Best Ideal Playoff Road for the Celtics

This would be the easiest road for the Celtics to get back to the NBA Finals.

Mar 15, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives past Brooklyn Nets guard D'Angelo Russell (1) during the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics had one of the easier roads to the NBA Finals last year. They ran through a banged-up Eastern Conference with relative ease, really not breaking a sweat.

The best part about their title run is that they didn't really have to use Kristaps Porzingis much. In fact, he didn't play until the NBA Finals, and even then he wasn't fully healthy.

This year, the path looks much harder for the Celtics to run through the East. All of the top teams in the Eastern Conference are better this year than they were last year.

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The Celtics still have a path that they would like to have that could make things a lot easier for them. They would love a route that avoids all of the tough teams.

For their first-round opponent, they would love to face the Bulls. If Chicago is able to get into the eight spot in the East and then win the play-in game, that would be who Boston would face.

The Bulls don't do a lot that can hurt the Celtics. They don't have the defensive pieces to be able to slow them down. That's a series that they could sweep.

In the second round, the Celtics would love to take on the Pistons. They would be the likely six-seed in the Eastern Conference, so it would be ideal if Detroit could beat the Knicks in a first-round matchup.

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For the Eastern Conference Finals, they would love to face the Pacers again. They feel very comfortable with that matchup after sweeping them last year.

That would also mean that the Pacers would have knocked out the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is the biggest threat to the Celtics winning the East.

If the Celtics could somehow get a playoff run like this, they would be elated. It would be the easiest possible path for them to make the NBA Finals for the second straight year.

For the Finals, they would love it if the Grizzlies won the West. They are a young team that plays very inconsistently. They would be able to overwhelm them.

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