With the Boston Celtics winning last night’s game against the Indiana Pacers 105-102, they punched a ticket to the NBA Finals. A place the Celtics haven’t been since 2022 when they lost to the Golden State Warriors 4-2. Since the Celtics were the first team to get to the NBA Finals, they will have to wait on the winner of the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves series to find out who they will play.
With the Dallas Mavericks being up 3-0, with game and four tonight, it will almost certainly be the Mavericks. Since no team has ever come back from being down 0-3 in NBA history, the only question is how many games will it take for the Mavericks to advance and whether will they be able to get the same type of rest as the Celtics are going to be getting. While the Celtics wait on who they will be playing, should the Celtics already be concerned heading into the NBA Finals as their path to get there has been one of the easiest in recent years?
Should The Boston Celtics be Concerned Heading Into The NBA Finals?
The Boston Celtics’ Path to The NBA Finals
1st Round- Miami Heat
The Boston Celtics opened up the 2024 NBA playoffs in the first round against the Miami Heat, a team that has given them trouble in recent years in the playoffs. However, this time around Jimmy Butler, the Heat’s best player, missed the whole series due to an injury he suffered in the play-in-tournament. The Celtics were easily able to take care of business winning the series 4-1 in which all of their wins came by 10 or more points.
2nd Round- Cleveland Cavaliers
After the Boston Celtics were able to get past the Heat. In the Eastern Conference semifinals, they would take on the Cleveland Cavaliers after they defeated the Orlando Magic in seven games. The Celtics once again were able to take care of business winning the series 4-1. However, just like the first round the Cavaliers weren’t at full strength for the whole series as Donavan Mitchell missed the last two games due to an injury and Jarret Allen missed the whole series.
3rd Round- Indiana Pacers
The Boston Celtics advanced after beating the Cavaliers to take on the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers were able to get there by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in six and the New York Knicks in seven games. As we have already mentioned they were able to get past the Pacers as well in four games to advance to the NBA Finals. Just like the previous two series the Pacers were not at full strength as Tyrese Haliburton missed the last two games and Bennedict Mathurin missed the whole series.
Three Reasons Why The Boston Celtics Should be Concerned
The first reason the Boston Celtics should be concerned heading into the Finals is they haven’t been tested yet. In which every series they have played, the opposing team was never at full strength. Stars like Butler, Mitchell, and Haliburton all missed time in each series. Because of that, most people think that it’s been a cakewalk for the Celtics to get to the NBA Finals.
The second reason is losing two games at home. The two losses the Celtics have suffered in the playoffs have been at home. In those two series, it hasn’t hurt them losing at home but in the Finals, with the Celtics having home-court advantage, it might hurt them if they lose at home. They have to be able to protect their home court, an area the Celtics have struggled at since 2022, they are 17-14 at Home in the playoffs.
The third reason is trying to integrate Kristaps Porzingis back into the lineup. Porzingis, who hasn’t played since game four of the first round against the Heat, is in line to play game one of the NBA Finals. The good news is they have until June 6th to get him acclimated back in the starting five.
No matter who the Boston Celtics play in the NBA Finals, they should be the favorites to win as they won the most games in the regular season. However, there should be some level of concern among Celtics fans as they enter the Finals, regardless, they should still be confident heading into game one.
