Boston Celtics: 2 ideal first-round playoff matchups

Boston Celtics ideal matchup No. 1) Charlotte Hornets

First up on our list we have the likes of current Boston Celtics player Kemba Walker’s former team and former Boston Celtics players, Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier’s current team, the Charlotte Hornets.

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises from this season as a whole, Buzz City came into 2020-21 with low expectations and somewhat of a negative perception after finishing out 2019-20 with just 23 total wins and shelling out a hefty $120 million contract to the oft-injured and highly inconsistent, Hayward, in the offseason.

However, through 54 games played the Hornets have managed to shed their lowly status, as they’ve remained competitive throughout the campaign, owning the eighth seed in the conference, while their free-agent acquisition has seemingly lived up to his payday, producing at his highest levels since his 2017 All-Star days (19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists on 42 percent shooting from deep).

Looking to break their four-year postseason drought, the Hornets could realistically still find themselves playing come mid-May and, with this, square off against the Celtics in a first-round bout.

Should this happen, by all accounts, we believe Boston would end up advancing rather quickly.

Looking at how the Cs are constructed and how they play, perhaps the most challenging obstacle a team could throw their way would be in the form of a physically dominating and skillful big man.

In Charlotte’s case, what they’re working with down low revolves around the likes of Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo, and P.J. Washington, which, with all due respect, is not all that menacing of a unit.

In terms of star power and overall talent, the Celtics again find themselves with the overwhelming advantage, as they have two current All-Stars in Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown and a former All-Star and All-NBA selection in Walker, whereas Charlotte as a whole has just one All-Star appearance (Hayward) from everyone’s careers combined.

Lastly, the team’s two best players in Hayward and Rozier were former players in Boston, which means familiarity with their games could be used as an advantage on the defensive side of the ball.

All things considered, a matchup against the Hornets would be one of the easier first-round scenarios for the Cs.