It's far from a foregone conclusion that the Boston Celtics will make a second consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals.
They still have a pretty good shot of getting there, though. But if the Celtics wind up on that elevated stage again, it certainly wouldn't be a cakewalk.
The West is more wide open than in recent years, but there's one team in particular that poses a significant challenge to Boston if it met the Celtics in the Finals. The second the Phoenix Suns landed Kevin Durant in a blockbuster deal ahead of the NBA trade deadline, they immediately became the biggest threat to the Celtics from the Western Conference.
Not many teams can boast the level of talent the Suns now possess with the foursome of Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton. Not to mention Phoenix also has a solid supporting cast with Cameron Payne, Terrence Ross and T.J. Warren coming off the bench.
But acquiring Durant could be the missing piece to a Suns squad that made it to the NBA Finals two seasons ago. He sure looks it so far despite missing 12 games. Since joining Phoenix, the Suns have yet to lose a game in which Durant plays, including two wins over the top-seeded Denver Nuggets.
It's not a surprise that Durant is a complete difference-maker and this could be one of his best shots to capture another ring with the 34-year-old being on the back nine of his career. That could serve as plenty of motivation -- the same for Paul -- for the two-time NBA champ, who averaged 29.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game this season.
Putting Durant alongside a phenomenal scorer in Booker (27.8 ppg) gives the Suns a one-two punch that can match Boston's star-studded duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. That alone should have the Celtics hoping they avoid the Suns in a possible Finals matchup.
The two sides split the regular-season series with the Celtics notching an impressive blowout win in Phoenix. The Suns exacted revenge, though, in early February, coming into Boston and earning a double-digit win without Booker available. Both of those matchups came with Durant still in Brooklyn.
The Celtics have gotten the better of Durant during his tenure with the Nets, including last year's sweep in the first round of the playoffs. But with a much different, and better, supporting cast around him in Phoenix, the Celtics might not be able to keep Durant down again.
The Celtics should hope to have to not find that out in June.
