Here’s Who Celtics Could Play In First Round Of NBA Playoffs

The NBA playoffs are finally up next for the Boston Celtics after they closed out their regular season with a 132-122 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

The only thing missing as the Celtics get set to embark on their postseason journey? A first-round opponent.

While the Eastern Conference playoff field is set, the Celtics don't know exactly who they will face to open the playoffs yet. Boston has to wait and see how the play-in tournament shakes out first before their playoff matchup is cemented.

But the Celtics at least know their first-round opponent is down to four teams: the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks.

The 76ers and Heat square off Wednesday with the No. 7 seed on the line and the right to play the second-seeded New York Knicks. The loser of that contest will then face the winner of the Bulls-Hawks game on Friday. The winner of that matchup will then head to Boston for Game 1 of the playoffs on Sunday.

The Celtics, who finished the regular season with an NBA-best 64-18 record, have recent playoff history with both the 76ers and the Heat. Boston defeated Philadelphia in seven games in the conference semifinals last year and the Celtics and Heat have faced off in the East finals three out of the last four seasons. Boston and Miami have a very memorable series in 2023 with the Celtics overcoming a 3-0 series deficit only to lose on their home floor in Game 7.

Even though the 76ers and Heat would present the toughest first-round challenge to the Celtics, Boston did go a combined 6-1 against those two rivals in the regular season. The Celtics had similar success against the Hawks and Bulls, posting a 5-2 record with both of those defeats coming late in the season to Atlanta.

Regardless of who the Celtics end up facing, they will be viewed as the heavy favorite as they try to get back to the NBA Finals.