Eastern Conference Semifinals: Celtics-76ers Preview

After facing a team (the Atlanta Hawks) that might as well play in Guam with the lack of support they get from the worst sports city in the U.S., it'll be much more of a treat as the Boston Celtics meet the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. These teams last met in the postseason in 2002 (my senior year at good old Beverly High) but before that, they had some great battles in the 1980s with Dr. J taking on Larry Bird.

Yes, the Sixers haven't been good in a while (this is the first time they've reached the second round since 2003) but Philly is unquestionably one of the most passionate and knowledgeable fan bases in the U.S. Plus, with both the Bruins and Flyers out of the NHL playoffs and the Phillies & Red Sox each off to awful starts, expect everybody to jump on their respective bandwagons and focus on this series that will send the winner to a likely date with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Other than it going seven games, things really couldn't have broken better for the Celts with the No. 8 Sixers taking out the top-seeded Bulls in the first round. Thanks to Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah's injuries, Chicago had plenty of heart but not enough reliable players in crunch time. Many will assume that Boston will roll over Philly but I'm here to tell you that the Celtics should win but this series is going to be a grind.

Don't put much stock in regular season results but Philadelphia blew out Boston twice at home while the Celtics smoked the Sixers on Easter Sunday at the Garden.

The C's eliminated the Hawks in six mostly gross games and I expect this to be even more of a defensive battle since both of these squads have lockdown defenses, something that Atlanta didn't possess. From Games 3-6 (no Rose and Noah), the Sixers held the Bulls to 82 points or less. Likewise, the Celtics never allowed more than 87 points to the Hawks in the entire series.

Philadelphia's biggest strengths (depth and youthful energy) will also be their downfalls if they go out in this round. The storyline has been beaten to death but in case you haven't heard it, the Sixers lack a true closer. Andre Iguodala is a nice player, Elton Brand, Lou Williams, Thadeus Young, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes all have their moments but none of them are stars. That means whenever Philly has a close, late-game situation, they don't have one or two guys to go to (what the NBA is all about).

This isn't the best matchup for the Celtics but with home-court advantage and a wealth of playoff experience, they should be able to get by the Sixers. I can see Rajon Rondo having a big series and if Kevin Garnett is anything like he was in Game 6 vs. Atlanta, this could be over quickly (like 5 games). I'm not into predictions but as a Celtics fan, I'm very excited about the possibilities for this team to make a deep run in the 2012 NBA playoffs.

Game 1 is tomorrow night (8 p.m., TNT) at TD Garden, Game 2 is Monday (7 p.m., TNT) at the Garden before it shifts to Philly's Wells Fargo Center for Game 3 on Wednesday (7 p.m., TNT) and Game 4 on Friday (TBA, TNT).

However long this lasts, I know I will enjoy it since I have a bunch of great friends I met in college that hail from the Philadelphia area. Chirping, trolling and trash-talking should be at a fever pitch for the next week to two weeks.

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Celtics-Hawks Begins Tomorrow Night In Atlanta

It seems like it's been weeks since the Boston Celtics fielded a full roster (relatively speaking) and/or played a meaningful game. That will all change tomorrow night (7:00 p.m., CSNE) as they begin their Eastern Conference first round series against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena.

The 2012 NBA playoffs started this afternoon and already, we have what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest storylines of the postseason: Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose tore his ACL so he's done for the spring. That has a direct effect on this series too since the winner of Celtics-Hawks will most likely get the Bulls (who are up 1-0 on the Sixers) in the next round. Suddenly, a team that looked like the class of the Eastern Conference takes a huge step back without the 2010-11 NBA MVP.

Lest Celtics fans start to overlook the Hawks (who have home-court advantage), we only have to look back to four years ago when Atlanta went seven games with Boston in the first round. The C's won that bout and eventually became NBA champions that June but the Hawks are still a tough matchup.

I normally wouldn't reference that long ago but Atlanta's squad is mostly the same; ex-Celtic Joe Johnson is one of the NBA's best shooters and Josh Smith is the ultimate up and down player in the league. The good news for Boston is that Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia are both out for the series which gives the Celtics a big advantage inside (somewhere they don't normally dominate by any means).

The only injury concern for the Celts is Ray Allen's mysterious ankle injury. It scares me because it has seemingly become Kevin Garnett from 2009 or Shaq last season. The team downplays it and makes it seem like Ray could return at any time but until I see him on the court in a game, I won't believe it.

Look for a huge series from Rajon Rondo, there's no chance that Jeff Teague can shut him down for more than a game or two. Likewise, KG should play well against Smith and I expect Paul Pierce to win his matchup with Johnson since he's a better all-around player. The NBA playoffs usually come down to star power and nobody could debate that Boston can trump Atlanta in that category. Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass also give the C's some young energy that will want to prove themselves on the big stage.

Neither team's bench is good by any means but Boston's has started to make much more of an impact late in the regular season (probably because they got big minutes then). Tell me who you would rather have as your top reserves: Greg Stiemsma, Mickael Pietrus and Allen/Marquis Daniels/Sasha Pavlovic or Marvin Williams, Tracy McGrady and Ivan Johnson?

Game 2 is Tuesday (7:30 p.m., CSNE) in Atlanta before the series heads to Boston for Game 3 on Friday (7:30 p.m., CSNE) and Game 4 on Sunday (7:00 p.m., CSNE) at TD Garden.

With the Bruins getting bounced out of the playoffs last week sooner than any of us expected, the Celtics will get much more attention from Boston sports fans and media. This is a team that really played very well in the second half of the regular season and morphed into a darkhorse title contender. Plus, I know I said it last spring but this has to be the last run with the Big 4. Therefore, I don't expect them to go out quietly because they are full of pride and they are winners.

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