The Cleveland Cavaliers have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018, coincidentally against the Boston Celtics, making it their most successful non-LeBron playoff run in the 21st century. Congrats to them, but what makes this so painful is knowing that the Celtics handled their business against the Cavaliers this season.
It's odd to mention this because since Donovan Mitchell joined Cleveland back in 2022, they had been a thorn in Boston's side for years. This season, i.e. the one without Jayson Tatum for two thirds of it, it was a different story. The Celtics swept their season series against the Cavaliers, winning 3-0.
In all fairness, the Celtics' first two wins were against the previous iteration of the Cavaliers. In other words, it was before they had James Harden and Celtics alum Dennis Schroder. However, even after they acquired those two, the Celtics still beat them in their regular season finale with Tatum in only his second game back with the team.
That makes their first-round elimination all the harder to digest when seeing the Cavaliers, a team they didn't have much trouble beating, make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. One could easily argue that Boston simply matched up badly against Philadelphia.
If the Celtics had been on the other side of the bracket, they might be where the Cavs are
It sounds ridiculous to mention, but the Celtics may have been better off settling for the No. 4 seed than going for the No. 2 seed. First off, getting that probably would have helped them avoid the 76ers and turn their attention to the Cavaliers, who, sure, made it to the ECF, but needed seven games to beat Toronto and Detroit, neither of whom are teams with much playoff experience to their name.
Such an outcome could have gotten them a matchup against a team they swept in the regular season instead of the team they tied with. That could have gotten them inside the track against Detroit, who not only blew a winnable series, but also barely escaped from their first-round matchup against Orlando.
Was this Celtics team on the Knicks level? Honestly, after seeing how easily New York handled Philadelphia, no, but their outlook could be entirely different right now if they hadn't quite overachieved as much as they did.
It all comes down to matchups in the playoffs. It's very possible the Celtics simply ran into a Sixers team that was much better than their seeding made them look. There's nothing Boston can do to change the past, but times like these really do emphasize that the past just bites.
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