BOSTON — The Celtics played another mediocre game by their standards in Game 1 against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night and it did not matter. Boston pulled away late for a 120-95 win at TD Garden, winning by double digits for the fifth time this postseason over six games.
With the Cavs looking like easy competition beyond a hobbling Donovan Mitchell, it’s hard not to notice just how well the stars are aligning for this Celtics squad. Even with Kristaps Porzingis hobbled Cleveland doesn’t have the firepower to keep pace with this group. They also lack the creativity with their scheming to throw the Celtics off balance. That should lead to predictable results throughout this series as evidenced by a Game 1 when Jayson Tatum didn’t even play well and Boston ran away with it.
With the Celtics set to cruise into the East Finals barring disaster, a look around the remainder of the NBA playoff picture should strike little fear in the heavy title favorites. The Knicks are up 1-0 on the Pacers in the other East series but they will now be down their top two bigs for the remainder of the postseason with Mitchell Robinson joining Julius Randle as being declared out.
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New York is playing well but their depth is already rail thin as injuries pile up and they shouldn’t pose a strong challenge for Boston on paper. The same goes for an up-and-coming Pacers squad with a star in Tyrese Halliburton who has looked like a shell of himself for the second half of the season.
Meanwhile, the Western Conference is providing plenty of surprises that could favor Boston. The defending champion Nuggets are down 2-0 against the Wolves amid injuries to their backcourt and subpar outings from the likes of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. Murray is hobbled with a calf injury and his play is showing it. Denver swept the season series against Boston but they look unlikely to escape the second-round after digging themselves a big hole.
Another MVP candidate out West is struggling with injury too as Luka Doncic and the Mavericks dropped Game 1 to the Thunder on Tuesday night. Doncic (19 points on 19 shots) is shooting just 38 percent from the field since suffering a knee injury in Game 3 against the Clippers. He joins a long list of stars that have looked like shells of themselves this postseason.
All of this sets the stage for a Celtics squad that has as favorable of a path to the NBA Finals as we’ve seen in years lying ahead of them. The Wolves or Thunder could be a tough test in a potential NBA Finals matchup but both of those teams are unproven on that stage, which could bode well for Boston.
Like the Nuggets last season, the Celtics look poised to avoid plenty of wear and tear in the coming weeks on their way to that showdown. If Game 1 against the Cavs was any indication, they will need to break much of a sweat on their way there, knowing they won’t let their guard down after recent playoff disappointments.
“Anything can happen,” Jaylen Brown said. “It’s the NBA playoffs. We’re just taking it one game at a time and that’s all we can control. And we try to come out, be the harder playing team. We stick to our agenda and we let the chips fall where they may. It’s gonna be tough for a team to have to beat us four times. But as long as we come out, we execute both ends, we’re the harder playing team. I think we’ll be fine.”
