The Celtics’ Path to Another Flag Continues in Their Favor originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
Typically, the road to the finals is littered with land mines, rockslides, and maybe Mad Max biker gangs too. Let your guard down for a second and it’s over.
Not this year. The Celtics are getting the Yellow Brick Road treatment, their path lit by rainbows, daisies, butterflies and playful ponies. After winning 64 games and destroying their first two subdued and outmatched playoff opponents, they are poised to win the first title of the Brown and Tatum era. This would be the case regardless of external circumstances.
But now? The route is open and they have a police escort.
Looking back, playing Miami without Jimmy Butler It is Cleveland without Donovan Mitchell turned the first two rounds into glorified friendly games. Looking ahead, if they take the Knicks, it would be without All-Star great Julius Randle and with a potentially diminished Jalen Brunson, who is playing through a foot injury (not that that stopped him from dropping 44 in the other night). If it’s the Pacers, the Celtics will pit their historically excellent offense against the worst defense in the playoffs.
From there, it seems like the most likely matchup will still be between the defending champions, but Denver isn’t the team it was a year ago, not with Jamal Murray battling calf and elbow injuries that undermined his aim. He shot just 4 of 18 in the Game 6 loss to the Wolves on Thursday night, and if he doesn’t, it’s hard to imagine even the great Nikola Jokic beating the Celtics by himself.
If not, it could be the Mavericks, who hope to close out the Thunder on Saturday. But Dallas superstar Luka Doncic is dealing with a series of injuries as well as a tendency to focus more on the referees than the opponent. Your defense partner Kyrie Irving Ever did a disappearing act in Boston as a member of the Nets, clearly impacted by the hostile crowd that will always view his departure as treasonous. The Mavs made some smart additions at the trade deadline, but the Celtics play a tougher brand of basketball and faced Dallas twice during the regular season.
As for defensively strong Minnesota or versatile OKC, they are young teams that would be in the NBA Finals sooner than expected. If experience means anything, either one would present the classic clash between battle-tested and beginner. Advantage: Celts.
We mention the path so as not to preemptively diminish what the Celtics hope to accomplish. A title is a title is a title, and the Celtics still need to win it. It could be argued that this parting of the Red Sea won’t help them in a tough series, provided they get one. They’ve been building a championship basically since the day Danny Ainge fleeced the Nets for the picks that became Brown and Tatum, and their time is now.
As they head to their sixth Eastern Conference Finals in eight years, they have paid their dues. First they were blocked by LeBron James. Then they found Steph Curry at his most transcendent. The mystical Heat have occasionally had their number.
Now they are positioned to hold off game-changing big man Kristaps Porzingis all the way to the Finals if they so choose, a luxury rarely afforded to anyone in the playoffs. Partly because they are a great team without him, but also because the path is clear.
They have no reason to apologize or put asterisks. Sometimes luck opens your way. The banner still hangs forever.
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