If Game 1 was any indication, the Boston Celtics should have no real trouble dispatching the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
And with the Hawks expected to provide limited resistance to the Celtics, Boston may want to sneak a peak or two over at the series between the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and No. 8 seeded Miami Heat after how Game 1 of that matchup played out Sunday.
Not only did the Heat pull off an upset win at Fiserv Forum, but the Bucks were also dealt a major blow when superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a back injury in the first quarter when he collided with Heat forward Kevin Love on a drive to the basket. Antetokounmpo ended up leaving the game and did not return.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer didn't exactly give an optimistic update on Antetokounmpo following the loss as Milwaukee is in wait-and-see mode when it comes to their seven-time All-Star, just like the rest of the playoff teams.
Any injury that keeps Antetokounmpo sidelined, especially if it's long-term, would be catastrophic to the Bucks but could also mean an easier path to the NBA Finals for the Celtics, who ran out of gas when it got to that stage last season. The Bucks were thought to be Boston's chief competitors in the East, but without Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee might not even get out of the first round. If that happens, it would then hand home-court advantage throughout the entire playoffs over to the Celtics.
Those are major ramifications, leaving the Celtics and other teams in the East in search of any morsel of injury news on Antetokounmpo.
But even if Antetokounmpo can shrug off the injury and return, the series against the Heat just got a lot tougher. Led by the killer instinct of Jimmy Butler, Miami can sense some vulnerability from the Bucks with their superstar getting hurt. And if Milwaukee can overcome a 1-0 series deficit with or without Antetokounmpo, it won't come easy with a veteran-laden Heat squad that will scratch and claw and make the Bucks expend way more energy than they went to in the first round of the playoffs.
The Celtics have to be thankful they avoided a matchup with the Heat and got to face the Hawks, who don't have the same level of grit and fight that Miami can bring to the court.
As of now, the NBA playoffs have brought nothing but good news to the Celtics and they'll certainly take it on their quest for Banner 18.
