Key Injury Update Might’ve Sealed Celtics’ First-Round Opponent

Via Wednesday night’s results, the Celtics now know they will play either the Heat or the Bulls in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.

But when you take a Thursday morning report from The Atheltic’s Shams Charania into consideration, basketball fans and media members alike might be compelled to pencil Chicago into their postseason brackets.

The Heat lost their Play-In Tournament game against the 76ers in Philadelphia, which means Miami will need to beat Chicago on Friday night to secure the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed. But the reigning East champions will try to prevail on their home court without superstar Jimmy Butler, who reportedly will be sidelined for “multiple weeks” due to an MCL injury.

Butler sustained the injury late in the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. The six-time All-Star stayed in the game, played a total of 40 minutes and expressed hope he would wake up Thursday morning with a stronger feeling in his knee. But testing on the injury evidently revealed information that could lead to the end of the Heat’s season.

Boston would be significantly favored over both Chicago and Miami, but it would undoubtedly have a less challenging series against the Bulls. After all, it was Butler and the eighth-seeded Heat who prevented the Celtics from securing a second straight NBA Finals appearance last season.

Miami shouldn’t be counted out, as it still will fight for its playoff life with Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and top-five coach Erik Spoelstra. But one can probably assume who the Celtics would like to see roll into TD Garden on Sunday afternoon.