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Since falling short in the 2022 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics have been viewed as one of the premier teams in the league, with a genuine chance of lifting the 2023 championship later this year.
However, not all Celtics fans are convinced, with some believing that the Celtics could fail to make a return to the biggest stage in basketball, primarily due to what appears to be an incredibly difficult path through the Eastern Conference.
On April 12, Anna Horford – the sister of veteran center Al Horford – took to Twitter to share a message with anyone who doubted the Celtics’ chances during the playoffs and supported Boston’s playoff push.
“A lot of people don’t believe in Boston & that’s cool, but if you’re betting against the Cs this season, I hope you enjoy being wrong,” Horford Tweeted.
The Celtics finished the regular season ranked second in the East and will open their playoff journey with a potential seven-game series against the Atlanta Hawks.
Celtics Fans Agree With Horford
While it’s true that not every Celtics fan is expecting significant success this year, the majority of the fanbase is feeling confident in their team’s chances of making a deep push and potentially raising a banner for the first time since 2008.
“The same people did the same thing last year too. And were a game and few minutes away from the chip,” Twitter user @Coldasice1682 replied.
“Last time the Celtics played the Hawks in the first round, it went 7 games, then Celtics went on to win the championship. I hope history repeats itself,” @S3mir_H responded.
“People better get ready for PLAYOFF AL!” @Gt2hvfriends replied on Twitter.
Of course, as Boston progresses through the playoff rounds, we will know more about their ability to win a championship – which is often heavily reliant on a team remaining healthy throughout the post-season and their best players – Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in Boston’s instance – showing up.
Dejounte Murray Excited to Face Celtics
When speaking to the media on April 11, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray noted his excitement in facing a team as talented as the Celtics, crediting the team’s strength in depth and noting how he wants to test himself against some of the best teams in the league.
“You got guys or people that always say, ‘you want to play this team, you don’t want to play this team,’ you know, obviously Boston’s at the top because they went to the finals last year,” Murray said. “But last year is last year. And, for me personally, I want the best, you know, obviously, just being competitive, and that’s just how I was raised – to want to play the best and obviously, they’re one of the best and it’s gonna be a great series and we’re gonna go out and try to win a series.”
Murray has been great for the Hawks since joining their roster last summer and ended the regular season with a statline of 20.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game while shooting 46.4% from the field sand 34.4% from the perimeter.