The Boston Celtics‘ opponent in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs has become a bit clearer as the 2022-23 regular season nears its end. The Celtics, who currently hold the second seed in the Eastern Conference standings at the time of this writing, will be facing either the Miami Heat or the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.
Miami and Atlanta will play each other in the seventh seed vs. eighth seed play-in game this coming Tuesday, with the winner of the matchup locked in to take on Boston in round one of the postseason.
While the Hawks seem like a much easier matchup for the Celtics, a possible series against the Heat feels like poetic justice given their recent playoff history with each other.
The end of the 2022-23 NBA season is nearly upon us, with only a few loose ends to tie up in terms of seeding, https://t.co/pIcCBIHs2C
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 8, 2023
No matter who the Celtics face, coach Joe Mazzulla wants to be in rhythm heading into the playoffs. “I mean, regardless of who’s playing, I want to win,” Mazzulla said Friday night via MassLive’s Brian Robb.
“And, to me, it’s more of a compliment to our team as a whole. And so, to me, regardless of who’s playing, because of our locker room and our roster, I feel like we always have a great chance to win. So when I say I want to win that means I have faith in whoever we have on the team and on the court. And so that’s the most important thing. That to me is the goal is to win. I understand that this time of the year of rest and health is important. So I’m not going to compromise that. But at the same time I want to win and we’ll do what we have to do to do that, while understanding health and rest are important.”
The Celtics split their season series with the Heat, with each team winning a game on the other’s home court. They are also currently 2-0 against the Hawks this season.
Ironically, the Celtics end the regular season Sunday against the Hawks, before the play-in tournament takes place.
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