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"FacebookPinterest\n\nTHE BOSTON CELTICS\n\nSTRENGTHS: When they're good, the Celtics can hang with any team in the NBA. They're still committed to playing elite defense (or trying to), they're finally healthy for the first time all year, and they've shown glimpses of championship basketball recently. On any given night, one of the Big Three can channel their younger selves and take over a game. Rajon Rondo does something every game that makes your jaw drop, and has become a respectable offensive option despite poor outside shooting. He makes the team go, and coach Doc Rivers can rarely afford to have him on the bench. GM Danny Ainge couldn't quite strike the home run deadline deal he was looking for, but he still found ways to improve the team. Nate Robinson and Michael Finley have solidified a bench that struggled to score throughout the season, while Glen \"don't call me Big Baby\" Davis is inching closer to 2009 playoff form. The major components of the championship team are still here, and the Celtics will do everything they can to get back to the Finals.\n\nWEAKNESSES: The Celtics are the anti-Thunder. Too often this season they have looked old, sluggish and unathletic\u2014especially on defense. They've had many come from ahead losses this season, playing inspired basketball for a half before wilting down the stretch. The team's strong road record rings hollow in the face of 14 home losses (they only had six in each of the last two seasons), including one to the historically awful Nets. The next clutch three pointer that Rasheed Wallace makes will be the first; he's shooting 28% from outside on the year. Between Wallace, a physically limited KG, a solid but unspectacular Perkins, and a hard-working but undersized Davis, the Celtics don't rebound or defend the post well enough. This season, the Big Three have become easier to defend and Rondo can be stopped if he's forced to shoot jumpers all night. They have as much upside as any team, but a lot has to go right for the Celtics to win another title.\n\nX-FACTOR: Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. Each one of the Big Three has spent parts of this season injured or ineffective. KG isn't the defensive monster he used to be, Allen is finding it harder and harder to get open, and Pierce is no guarantee to stay healthy during a potential run. That said, how many playoff teams have a trio of future Hall of Famers on their roster? As long as these three have anything left in the tank, the Celtics will be hard to beat.\n\nFEARLESS PREDICTION: As a wise man once said, \"ANYTHING IS POSSIBLLLLLLLLLLE.\" And we guess that means anything. A first round exit or a run to the Finals are not out of the question. If they can avoid Milwaukee, they'll find themselves in the second round. Based on the regular season, the Celtics don't have enough complete 48-minute games in them to make it any farther than that.\n\n \u2014Nick Ingalls\n\nCheck out our previous playoff previews:\n\n Milwaukee Bucks\n\n Oklahoma City Thunder"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/the-nba-playoffs-the-easts-first-contender>