{"id":118149,"date":"2024-04-27T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.celticsblog.com\/2024\/4\/27\/24142086\/first-round-challenges-boston-celtics-tradition-miami-heat-atlanta-hawks-brooklyn-nets"},"modified":"2024-04-27T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T15:00:00","slug":"first-round-challenges-are-a-boston-celtics-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/27\/first-round-challenges-are-a-boston-celtics-tradition\/","title":{"rendered":"First round challenges are a Boston Celtics tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \"NBA:
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is April 24, 2024. The Boston Celtics have suffered an upset loss in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. It is April 21, 2023, the Boston Celtics\u2014<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve watched the Boston Celtics<\/a> any time in recent memory, you likely walked away from their Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat with a feeling of deja vu. Indeed, on multiple levels, the surprise loss at TD Garden feels very akin to what we\u2019ve grown familiar with from the Celtics\u2019 recent performance in the postseason. Though they\u2019ve consistently managed to position themselves as a high seed in the Eastern Conference, it\u2019s rare that they\u2019ve been able to breeze through the first round the way you might expect them to.<\/p>\n

The fact that this series feels more uncertain than logic suggests it should, then, is honestly something of a tradition. Let\u2019s take a stroll down memory lane and revisit some of the challenges the team has faced in the past couple of decades, and see if there are any lessons we can take from them.<\/p>\n

\n \"Boston
\n Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images<\/cite>
\n <\/figure>\n

Our journey starts just last season, in a first round series against the Atlanta Hawks<\/a>. Facing a Hawks team renowned for its mediocrity \u2014 quite literally hanging at or around .500 for the bulk of its season \u2014 the Celtics dropped two games on the way to a six-game series win. Pulling the strings was Atlanta star Trae Young, who feels like he was designed in a lab to make his way into an article like this, as a microwave scoring guard and playoff provocateur. In retrospect, this never really felt like a series the Celtics were ever in real danger of losing, but Young and the Hawks have a way of working themselves into your head nonetheless.<\/p>\n

\n \"Milwaukee
\n Photo by Maddie Meyer\/Getty Images<\/cite>
\n <\/figure>\n

The 2017-18 season brought us another doozy, as the second-seeded Celtics went seven games against the seven-seed Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>, but this one is a little easier to forgive. The Bucks weren\u2019t quite what they are now; Giannis Antetokounmpo had yet to win his first MVP award and co-star Khris Middleton had yet to make his first All-Star Game, while Boston lacked the services of their would-be top options in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. The Celtics that remained were more akin in talent to the Bucks than their records suggested, and the result was a spirited and engaging back-and-forth series that either team had the potential to win. Boston had home-court advantage, however, and that proved to be the deciding factor as neither team claimed a win on the road.<\/p>\n

Even their first round sweeps haven\u2019t come easily. Both the 2018-19 win over Indiana and the 2021-22 win over Brooklyn came harder than the final record would suggest. Both series saw single-digit margins of victory in each win, with the Pacers\u2019 defense causing issues for the Irving-led Boston offense (84-74 final score in Game 1) and the Nets\u2019 star power providing a formidable hurdle for Boston to overcome. The Celtics swept Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Nets, yes, but they had to work hard for it \u2014 including a thrilling Game 1 that ended on a buzzer-beating Tatum layup. The Nets earn an additional mention here for their 2020-21 gentleman\u2019s sweep over Boston, though that series comes with the obvious caveat of Jaylen Brown\u2019s season-ending wrist injury.<\/p>\n

\n