something like this:

Now, clearly this is a joke, as the picture provided by Complex Sports is almost four years old and consists of no players currently rostered by the Nets, but still, the sentiment stands: who on earth will this team roll out onto the hardwood?

With Durant, Irving, Jordan, & Chandler all out, and with the fact that Dinwiddie’s status is also in doubt, Brooklyn’s pecking order will likely be as follows: Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen, and Taurean Prince.

These aforementioned players are certainly talented in their own right, and we’ve even sang high praise for LeVert in the past. That said, going up against a team consisting of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Marcus Smart, it would appear this depleted Nets team would be unequivocally outmatched.

Healthy, Brooklyn has the makings of a true championship team.

Like this, however, the Boston Celtics would simply feast upon their flesh.