Before the NBA’s league-leading Cleveland Cavs face the champion Boston Celtics, Gilbert Arenas revealed who he believes could be the champion’s biggest threat in the playoffs. Since their historic 15-0 start, the Cavs have sat atop the Eastern Conference standings. Ahead of the Celtics all season, Cleveland is assumed by many to be Boston’s top contender, which Arenas was asked, and he named the Milwaukee Bucks.
Arenas doesn’t subscribe to the Cavs being the team with the best odds of beating the Celtics in the playoffs, per ESPN’s First Take.
“No, not at all,” Arenas said. “Very great regular season team this year. Same group of guys, I don’t even think they won a road game.”
He doesn’t envision the Cavs’ regular-season success to translate in the playoffs. When Smith assumed the Knicks were on the tip of Arenas’ tongue, Gilbert surprised him with his Bucks reveal.
“I don’t think they’re ready yet to knock off the Boston Celtics. The only team that’s really built for and has something that Boston will be hurt by if they’re shooting a whole bunch of threes is Giannis [Antetokounmpo],” Arenas said. “The fact is that Giannis plays old-style basketball where he is trying to get to the free-throw line where he’s making layups.
“Boston Celtics go 10-[of]-51 or those 12-[of]-62, that would be devastating for them. So he’s the only one that can capitalize on those bad shooting nights that Boston will have,” Arenas concluded.
The Bucks are 0-3 against the Celtics this season. However, they’ve picked up momentum in the Eastern Conference, winning seven of their last 10 games while trailing the Indiana Pacers by half a game for fifth place. Antetokounmpo produced another strong MVP-caliber season, averaging 30.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game.
If the two teams were to meet again, it would have to be in the playoffs, as the defending champion Celtics will chase to become the NBA’s first back-to-back champions since the 2018 Golden State Warriors.
Kristaps Porzingis added to the Celtics’ injury report vs Cavs
As the Cavs will look to even their season series, 2-2, against the champions, with a relatively healthy roster, Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis is ruled questionable for Friday’s matchup. Porzingis, who played a major role in the Celtics’ win against the Cavs on February 4, is listed with a non-COVID illness.
Porzingis finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in a 112-105 win at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The Celtics will host the Cavs at TD Garden on Friday.
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