3 reasons the Celtics can make (and win) the NBA Finals

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2. They have found success without a full lineup

This point relies heavily on the fact that the Boston Celtics are healthy by the time the playoffs start.

If they aren’t, then the injuries that are present will really take a toll on their team. They already lack quality depth, and while it’s easy to mask injuries in the regular season, the playoffs are a different animal.

In the playoffs, teams are scheming for one opponent for a whole series. Therefore, they can plan around any injury that their opponent may have. That can be a factor that hurts the Celtics come April/May.

Some of the Celtics’ best wins of the season have come without one of their top players. They’ve beaten the LA Clippers without Jaylen Brown, they came back against the Bucks without Brown, they beat the Miami Heat in Miami, without Tatum.

As a glimpse of what the Celtics are truly capable of when they are healthy, one just has to back track to their blowout over the Lakers in January. In that game, they had three 20 point scorers. Enes Kanter nearly joined that group, with 18 points off the bench to go along with 11 rebounds.

While their defense was not typical of their usual defensive performances, they shot the lights out, connecting on 47 percent of their threes.

Once the playoffs start, health will be the number one priority for the team. If they can get some more playing time with their main core before the first round of the playoffs, that’ll be the best-case scenario.

While the team has been great while nursing injuries, a fully healthy roster will be the key to take down the Raptors and Bucks, their main competitors this season.

The Celtics have the best starting five in the NBA. That kind of firepower coming from the main unit should be able to propel them to the NBA Finals.

Add in Marcus Smart and Enes Kanter, and the bench has some players that can be useful in a seven-game series, against any opponent.