The NBA playoffs are less than two weeks away, but first-round matchups are far from set in stone. The Celtics, who are fairly locked into the two seed (barring a Bucks collapse) have five realistic playoff opponents: Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, or Chicago Bulls. Obviously, each of these teams have different likelihoods of falling into the seventh seed, but that won’t stop me from preparing for and becoming anxious about every possible outcome.
So, we’re going to rank these teams based on who the Celtics should want to face in the first round (the first team being the best/easiest matchup, and the fifth team being the most daunting one).