The first round of the NBA playoffs should be a breeze for the Boston Celtics. They only need to play four games to achieve a far larger aim.
However, the top-seeded Celtics may not have it so easy, especially if they face the Miami Heat in the first round.
Miami would first have to get there, which would only be possible if they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the play-in round on Wednesday night and then defeated either the Atlanta Hawks or Chicago Bulls on Friday.
That is a possible conclusion, but the Celtics should hope that the Heat handle business on the road against the 76ers, or that someone else takes care of the Heat and sends them home early.
The Celtics and Heat squaring off wouldn’t be the typical No. 8 vs. No. 1 matchup if it comes to fruition. The Heat, despite another underwhelming regular season for the second year in a row, are no pushovers. And there should be a sense of uneasiness if the Celtics are locked into a seven-game series with the Heat to begin their playoff run.
Miami, which faced Boston in three of the last four Eastern Conference finals, showed what it is capable of as an underdog eight seed last season. In fact, it’s a position the team thrives in. The Heat upset the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks before taking a 3-0 series lead on the Celtics. Miami, of course, blew that lead but responded by taking down the Celtics in Game 7 in Boston.
The Heat will not be scared by the Celtics’ star power. And they would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate their Heat Culture against Boston’s roster of studs.
The Celtics would also have to worry about Jimmy Butler becoming Playoff Jimmy Butler, which appears to be an annual tradition at this point. The postseason appears to bring out the best in the six-time All-Star, transforming him into an unstoppable force, particularly in crunch time. He averaged 37.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in last season’s first-round series against the Bucks, and he also had moments against the Celtics a few rounds later. Just ask Grant Williams about it.
Butler’s supporting cast might be better than it was last year as well. He has his sidekick in the versatile Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro is back after missing most of the season with injury. Jaime Jacquez Jr. was one of the better rookies in the league this season and there’s always the lingering presence of Caleb Martin, who caught fire against the Celtics last postseason but fell back to earth. There’s also Terry Rozier, who is an upgrade over Kyle Lowry but is a question mark due to a neck injury — he won’t play against the 76ers.
However, Miami’s most valuable asset is not on the court. It takes the shape of head coach Erik Spoelstra. He appears to be pushing all of the right buttons versus Boston and will undoubtedly have something to test the Celtics.
Even if the Celtics play Miami, they should progress. However, it would undoubtedly be a lot more difficult assignment with a much lower margin of error than if the Bulls, Hawks, or even 76ers came to town.
