The Boston Celtics did not know their first-round opponent for the 2024 NBA Playoffs as of Friday afternoon. But they already know their mission.
After a historic 64-win regular season, the 2023-24 Celtics enter this postseason as the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA and a sure-fire favorite to win the championship, and it will be a win or a loss for them.
But as Boston co-stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown know all too well, the NBA playoffs aren't easy. If the Celtics are the No. 1 seed and tie with the Miami Heat, who will face the Chicago Bulls for the No. 8 seed on Friday night, they will face the same team they upset as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern League last spring. We will be competing against each other. Conference finals.
And even if the C's emerge from the East, some very talented clubs could await them in the NBA Finals — including the defending champions, who swept the 2023-24 season series with Boston. Including the Denver Nuggets.
So how will Banner 18's quests play out? We asked our partners at Strat-O-Matic. The simulation software accurately predicted the Celtics team. Accurate records for 2023-24 Back in October, we predict the entire 2024 postseason and lay out each series for Boston based on whether Miami or Chicago wins Friday's play-in matchup.
Let's start with Strat-O-Matic's simulation of the East playoff bracket and take a look at the results. One is a simulation against No. 8 seed Miami, and the other is against Chicago.
Round 1 (Scenario #1): 1st place Celtics defeat 8th place Miami Heat 4-2.
As expected, the Celtics have their hands full against Miami in Game 1. Despite playing without Jimmy Butler, the Heat won Games 2 and 3 thanks to strong performances from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, taking a 2-1 series lead. .
But then Boston flips the script. Rookie Jrue Holiday scored 40 points and helped the Celtics steal Game 4 in Miami, and Tatum and Brown each dropped 33 points in Game 5 at TD Garden, leading to a roaring victory. I got it. The C's will carry that momentum to South Beach, where he exorcises his 2023 demons in Game 6 and advances to Round 2.
Round 1 (Scenario #2): 1st place Celtics defeat 8th place Chicago Bulls 4-0.
No surprises here. Strat-o-matic allows the Celtics to attack the Bulls quickly in this scenario.
While Boston decides the outcome of the game with a crushing 44-point loss in Game 1, Games 2 through 4 are actually all decided by single-digit margins — a first-round series between Boston and Brooklyn in 2022. It's the same. But the Celtics' new faces help keep Chicago on the losing side: Holiday had 31 points and nine assists in Game 3, while Kristaps Porzingis scored 35 points in a decisive Game 4, leading to Boston's second half. He stopped the Bulls' counterattack and contributed to the complete victory.
Round 2: 1st place Celtics defeat 4th place Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1
The Cavs defeated the Orlando Magic in the first round, but ran into Boston's buzzsaw in the second round.
The Celtics won Games 1 and 2 at home by a combined 34 points, with Tatum (32 points), Brown (22 points) and Porzingis (22 points) all active in Game 1. Game 3, in which Donovan Mitchell's 43-point outburst helped the Cavs score, was played in Cleveland, but in Game 4, Tatum responded with an overwhelming 49 points on the road, dashing any hopes of a return to Cleveland.
Tatum added 41 more points in Game 5, averaging 33.4 points per game in the series.
East Regional Final: 1st place Celtics defeat 7th place Philadelphia 76ers 4-3
Folks, we have a series.
After defeating the second-seeded New York Knicks and third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, the “underdog” Sixers dominated the Celtics in Game 1, winning two thanks to Joel Embiid's double-double (20 points). They took the series lead with one loss. , 11 rebounds), and Kelly Oubre scored 25 points in Game 3.
However, Tatum rose to the occasion again in Game 4, scoring 43 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in an important road win. From there, the Celtics will rely on home court advantage. Boston won Game 5 at TD Garden with Brown's 38 points, and Tatum (37 points) and Holiday (33 points) stepped up late in Game 7 to defeat Philadelphia for the second time. . Many postseasons.
This sets up a showdown with the defending champion Denver Nuggets, who advanced through the Western Conference as the No. 2 seed in Strat-O-Matic's simulations. Below is an overview of the West bracket and the outcome of the instant classic Celtics vs. Nuggets NBA Finals.
NBA Finals: 1st place Celtics defeat 2nd place Denver Nuggets 4-3
Things look bleak for Boston from the start in this NBA heavyweight battle. Jamal Murray's 33 points led the Nuggets to victory in Game 1, and the West Division champions won both games in Denver to take a commanding lead in the series, 3-1.
However, this year's Celtics team is not to be written off.
The trio of Brown (31 points), Tatum (26 points), and Holiday (26 points) stepped up in Game 5 to prevent elimination, and Tatum turned in an iconic 49-point performance on the road in Game 6. I won.
This set the stage for the greatest Game 7 of all time. The Celtics trailed by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter, then rallied back, but with 35 seconds left, he was still down by two points. On Boston's final possession, Tatum played the hero role, hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 17 seconds left. The Celtics needed just one stop to win 121-120 and claim their 18th championship and first since 2008.
