Boston Celtics 2025 NBA Playoffs Picture: Dissecting potential first-round matchups, key stats and more
The Boston Celtics have been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference during their title defense season, and will comfortably make the playoffs as the second seed behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. The reigning champs have taken a more casual approach to the season, but boast one of the best starting lineups the NBA has to offer heading into the postseason.
The 2024 NBA champions are one of only two teams to rank within the top five in both points scored and points allowed per game, joining the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. Boston saw both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown head to another All-Star game this season, but they very nearly had three representatives in the game, with guard Derrick White just missing out.
Despite some lulls in their season, the Celtics still have the third-best point differential in the NBA at +8.9 points per contest, showing that they can still handle their business against any opponent. Jayson Tatum and Co. have won 15 of their last 17 games and aren't expected to lose for the rest of the regular season.
While head coach Joe Mazzulla has admitted that the team has coasted through some parts of the season, he is expected to have them ready to defend their title in the playoffs.
Defining Statistic: Three-point volume
Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics leaned heavily into the three-point shot as well as their defense last season on their way to the 2024 championship, leading the league in three-point attempts per game with 48.7 a night. Boston has maintained their commitment to the deep ball, shooting 48.3 three pointers per game.
Relying so heavily on three-point shooting every night has cost the Celtics some games this season, but when their shooters have been hot, they have gone on some of the best scoring runs of the season. On a team on which all of their regular rotation players shoot better than 34% from deep, those runs have happened often throughout the season.
While their commitment to shooting so many threes has them playing a dangerous game on offense, the Celtics have figured out a way around their bad shooting nights; offensive rebounding. Boston ranks sixth amongst teams in the playoff or play-in tournament picture in offensive rebounds per game.
Joe Mazzulla's strategy of having his guards crash the glass from the corners helped the Celtics cruise through the playoffs last year. While their opponents will be ready for that, no team has found a way to consistently slow down Boston's offense outside of a bad shooting night. The Celtics are 12-5 against the other top six teams in the Eastern Conference.
Playoff X-Factor: Kristaps Porzingis
In last year's run to the title, the Boston Celtics cruised through the postseason, with no team capable of really giving them a run for their money in a series. Boston did all that without Kristaps Porzingis on the floor, and he played a major role in their dominance over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 Finals.
The Eastern Conference projects to be much more difficult this year, though, with the Celtics having to potentially face the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers in back-to-back rounds of the playoffs. They'll need their rotation at full health if they want to win each of those series, and Porzingis provides them with an advantage against each opponent.
Porzingis doesn't have to handle as big of an offensive load as he has had to earlier in his career, but he can still score at the highest level if he is in a rhythm. At 7-foot-2, there are only three players in the Eastern Conference who have the length and the defensive ability to match up with the Latvian big man; Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Cleveland's Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
Potential first-round matchups for the Boston Celtics
As the number two seed in the Eastern Conference, Boston will await the winner of the 7-8 game of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, which would be between the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic if the standings hold as they are.
Only two and a half games separate the Hawks from the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, but the matchups in the play-in tournament have all but been decided with six or fewer games left in the season for each team. Both the Hawks and Magic present unique challenges for Boston in a first round series, though.
The Atlanta Hawks are one of only a few teams to have won their season series against Boston this season. Trae Young and Co. have playoff experience against Boston, having faced off with them two seasons ago in a first round series that went to six games. The Hawks' offense, when firing on all cylinders, is one of a few that can keep up with the Celtics if the game becomes a track meet.
The Orlando Magic, on the other hand, want the game to go the exact opposite. Orlando, who has the chance to win their season series against Boston at home on April 9th, is built on the defensive end of the floor, where they have consistently been one of the league's best over the last few seasons. That, combined with the star power of Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, could trouble the Celtics.
Regardless of who they face in the first round, the Celtics will be heavily favored to make a deep playoff run and represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. However, this year's playoff gauntlet is significantly more arduous, making a back-to-back title run a real challenge for the defending champs.