Boston Celtics: Best possible first round opponents in the playoffs

It’s the beginning of March and the 2018 NBA Playoffs are only a month away. With that in mind, who is the best possible first round opponent for the Boston Celtics?

Let’s be honest, we are always looking at the playoff picture from the very first day the NBA season. With that being said, it really ramps up after All-Star break. It’s the start of March, which means that the playoffs will be starting up next month. With the playoff race tightening, we’re getting a better idea of where each team will stand by the time the playoffs roll around,

That means it’s time we look at the best opponent for the Boston Celtics.

Odds are that the Celtics will be getting the second or first seed in the playoffs. They’re a game behind the Toronto Raptors for the 1-seed, but are ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers by seven games for second.

As of now, here are the current standings for the top 10 teams:

Toronto Raptors: 44-17
Boston Celtics: 44-19, 1.0 GB
Cleveland Cavaliers: 36-25, 8.0 GB
Washington Wizards: 36-27. 9.0 GB
Indiana Pacers: 35-27, 9.5 GB
Philadelphia 76ers: 34-27, 10.0 GB
Milwaukee Bucks: 33-29, 11.5 GB
Miami Heat: 32-30, 12.5 GB
Detroit Pistons: 29-33, 15.5 GB
Charlotte Hornets: 28-35, 17.0 GB

As you can see from the standings, the Eastern Conference is super tight. There is only 4.5 games separating the third from the eighth seed. Charlotte has been a lot better of late, going on a five-game win streak, until they played the Celtics Wednesday. If the Hornets are able to find their groove once again, they could be a team to watch.

Detroit looked to have fixed its issues when it traded for Blake Griffin before the trade deadline, going 5-0 right off the bat. Unfortunately, that was just a small fix, as the Pistons have lost six of their last eight games. Reggie Jackson should be returning from his injury pretty soon, which could help them to get back to winning games.

The other playoff teams are too hard to look at because one of those teams could win and the other could lose, which would cause a major change in the standings. Boston could play the Wizards, or it could play the Heat. It could all change in a matter of a few games.

For this situation, lets just look at the last four teams and examine how Boston has fared this season against those teams.

Pacers: 2-1
76ers: 3-1
Bucks: 2-1
Heat: 1-2

Unsurprisingly, because the Celtics have struggled a bit as of late, they have lost to those teams later in the season. They’ll still have to play the Pacers and Bucks one more time, but as of now it appears they are still teams you don’t want to play.

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The Heat are a sneaky team and it was assumed they weren’t going to be as successful as they have been, but they have had a good season. However, they’ve really struggled lately, but that doesn’t mean they can’t turn things around.

Ultimately, it would be best for the Celtics to actually play the Heat, despite the team having the worst record against them. Miami has had a lot of injuries and still doesn’t have that same firepower you see in the other three teams.

Maybe if it isn’t the Heat, Boston would want to play the Sixers, based solely on the idea as they aren’t experienced. They more than likely would prefer to avoid Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, but the inexperience could be something they could take advantage of.

The Sixers and the Heat would be the best teams to face in the first round of the playoffs if it were up to Boston. It would not be ideal to have a matchup with the Pacers and the candidate for Most Improved Player in Victor Oladipo, or play the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Next: 2017-18 Week 20 NBA Power Rankings

The Celtics could end up facing any team in the Eastern Conference due to the fact that it’s so jumbled. If it were up to Boston, it would be best to play the Heat or the Sixers.

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