Andrew Doxy: I’m going to go bold and predict 52-30 and first place in the East by way of tiebreaker with the Miami Heat. This would likely leave Boston to face a team like the Charlotte Hornets, the Atlanta Hawks or the Brooklyn Nets.
Of that group, the Charlotte Hornets would naturally be the easiest opponent without Rob Williams on the roster. I’m of the mind that the Celtics at their best shouldn’t be worried about Brooklyn at all. They’ve been too dominant and the Nets have been too mid to be shaking in our boots at the thought of facing them in the first round. However, if we’re talking best first round matchup without Williams, then the Hornets are the easy choice here. Trae Young and Kevin Durant have nuclear detonation potential, so it’s just safer to go against a Hornets team that doesn’t have a megastar or a strong front court.
Jeff Clark: The top half of the East has some pretty easy games coming up, so I wouldn’t be shocked if the Celtics slide down to 3 or even 4. The Bucks game could be a loss for Boston and the Memphis game could be a toss-up competition between each team’s bench.
Of the teams we could face, I wouldn’t mind going up against the banged up Cavs. Not sure if they are getting out of the play-in games though, so we might be stuck with a team like the Nets. I don’t want to face Durant or hear about Kyrie, but I think that team has enough flaws that we could take care of business in a seven-game series.
Bottom line is that I’m not afraid of any first round matchup, even though I have respect for each of the teams. (Boring coach-speak answer, I know!)
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