If we make the playoffs which teams would you not want to meet in the 1st round?

[Moranis]

Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter, but the obvious answer is the Cavs.  Lebron has never lost in the first round and is by far the best player in basketball, we have no one capable of guarding Love, and they have great scorers in the backcourt.  Horrible matchup for Boston.  But again Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter anyway.

[CelticsFanFromNYC]

Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter, but the obvious answer is the Cavs.  Lebron has never lost in the first round and is by far the best player in basketball, we have no one capable of guarding Love, and they have great scorers in the backcourt.  Horrible matchup for Boston.  But again Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter anyway.

Im not sure if your one who lacks optimism or just a  very realistic person (no hate)...  Gotta have some positive mindset. If Phoenix can do it maybe we can to! If phoenix was East they wouldve been 7th seed. Believe in the Clover!

[Moranis]

Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter, but the obvious answer is the Cavs.  Lebron has never lost in the first round and is by far the best player in basketball, we have no one capable of guarding Love, and they have great scorers in the backcourt.  Horrible matchup for Boston.  But again Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter anyway.

Im not sure if your one who lacks optimism or just a  very realistic person (no hate)...  Gotta have some positive mindset. If Phoenix can do it maybe we can to! If phoenix was East they wouldve been 7th seed. Believe in the Clover!

Boston has a horrid roster on the whole that is terribly constructed.  None of the problems the team had last year were resolved this off season.  The team still does not have a #1 scorer, still does not have a rim protector (nor even a real NBA starting caliber center), still does not have a plus rebounder at any position outside of PG, and still lacks elite 3 point shooting.  All of the things that caused this team to be a 25 win team still exist.  Thus I predict another 25ish win season and a long way from the playoffs.

[puskas54_10]

No playoffs for the celtics. There is no go to guy on offense. Who will score when the game is on the line.

If a miracle happens and the celtics reach the 8 seed, they will get destroyed by the Cavs.

I though many folks here not like the constant mediocrity long term plan. So an 8 seed and get destroyed is good enough? Without no high draft pick celtics will hardly improve. In this case dumb luck is the only hope.

[manl_lui]

if we do make the playoffs, I want to meet the best team in the first round. I want our young team to get a feeling what it feels like to play an elite team in the playoffs and not just a scrub team.

Playing the likes of say the Bobcats or the Raptors will get our team some experience but won't really push them, even if it's a 6-7 game series

going against the likes of Miami and Cleveland will get them the feeling of what it's like playing with contenders, the likes of MVP caliber players like Lebron. Even if it's a sweep, the team can go home and see "what can WE do, so we can be elite and BEAT the elites"

[CelticsFanFromNYC]

if we do make the playoffs, I want to meet the best team in the first round. I want our young team to get a feeling what it feels like to play an elite team in the playoffs and not just a scrub team.

Playing the likes of say the Bobcats or the Raptors will get our team some experience but won't really push them, even if it's a 6-7 game series

going against the likes of Miami and Cleveland will get them the feeling of what it's like playing with contenders, the likes of MVP caliber players like Lebron. Even if it's a sweep, the team can go home and see "what can WE do, so we can be elite and BEAT the elites"

This post precisely. We are definitely not winning a ring if we make it to the playoffs. Therefore, we might as well play the best to really gauge our talent. It be the best learning experience to see where the c's stand as a whole

[Tr1boy]

Pistons have drummond(low iq) and monroe(suited to play the center position). Smith excels as a pf. Kind of a mess upfront

Not much is going to change from last season unless SVG does something significant

[crimson_stallion]

Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter, but the obvious answer is the Cavs.  Lebron has never lost in the first round and is by far the best player in basketball, we have no one capable of guarding Love, and they have great scorers in the backcourt.  Horrible matchup for Boston.  But again Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter anyway.

Jeff Green has proven that he defends LeBron about as well as anybody in the league - he has pretty much shut him down on occasions in the past.

