5 reasons not to discount the Celtics in the NBA playoffs

The Boston Celtics championship hopes have been doused by injuries but don’t discount their chances of a deep playoff run.

A lot of people started to doubt the Celtics when Gordon Hayward went down with a brutal injury less than ten minutes into the season. After losing Hayward for the year and dropping their first two games, Brad Stevens, Kyrie Irving, and company showed that they had other ideas for 2018, rolling off 16 straight wins and catapulting themselves to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

After missing 11 games going back to mid-March with a knee injury, it was announced late last week that Irving would be sidelined for 4-5 months, causing him to miss the remainder of the regular season and entire playoffs. As the announcement circulated, whatever chances people were giving Boston pretty much disappeared.

Barring an act (or several acts) of God, the Celtics won’t be competing for a title this season. But even without Irving and Hayward, they still have talent and are still one of the most well-rounded and well-coached teams in the NBA. Boston can still beat any team on any given night, but whether or not they can do it four times is another question. They do have one new element now working in their favor though — they have nothing to lose.

Without Kyrie in the lineup, the Celtics have a record of 13-7 including wins over Toronto, Portland, and OKC. At 54-26 overall, they’re securely in the number two spot in the Eastern Conference standings, giving them the benefit of home court advantage in at least the first two rounds.

Would I pick them to advance past the first or second round given their injuries? Probably Not.

Would I be surprised if they knocked off Washington or Milwaukee in the first round then took whoever they faced in the second round to seven games? Absolutely not.

Here are five reasons (in no particular order) why Boston shouldn’t be taken lightly or counted out heading into the playoffs this coming weekend.