The Heat are the perfect 1st round series for the Celtics

The ideal Boston Celtics first round playoff opponent possesses two characteristics.

Firstly, they must not be a legitimate threat to the Celtics’ pathway to the Finals. Pretty obvious, right? You don’t want to play a team that can beat you in the first round, or in any round for that matter (but especially the first round, and especially when you’re the one seed). The Sixers wouldn’t have satisfied this criterion; with Joel Embiid back and a thriving supporting cast, they’re probably the Celtics’ most dangerous foe in the Eastern Conference and would’ve absolutely had a chance at knocking Boston out.

The healthy, Jimmy Butler-led Miami Heat also would’ve been a threat to the C’s championship aspirations. No matter what kind of regular season they’ve had, Jimmy Butler would have kicked it up several notches and elevated himself to an elite NBA leader, and the rest of the role-player-filled roster would’ve channeled their inner Caleb Martin. Oh, and they also have the best coach in basketball. Maybe it’s my PTSD talking, but It’s the Heat. I shouldn’t need to say much more.

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The second criterion is a bit more nuanced. In my view, the importance of playing a first round opponent who will force you to lock in on both ends of the floor and focus cannot be understated, especially when you’ve been as dominant as the Celtics have this year. The first round can’t just be a walk through, because then Boston isn’t adequately prepared for the rest of the agonizing journey. They need a tune-up. They need a team that’ll force them to think, react and adjust. A team that’ll force them to play hard.

The other two teams the Celtics could have faced – the Hawks or the Bulls – wouldn’t have satisfied this criterion. The Hawks are one big traffic cone on defense and don’t require the offense to do anything other than attack their 164-pound point guard, Trae Young. And the Bulls are just so, so average. They don’t have close to enough offensive firepower to keep up with Boston, and they’ll begin to fold as soon the Celtics have their first 7-10 three-point shooting quarter (which would probably happen in the first quarter of Game 1 given the Bulls porous defense).

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But, you know the one team that satisfies both criteria? The Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat.

The Heat can’t beat this iteration of the Celtics without Jimmy Butler. Nobody respects Erik Spoelstra’s ability to miraculously craft up a winning game plan – despite the lack of talent that he may have on his roster – more than me. But this talent gap is just too severe to compensate for with janky zones and hustle plays. Miami doesn’t have the necessary offensive creation to create consistently open shots against Boston on that end of the floor, and they don’t have the shooters to make a high enough volume of contested threes. Defensively, they have multiple players who will be attacked relentlessly in isolation and pick-and-roll.

Despite their talent gap, though, the Heat will make this series far from a cakewalk. It doesn’t even compute in my brain how a Spoelstra-led team could be an easy out. They’re too disciplined, too unselfish, and too hard working to be such a thing. And that is precisely why they’re the perfect first round matchup for Boston. While not being a legitimate threat to the Celtics’ championship hopes, they will push them to the brink with adjustments, genius tactics, and never-ending effort. And, if they get as lucky as they did last year and wildly outshoot their projected percentages, they may even take a couple games in this series. I wouldn’t put it past them. Regardless of the outcome of the series, Boston will come out of it far more prepared to make a successful championship run.