Celtics shouldn’t fear anyone, so bring on the Sixers or Heat in Round
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Celtics shouldn’t fear anyone, so bring on the Sixers or Heat in Round 1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
There’s a good chance the Celtics will face either the Sixers or Heat in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. To which I say: bring it.
Playoff Jimmy? Bring it. A healthy Joel Embiid? Bring it. All-Stars Bam Adebayo and Tyrese Maxey? Bring it and bring it.
After winning 64 games and running away with the NBA’s best record, the Celtics shouldn’t fear anyone in the first round. They should in fact welcome the challenge of either the defending conference champs or the reigning MVP.
Only a loser franchise would “hope” for the easier matchup of Chicago or Atlanta. The Celtics are out to make history, and they might as well get tested immediately. If they’re not good enough to beat the last play-in team, they were never going to hang Banner 18. The Heat proved that last year.
Times have changed and this Celtics team is too good to care who it draws. If anything, the Heat and Sixers should be playing like hell on Wednesday night to avoid the Celtics, since the winner gets a more winnable matchup vs. the Knicks.
We baby the Celtics like they must follow the easiest path possible to the Finals, but since when is that any fun, or even beneficial? Only two years ago, the C’s won four of their last five to claim the No. 2 seed and a supposedly scary matchup against the Nets. Some argued it would be better to finish third and surrender homecourt advantage in the conference semifinals than face Kevin Durant and Co. right away.
The Celtics took the challenge head-on and ended up with their easiest series of the postseason, sweeping the overmatched Nets after winning Game 1 at the buzzer. They needed seven games to dispatch the Bucks at home and Heat on the road before falling to the Warriors in the Finals, but the foundation for that run was laid at the feet of Kyrie Irving and friends.
This team is better than that one and shouldn’t fear anyone. The Celtics boast the…
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