Boston Celtics: B/R believes C’s ‘best-case scenario’ is a first-round exit

The 2020-21 season has been quite unfair to the Boston Celtics, and there is plenty of blame to go around.

After making it to three of the last Eastern Conference Finals, and within just two games of reaching their first NBA Finals in over a decade just last season down in the Lake Buena Vista bubble, the Cs have followed things up with an all-out flatline.

Through 70 games played, Boston boasts a mere .500 record of 35-35 and is slated to finish somewhere in the 7-9 range within the standings.

Because of this, they will be participating in this year’s play-in tournament, where the two ultimate victors will take hold of the seventh and eighth slot in the playoff seeding.

Should the Boston Celtics prevail, they’d be going up against either the first or second seed in their respective conference in a first-round matchup where, indefinitely, they will be viewed as the underdogs.

In the event that they do advance to the playoffs, many are under the impression that their stay will not be for long. In fact, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey would go as far as to say the team’s best-case scenario is an abrupt first-round exit.

Citing their depleted roster and underwhelming performances throughout the year already, B/R is convinced that the shamrocks will be watching the majority of the 2021 postseason from the comfort of their own couch:

"Boston was already in the middle of an arduous season beset by injuries, absences mandated by the health and safety protocols and generally playing below expectations, so Jaylen Brown’s season-ending wrist injury is likely a death knell for the team that has made three of the last four Eastern Conference Finals.With so much responsibility on Jayson Tatum’s shoulders and Kemba Walker’s surgically repaired knee, losing back-to-back games in the play-in tournament isn’t even out of the question for the Celtics, who are 3-7 in their last 10 games."

Though the Celtics still do have the likes of Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, and Marcus Smart at their disposal, believing they’ll tap into “God mode” once the playoffs strike is somewhat unrealistic.

Unfortunately, such a level of play will be needed to stave off a first-round exit and, as of this moment, it would appear none of these players are currently capable of tapping into said mode.