The Boston Celtics have the best record in the NBA at this point and have the third-easiest remaining schedule.
While nothing is guaranteed in the NBA, they do hold a 7.5-game lead over the second-place Cleveland Cavaliers, so their chances of being the number-one team in the East are quite high.
It doesn’t hurt to look ahead at the playoff picture and start imagining the best possible first round playoff scenarios for the Celtics. Possible matchups include the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Hawks.
Boston Celtics' Best First Round Matchups
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks currently sit in tenth place in the East, the final Play-In spot. However, with Trae Young out for the foreseeable future, they could drop out of the Play-In entirely. If they do hang on and end up capturing the eighth and final playoff spot, the Celtics will happily be waiting for a rematch of last year's first round.
The matchup last year had some entertaining games, but ultimately, the Cs were too talented for the Hawks to handle. That would remain unchanged if a rematch were to take place. The Celtics have since become a better team in many areas, while the Hawks have seemingly regressed.
If Young were to return in time for this possible playoff match, regardless of how talented he is, there would still be rust that needs to be shaken off. Additionally, the Hawks strength comes from their backcourt duo of Young and Dejounte Murray. Unfortunately for them, they would be pitted against Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, who are more than capable of taking on that matchup.
What the Hawks do have going for them is their high scoring offence. In their last 15 games, they averaged the most points per game at 124.1. During the course of the entire year, they’re even one spot ahead of the Celtics at fourth most points per game, 121.1.
On the other hand, their defensive rating leaves much to be desired, which is something the Cs would take advantage of. The only two teams with a worse defensive rating than the Hawks are the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. Yikes.
The Celtics are capable of beating themselves, which is what the Hawks would need in order to take them down in this potential first round series.
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are two games up on the Atlanta Hawks right now, but with the Eastern Conference having weak teams near the bottom, that doesn’t say much. The Bulls maybe should have traded away their assets at the deadline but instead chose to hang on to them. This means they’re still competing for a playoff spot despite having Zach LaVine, and, more recently, Patrick Williams out for the remainder of the season.
Much like the potential Hawks series, Chicago would simply be outmatched talent wise. Defensively, they don’t have answers for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown; then you add in Kristaps Porziņģis and the capabilities of Holiday and White. The best defensive player on the Bulls is Alex Caruso, and he can’t guard everyone all at once. Porziņģis and Horford can pull Nikola Vucevic out of the key, where he already struggles, and put him in a worse position on the perimeter.
Alternatively, the Celtics have multiple answers for the Bulls' offense. Vucevic is a talented offensive big, but the Cs would feel comfortable with Porziņģis, Al Horford, or Xavier Tillman guarding him. Holiday has even been tasked with Joel Embiid, so handling Vucevic is within the realm of possibilities for him. Colby White is, deservingly, a lock to win the Most Improved Player Award, but the Celtics just have answers for him defensively.
DeMar DeRozan is another player who can cause issues for plenty of teams. But again, Boston has too many versatile options on defense that would make it too difficult for DeRozen to take over a series. The Bulls already have a hard time scoring, as they average the sixth-fewest points per game. Things would not get easier for them against one of the top defensive teams in the Celtics.
Orlando Magic
Similar to the Bulls, the Orlando Magic struggle to score points, as they are one spot worse than the Bulls in terms of points per game, putting them in the bottom five. Despite that, the Magic have given the Celtics fits in recent memory. It seems they always come prepared with a solid game plan against the Cs and execute it. That made it difficult to put them on this list, but here they are.
In their last nine games against the Celtics, the Magic are 4-5 with all those wins coming in a row. However, now, the Magic are on a two-game skid against Boston. But it is worth noting that two of those Celtics wins were within a five-point margin of victory. The main reason they are the final team on this list is because of their road struggles.
Obviously, if this matchup were to happen, the Celtics would have home court advantage. That does not bode well for the Magic, who have a 14-18 record on the road this season in comparison to their 18-8 home record. It’s clear that this is a different team when they play outside of Orlando.
Talent-wise, the Magic are more equipped than the Bulls and Hawks due to their young talent, but that’s another reason why they made the list. The playoffs are a different game entirely than the regular season, and their inexperience may hurt them. A matchup with Boston, who are very well tested with playoff games, would be a great learning experience for the Magic to better equip them in the future.
Until then, they remain a good matchup for the Celtics.