Why the Boston Celtics Have No Chance at a Repeat

Last year the Boston Celtics ended the '07-'08 season with the best record in the NBA, going 66-16. They went on to face the Atlanta Hawks in an intense first round of the playoffs, but ended the seven game series victorious.

The Celtics moved on to the Cleveland Cavaliers (in another seven game series) and then the Detroit Pistons in which they won both matchups.

Boston ended up facing the Los Angeles Lakers (without Andrew Bynum) in the NBA Finals and became the '07-'08 champions in six games.

Now that everybody is caught up from last year’s NBA season, I have one question regarding the Celtics and their chances of a repeat this season.

The Big Three are certainly aging. If they were to win the championship this season, would they be able to play another 26 postseason games like last year?

The answer to that question is a big fat NO. The Celtics would never be able to play another 26 postseason games this year because they will not even make it that far.

The main reason the Celtics are not the best team in their conference this season is because many teams in the East improved upon their record from last season (see: Cavaliers, Magic, Heat, Hawks).

If it took seven games for the Celtics to beat the eighth seed Hawks, fourth seed Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles Lakers (in six, without Bynum) last year, there is no way  they could beat them again this season.

Schedule

Being just one game ahead of the Orlando Magic, the Celtic’s face a threat of dropping down to the three seed in the Eastern Conference.

When comparing the Boston Celtics' remaining schedule to that of the Orlando Magic’s, one would see the Magic obviously have it easier—facing seven of their last 13 games against teams under .500 (playing the New York Knicks twice and the Celtics and Cavaliers both at home).

The Celtics face five out of their last 11 games against teams under .500, but have away matchups against the Magic and Cavaliers.

Injuries

After missing 13 straight games with a posterior strain in his right knee, Kevin Garnett finally returned to the court in an attempt to improve the Boston Celtics' record.

Head coach Doc Rivers has been wise with the veteran, letting him play limited minutes in his first two games back (15 his first game back, 17 in the second).

Although it now seems as if the injury is long gone and Garnett is ready to put up starters minutes once again, fans around the world must understand that injuries that sit players out for a month—especially to an aging player like Garnett—can linger on and really affect their play.

If it were up to KG, he would have been on the floor the very next day after getting injured. He is the type of player that wants to be out there on the court contributing to his team’s success rather than sitting on the sidelines in a G’d out suit with blinged out earrings the size of a normal person’s ear.

Since Garnett is said to be back to full strength and ready to put up his normal averages, something in my gut tells me that he is not 100 percent and that he just wants to go out and win games, totally disregarding the repercussions.

If—and only if—Garnett were to reinjure his right knee, would the entire Celtics organization regret ever placing their Hall of Famer back into the lineup this early? The Celtics have already clinched the Atlantic Division. Why bring Garnett back slowly when he could just rest his knee until the end of the season?

Beside from Garnett, power forward Leon Powe (who excelled while replacing KG in the starting lineup) has now missed his last three games after spraining his right knee. Powe is not expected to return back to action until late March.

Playoffs

Assuming the Celtics drop to the No. 3 seed and the Magic capture the No. 2 seed, I have determined the Eastern Conference playoff matchups:

First Round

No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 8 seed Chicago Bulls

No. 2 seed Orlando Magic vs. No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers

No. 3 seed Boston Celtics vs. No. 6 seed Detroit Pistons

No. 4 seed Atlanta Hawks vs. No. 5 seed Miami Heat

Second Round

No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 seed Miami Heat

No. 2 seed Orlando Magic vs. No. 3 seed Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics would be up against an extremely aggressive team in the Detroit Pistons during the first round. The Pistons are known to be very tough in the playoffs and would definitely bang up the Celtics players a bit.

Regardless of the scenario, the Celtics would capture four wins before the Pistons even make it to two.

In the second round of the playoffs, Boston would match up against the Orlando Magic. The Magic have a 100 percent healthy roster with the recent addition of point guard Rafer Alston.

I see the Magic taking the series in six or seven games, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Even if my playoff predictions are slightly off point, there is no way the Celtics can possibly beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals (if they even get to there). 

Watch the Boston Celtics take on the Orlando Magic Wednesday night on ESPN in a fight for the second seed!