NBA Playoffs 2015: Celtics clinch No. 7 seed, will face Cavaliers in first round
By Josh Hill
The Boston Celtics locked up the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference in a buzzer beater win over the Raptors, which means a first-round showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After 81 games, the Boston Celtics not only have clinched a playoff berth — improbably, mind you — but with a game to go in the season they have already locked up a speific seed.
That’s good news for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the young and scrappy Celtics have locked up the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and will be facing LeBron James and company in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
It’s not that the Celtics are a bad team, it’s just they match up horribly against the Celtics. They had a thrilling win against the Raptors on Tuesday night to lock up their playoff spot, and they’re a fun team to watch. But Marcus Smart and Brandon Bass haven’t faced a playoff team together yet and they certainly haven’t faced playoff LeBron yet.
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To be fair, Boston has sort of had Cleveland’s number this season, but to be extra fair that was at times in which the Cavaliers weren’t at their best.
Cleveland just finished up back-to-back games against the Celtics before pounding the Pistons on Monday night, which was nice precursor to a series with Boston. The two games against Boston isn’t the precursor — the beatdown against the Pistons was. Just swap out Detroit for Boston and you have a good idea of where that series might be heading.
It’s very possible that Cleveland loses a game in this upcoming series against Boston, but a 4-1 series victory seems to be in store for the Cavaliers.
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