NBA Playoffs: Kyrie Ready For Bucks Or Pistons, Celtics Demolish Pacers 4-0

The Boston Celtics became the first team to book a place in the NBA playoffs semifinals, after beating the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Kyrie Irving is already looking forward to the next round and believes regular season results play no role when it comes to beating a team over a seven-game series.

Brad Stevens’ team struggled in the regular season and managed just a fourth place finish in the Eastern Conference with a 49-33 record. But it looked like a finals contender as it dispatched of the Pacers without too much hassle, despite all four games being relatively close.

In the second round of the playoffs, Celtics will most likely face Milwaukee Bucks which is leading 3-0 against the Detroit Pistons. Giannis Antetokounmpo and company have made light work of Detroit thus far, and are looking at a 4-0 sweep when they play the next game Monday night.

Irving was waiting for the playoffs to get underway when the regular season was still not close to the end, admitting that it was easier to prepare for one team rather than prepare on a nightly basis for different teams. He was certain the Celtics would now be able to focus on either the Bucks or Pistons, especially since they have played against both those teams numerous times during the regular season.

“We have played against Detroit, Milwaukee pretty often throughout the regular season, up and down with those guys," Irving said, as quoted on MassLive. "But now you get a chance to prepare. Now everyone knows each other’s plays and now it’s just about playing a great brand of basketball.”

The Bucks will pose a massive threat in the second round of the playoffs for Celtics. Not only are they the team with the best regular season record in the NBA this campaign, they possess MVP and defensive player of the year candidate Antetokounmpo.

Irving, however, is not worried about regular season records as he believes the reset button has been hit. The point guard believes that it all comes down to which team performs better over seven games.

“Honestly, I’m not really paying attention to who is the top team in the conference during the regular season,” Irving added. “Those wins are racked up already. Those are pretty set. I think at this point it’s about who can beat a team in a seven-game series? It’s just a reset button. We know what to expect.”

Mike Budenhilzer’s team have made light work of the Pistons in the first three games of the seven game series. The 16-point deficit in Game 3 was the closest the Pistons could get to the Bucks, suggesting the latter will wrap up the series Monday night.