Nobody I believes it will be a cakewalk, but I don’t think this sways anything too much next round. Maybe in the ECF it would. The Finals surely. Let’s hope we get there, with him.
I think the ECF will be easier than the ECSF. Assuming it is NY or IND we play in the ECF. I see Cleveland as the biggest threat.
While Cleveland has the size in the paint with Allen and Mobley that guys like Kornet and Tillman can’t pull them away, the C’s have elite defenders for Garland and Mitchell with serious matchup problems for them with Tatum and Brown. I just don’t know how they can stop them.
Orlando has size in the frontcourt but I just don’t think they shoot well enough to hang with the C’s over the course of a series. We beat them rather easily in two home games after that tournament loss in Orlando.
The ECF can literally be any of the other 4 remaining teams IMO (of course, depending on the health of Giannis, Lillard, and Embiid).
Either way, Celtics should be favored against all Eastern Conference teams, with or without KP.