The Boston Celtics have been gifted an easy group in the NBA Cup. Joe Mazzulla’s team will face the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards in the first round of the tournament, with all the games taking place during the month of December. Given Boston’s talent level and how they dominated the regular season in their last campaign, they should be expected to breeze through their group.
It would appear that Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey would agree with that assessment. He also predicted that Boston would secure the top spot in their NBA Cup group.
“The Boston Celtics are a veteran team that just won the NBA title. Seeing them take it easy during the in-season tournament wouldn’t be all that surprising,” Bailey wrote. “But Boston is also a very real juggernaut with a three-point-heavy attack that can beat anyone, even if one or two Celtics are out. The “well-oiled machine” cliche doesn’t apply to any team quite like it does Boston right now.”
On paper, the Cavaliers will be the Celtics’ biggest test during the group stage.
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Kenny Atkinson’s team faced Boston in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and may feel like they have something to prove when squaring off against the reigning NBA champions. The Bulls and Wizards are both rebuilding teams, but they shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Given Boston’s task of repeating their championship-winning success next season, it will be interesting to see how seriously they take the NBA cup and their participation in it. Nevertheless, if they do want to stake a claim for an in-season title, they’ve been gifted one of the best starts you could ask for.
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