Kevin Love is grossly overrated,  and this will be exposed this year when his scoring average drops from 26 to 18.  He's the perfect example of a guy who scored by being a volume chucker on a bad team.  Bosh's scoring dropped from 24 PPG to 17 PPG the instant he moved from Toronto to Miami, and he never averaged close to that again.   Kevin Love is an unathletic 6'10" power forward who has zero post game and spends all of his time chucking up jumpers.  Not really that much of a handful.

Irving?  Yes, hes a very good player and a talented scorer,  but Rondo at his best can dominate a game as much as Irving can.

As for Boston not having a go to guy...you could argue that,  but Jeff Green has been an excellent clutch scorer the last couple of years and has hit some huge shots.

Dont get me wrong, Cleveland is a better team then Boston.  That's obvious.   But to the point where Boston should fear them? Absolutely not. 

Kyrie Irving is not as good as Wade was in his prime. Nowhere near it.  Im also going to say that Kevin love is not as good as Bosh was in his prime.   The overall supporting cast IMHO were better in Miami then what LeBron had in Cleveland.  IMHO Miami in the big three era were much scarier than Cleveland is now. At least Bosh was decent (and long) enough Defensively to hold his own against opposing bigs.  The front court defense of this Cleveland team will be even worse than Boston's.  They will be a painfully bad team Defensively,  and I don't think they'll be good enough offensively to overcome that. 


The top western conference teams will destroy the Cavs. They are no championship threat now or in the near future.

OkC, San Antonio, tge Clippers, all will destroy them.

Cleveland will struggle against Washington, Chicago, and probably even Brooklyn and Miami.

[BballTim]

Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter, but the obvious answer is the Cavs.  Lebron has never lost in the first round and is by far the best player in basketball, we have no one capable of guarding Love, and they have great scorers in the backcourt.  Horrible matchup for Boston.  But again Boston won't make the playoffs so it doesn't matter anyway.

  If Boston were to make the playoffs they (and some/many of the players in particular) would be much better than you expect them to be. Whatever the (unexpected) reasons are the team makes the playoffs would dictate which teams we'd match up well with.

[Tr1boy]

Lets not forget also if we are 7th, 8th by the trade deadline, danny   having enough picks to trade for one or two key vets for the run.

For example the pelicans are out of contention again and we could bring in asik. Or the Hornets are out and we could trade for Big Al.  That would be big

[LooseCannon]

If we assume that the Celtics are most likely to be the #8 seed if they make the playoffs, then the team I would not want to meet in the 1st round is whatever team I am happiest to see not play well enough to get the #1 seed in the east.

[Tr1boy]

Even though i rather not face the cavs in the 1st, they still dont have a legit center on the team. 

Verajao is not really a center and triston thompson is a pf.

[Evantime34]

The Bulls. I think if we make the playoffs it will be lead by our elite perimeter defense  with our offense scoring a lot off turnovers. The Bulls would make the game a half court one, stifle our offense and prevent us from running.

If I'm being honest, just making it to the playoffs should be the goal. More specifically, making it to the playoffs behind players that still have room for improvement. I'm not worried about who we would play, just that our young guys would get good experience and showcase their skills on a playoff stage.

With the cap space we will have next year, the rapid deveolpment of our young guys into a playoff squad could really help us attract free agents.

[Tr1boy]

If the hawks(no horford) and bobcats(surprise) made the playoffs last season and with our improved roster this up coming season, we have a shot to make 8th imo.

You dont need a plus shot blocker, best rebounder, super clutch scorer etc. The spurs for example dont have some of these players in their lineup. They play great as a unit though and execute plays to near perfection

[D.o.s.]

If the hawks(no horford) and bobcats(surprise) made the playoffs last season and with our improved roster this up coming season, we have a shot to make 8th imo.

You dont need a plus shot blocker, best rebounder, super clutch scorer etc. The spurs for example dont have some of these players in their lineup. They play great as a unit though and execute plays to near perfection

The Bobcats making the playoffs were only a surprise if you weren't paying attention to the Bobcats.