Owners of the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics begin their playoff slate on Easter Sunday against the Chicago Bulls. Boston overcame a late-season deficit to grab the No. 1 seed from the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
Even then, it appears that Cleveland is seen as the favorites to come out of the east for the third consecutive year.
This isn’t necessarily sitting well with MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics.
“I watch TV, so I see all the B.S. that they talk, and they’re counting us out already,” Thomas said, via ESPN.com. “I’m used to it, I guess. It’s just crazy.”
To be fair, LeBron James and Co. boast the postseason pedigree that Boston couldn’t scarcely imagine. And despite their struggles since the start of March (10-14 record), the Cavaliers did hand Boston a 23-point home loss earlier this month.
Heck, it’s not just the pundits that are discounting what Boston did during the regular season.
“I don’t think we’re as good as Cleveland,” Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck said earlier in the week, via WEEI.com. “If we got a chance to play them in the postseason, I’d love to see it, but I’m not sure how it would turn out.”
Even with all the background noise, nothing outside of how the Celtics perform on the court really matters here. Pundits can have their opinions. Thomas can take issues with said opinions. The team’s co-owner can show a lack of respect for his roster. None of that matters. If Boston comes out of the east, this will all be mute.