The Boston Celtics recently completed a 61-win regular season with a home victory over the Charlotte Hornets. The Celtics finished number two in the Eastern Conference behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they will now await their opponent in the first round of the playoffs.

The one downside of being a top two seed in one's conference is that those teams have to wait a bit longer to know who their first round opponent will be, as the Celtics will take on the winner of Tuesday night's play-in game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic.

Still, that hasn't stopped Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla from getting prepared for either scenario.

“Joe Mazzulla says there are a group of coaches on the staff that were assigned to the Magic this season and a group that were assigned to the Hawks,” reported Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog on X, formerly Twitter.

It's been evident for quite some time that the Hawks and Magic were destined to meet in the seven vs eight play-in game in the East, giving Mazzulla and his staff plenty of time to be ready for either opponent.

The Celtics knocked off the Hawks in the 2023 playoffs in six games.

A big postseason for Boston

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The Celtics' stranglehold on the Eastern Conference doesn't feel quite as strong presently as it did at this time a year ago, when Boston stormed through the Eastern Conference playoffs, losing just two games in the first three rounds combined.

Still, the Celtics are the favorites to once again represent the East in the NBA Finals beginning in June, running back the same starting five (including a seemingly healthy Kristaps Porzingis) that won them the championship last year.

The Cavaliers are in most people's eyes the only team with a legitimate chance to compete with the Celtics in the playoffs, but Boston has learned from past postseasons not to take any opponent lightly.

The Celtics will begin their playoff run on Sunday against either the Magic or Hawks.