3 realistic goals for Boston Celtics in 2021 NBA Playoffs

1. Give their first-round opponent hell

As mentioned earlier, it’s hard to see the Celtics making a deep run in the playoffs, given the talent at the top of the Eastern Conference standings and Brown’s season-ending injury. If the Celtics are to emerge from the play-in round, they’ll have to face either the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers or the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets.

Safe to say Boston doesn’t stand much of a chance against either the Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons-Tobias Harris trio or the super-team of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Blake Griffin. The expectation is that one or both of these teams will battle in the Eastern Conference Finals for a spot in the 2021 NBA Finals.

Despite that, the Celtics can give these title contenders a tough time in the first round. Come on, we’ve seen star Jayson Tatum put the team on his back numerous times throughout his career, including this season.

Boston sports fans expect nothing but success from their sports teams on a year-in, year-out basis. But the Celtics taking either the 76ers or Nets down to the wire and subsequently tiring them out before even the conference semifinals is quite the positive note the team can end this forgettable season on.