Last night, the Boston Celtics clinched a playoff berth for the seven seed in the Eastern Conference with a 95-93 buzzer beater win over the Toronto Raptors. The Celtics are scheduled to face the two-seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs, and expectations for the Celtics are not high for Boston fans. The Cavaliers are a powerhouse team, and although they are the two-seed, many people consider them to be the best team in the East. The Celtics may have been better off clinching an 8-seed and playing the Atlanta hawks in the first round, a team that Boston beat twice during the regular season, but there is still hope for the Celtics to pull off a huge upset against Cleveland.
The Cavaliers obviously have a lot of star power, with their "Big Three" of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love. LeBron is one of, if not the, best basketball player in the world, and he is going to do all he can to put the Cavaliers past the Celtics, and I don't think anyone on the Celtics can guard him. Irving and Love however, can be stopped, Irving is coming off a minor injury, and Avery Bradley, the Celtics' best defender, will be guarding him. Bradley is excellent defender and should be able to take away Irving, putting more pressure on the rest of the Cavaliers to create offense. Love will most likely be matched up with Brandon Bass, and this is a good match-up for the Celtics. Bass is a very strong post-up player and he uses his size to his advantage on both offense and defense, and I think it will be very tough for Love to have his way whenever Bass is covering him.
Offensively, I think the Celtics have a great chance of success against Cleveland. The Cavs are a solid defensive team, but Boston has a few offensive weapons that have emerged over the past few months. Isiah Thomas, a sixth man guard that the Celtics acquired back in March, and he has proved to be a go-to guy for Boston, averaging 16 points per game and making big shots when needed. Evan Turner is another player who has been very solid offensively for Boston, and if he is able to be constant throughout the series, he will make things much harder for Cleveland. Although LeBron will most likely be able to shut down whoever he is guarding, Celtics players like 7 footers Kelly Olynk and Tyler Zeller will have to step up and dominate the paint for Boston.
The Cavaliers are, of course, the landslide favorite to win the series and the entire eastern conference, but the Celtics may be able to shock the world and send LeBron and the Cavaliers home. If Boston is able to shut down Irving and Love as much as possible, be constant on offense, and make it hard for Cleveland to rebound in the paint, the Celtics have a good chance at pulling off an unforgettable upset.
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