The Post-Pandemic Celtics
So many people have been reflecting on the games the Celtics have played thus far this season, myself included, but I want to take a look into the future. What happens if the season returns on July 31st? Will all the teams get invited back? Will the NBA finish the regular season? How will all of this affect the Celtics overall?
Well, the way I see it is that if the NBA don’t invite the non-contending teams back to play, then some teams are at a serious disadvantage while fighting for playoff spots or seeding. For example, the Bucks had a significantly easier beginning of the schedule than end of it. I’m not saying the Bucks aren’t incredible, because they most certainly are, but it seems a little unfair to teams like the Celtics who had an easier end of their schedule. If the Celtics don’t get the opportunity to play the Knicks or Warriors as much as other teams, then obviously they will have had a harder schedule overall. I get that this is a minor thing in the long-run, but it still seems weird to me that it’s never talked about.
Another way all this could positively affect the Celtics is that it gave the team a chance to heal up and recover from injuries. Enes Kanter wasn’t technically injured, but his injury from earlier this year was definitely still affecting him on the court. The Kanter we saw around winter time was not at all the same dude we saw in the spring. The Celtics could also get a healthy Robert Williams III to add to the full rotation, which would be huge for the overall diversity of skills in the lineups. Not to mention that players like Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown who have been dealing with nagging injuries all year have a chance to get to their full health and stay that way.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of playoff format the NBA decides to use. I’ve seen everything thrown out there from a normal bracket with a play-in for the entire 7-15 seeds, as well as a general 16-team tournament with the top 8 teams from each conference, but seed 1-16. From what I’ve seen, I believe a first round matchup with the 76ers is in the future for Boston regardless, which I’m a fan of to be honest. I think Boston matches up well with Philly and Brad Stevens can out-coach Brett Brown any day of the week.
I’m just excited to see how every team, not just the Celtics, plays after this long hiatus. What teams will be able to have instant chemistry again? Will the Jazz be able to play together? Will any players simply refuse to play at all? It’s all a mystery, and hopefully we will all know the answers on July 31st.
