The Boston Celtics Are In NBA Finals Mode

For a team that has won 76 of its 96 games between the regular season and playoffs, the Boston Celtics certainly have their fair share of doubters.

Boston polished off a virtual playoff cakewalk into the NBA Finals on Monday night, beating the Indiana Pacers 105-102 to complete a 4-0 sweep of the Eastern Conference finals.

Based on the opposition the Celtics encountered on the path to the Finals, it would be no surprise if a local junior varsity team was now the only thing standing in between Boston and its 18th title. 

Everything has gone right for the Celtics in the postseason. 

Boston dodged Jimmy Butler in a first-round series against the Miami Heat before facing a Cleveland team that was without Jarrett Allen for the entirety of a five-game set. Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell sat the last two games of that series due to a calf injury.

Then it was Indiana that caught the injury bug, losing Tyrese Haliburton to hamstring soreness for Games 3 and 4 of the East finals.

Now all eyes are on who comes out of the West, with the Dallas Mavericks one win away from a date with Boston that will crown a new champion.

And if it is Dallas that the Celtics draw, does Boston really have what it takes to contain Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and a healthy Mavericks squad after facing makeshift lineups for over a month?

You bet it does.

It really doesn’t matter who the Celtics draw in the Finals. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves could battle back from a 3-0 series deficit. Regardless of the opponent, the title is Boston’s title to lose.

We don’t have to sit here and act like the Celtics just went through hell and back against T.J. McConnell and the power of friendship, but it also wouldn’t be right to say that Boston isn’t battle-tested or hasn’t had to go through postseason adversity.

Did you happen to catch the 7-foot-2 Latvian sitting on the Celtics’ bench over the past 10 games? There’s your adversity right there.

Kristaps Porzingis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks during the regular season, and Boston last got to use his services in Game 4 of the first round against the Heat. Since then, the Celtics have gone 9-1 while Porzingis heals from a calf strain.

Boston rallied from an 18-point, third-quarter deficit to win Game 3 against Indiana, then climbed out of a nine-point hole in the fourth quarter to take Game 4.

There was also Game 1, where the Pacers had the ball with a three-point lead and 8.5 seconds left in regulation. The Celtics ended up winning that one, too.

“This whole team is a team, a team the way the Celtics are supposed to play. They’re true Celtics,” Boston owner Wyc Grousbeck told ESPN during the trophy presentation following Game 4 against the Pacers. “On to the next round.”

Going 64-18 during the regular season didn’t happen by accident. The Celtics have proven that they have no problem taking care of who is in front of them -- healthy or not -- and that won’t change come June.

If Boston really is going to be deemed the underdog, you better get ready for an upset.