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The Boston Celtics have officially locked up the second seed in the Eastern Conference standings and seem to be well on their way to securing the second-best record in the entire association at 55-25. However, despite their successes to date, one ESPN personality still believes the club is capable of underwhelming come playoff time.
Former Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins was seen discussing the upcoming postseason on an April 7 episode of First Take and noted that the one thing he’s “concerned about” is that Boston will wind up matching up against the Miami Heat in the first round which, in his opinion, could spell trouble for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown‘s club.
“What I am concerned about is that if the Miami Heat get the seventh seed they’re going to match up with the Boston Celtics, which I believe is gonna happen. We saw what happened last year…they were a Jimmy Butler 3-pointer away from actually getting sent home,” Perkins said. If I’m the Celtics, I’m praying that I don’t see Jimmy Butler…and the Miami Heat in the first round. If I’m the Celtics, I’m praying that I don’t have to see Erik Spoelstra matched up with Joe Mazzulla in the first round when it comes down to adjustments and things of that nature…I’m telling you this right now, it will be upset alert if the Miami Heat get the seventh seed and they have to play Boston in the first round.”
Perkins would go on to note during the segment that “if there’s one team at the top that [the Heat] have confidence playing against it’s the Boston Celtics.”
The two franchises have squared off in the Eastern Conference Finals twice over the last three seasons, both times seeing the series go to seven games. The clubs would go on to split their series matchups at one win a piece.
Their 2022-23 regular season series also proved to be a stalemate, as the Celtics and Heat both nabbed two wins.
Raptors Star Issues Statement on Celtics’ Defense
With a net rating of 6.5, one could make a strong argument that the Boston Celtics have played as the best two-way team in the entire association.
However, at least when it comes to their production on the defensive end of the floor, Raptors guard Fred VanVleet seems to believe he has figured out their scheme.
Following Toronto’s loss to Boston Wednesday evening, the 2022 All-Star shared his own personal analysis of how the C’s tend to play on the less glamorous side of the ball and stated that, after keying in on Joe Mazzulla’s defensive gameplan, they started to find their rhythm offensively.
“Boston is one of the best defensive teams in the league for a reason,” VanVleet said. “But they kind of just guard up one on one, so it kind of slowed us down a little bit in the first half. I thought the second half, the ball was moving a little bit more, popping into our spots, and getting out in transition as well… Tonight was not great in terms of flow and rhythm, and energy. So you know, we got another shot at it on Friday; we are looking to see how we can be more effective.”
VanVleet’s claims certainly seem to be backed by the club’s stats as the night progressed.
Though they went into halftime trailing by 12 points, once they honed in on Boston’s defensive style of play the Raptors would go on to outscore the Celtics 49-41 during the final two periods.
Unfortunately, their comeback effort proved to be all for naught, as Toronto would wind up losing by a final score of 97-93.
Celtics’ Marcus Smart’s Neck Injury ‘Not Expected to Linger’
After missing the club’s latest bout against the Toronto Raptors Wednesday with a neck issue, Marcus Smart has officially been ruled out for their Friday night rematch due to the same ailment, as reported by The Athletic’s Jay King.
With the postseason right around the corner, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year’s recent bite from the injury bug may seem like a cause for concern to some, though King would issue a follow-up report via Twitter noting that head coach Joe Mazzulla does not appear to be all that concerned about the guard’s health moving forward.
“Joe Mazzulla said Marcus Smart’s neck issue is not something expected to linger into the playoffs. Mazzulla also said he knows rest and health are important this time of year and will coach with that in mind over the last couple games. He still wants to win though,” King tweeted.
Marcus Smart has appeared in 61 contests for the Celtics this season and is posting per-game averages of 11.5 points, 6.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.
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