B/R says chances of Nets upsetting Boston Celtics in playoffs are ‘high’

Coming into this quarterfinals ‘best-of-seven’ series against the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics find themselves in possession of the higher seed, home-court advantage, and, in turn, the greater odds of advancing to the second round of the postseason.

Now, though the consensus opinion is that the shamrocks will wind up piecing together four wins and coming away as victorious–albeit by means of a long and hard-fought series–, there are still those who believe that Brooklyn has as good a chance as anyone to give their divisional rivals a run for their money, with some even being under the impression that they have a real shot of stealing the first-round entirely.

People feel so strongly about the Nets’ chances in the first round, in fact, that even the folks at Bleacher Report went about and stated their potential to upset the Boston Celtics in this series is, indeed, “high.”

Citing the fact that they have both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving eligible and ready to go, coupled with the impending stamp of approval to play for third-star Ben Simmons, writer, Greg Swartz, considers the borough boys as one of the most likely teams in this year’s postseason to pull off an upset, claiming them to be “one of the best No. 7 seeds” the sport has ever seen:

"Irving can now take the court for both home and road games. Durant is healthy and playing well, with 32.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 46.8 percent three-point shooting over his last seven regular-season contests. And we may even see Simmons make his Nets debut sometime between Games 4 and 6, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.Although Harris is out for the year following ankle surgery, the Celtics could be missing a key piece for at least most of the series as well.Center Robert Williams III, an All-Defensive team candidate, hasn’t played since late March following knee surgery. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that there’s a “very real” possibility that Williams can return sometime in the series, with Game 6 falling one month following his surgical procedure to fix a meniscus tear.Having the best player on the floor is always a recipe for success in a playoff series, so the Nets have a legitimate chance of winning, especially if Irving, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and others play at a high level. Getting Simmons back, even if it’s on a minutes restriction, will aid the Brooklyn defense and playmaking as well."

Though there are plenty of pros and cons that come with playing this Nets squad in round one, we at the Houdini are rather confident that the Boston Celtics will ultimately find a way to advance to this year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Having said that, by no means are we under the impression that Brooklyn will allow this series to be a walk in the park for the C’s.