Udonis Haslem on Celtics: ‘They haven’t been battle tested’ yet in 2024 playoffs

Udonis Haslem on Celtics: ‘They haven’t been battle tested’ yet in 2024 playoffs

The top-seeded Boston Celtics, one of the NBA’s most dominant regular season teams in recent memory, are on the verge of eliminating the No. 4-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday evening.

They breezed through the Miami Heat–albeit without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier–in five games in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs and could do the same to Cleveland inside TD Garden in a matter of hours.

Former Heat forward Udonis Haslem–a 20-year veteran and three-time champion–believes Boston is handling business, but has claimed that they haven’t been battle-tested yet while making the argument that it may not be good for the championship hopes.

“You have to play at a championship level,” he said Tuesday on ESPN’s NBA Today. “No matter who’s in front of you, you got to understand that you set the standard every night. Boston, nobody’s going to beat them right now–but they haven’t been battle-tested. I don’t know if that’s a good thing to get tested in the (NBA) Finals.

“I don’t know if you want to be battle-tested (first) by Denver or Minnesota or one of those teams. That may be too late to get battle-tested.

The playoffs have a way of revealing what’s inside you. You cannot hide in the playoffs. Whatever’s inside you and whatever habits you have, they will reveal themselves in the playoffs. [Boston] just hasn’t been pushed to that point yet.”

ESPN NBA analyst and 11-year veteran Austin Rivers echoed the same sentiment.

“We saw it first with Denver,” Rivers said. “They had their way versus the Lakers, but we could see they weren’t playing their best basketball and, each game, they were down in that series. They were the better team, so they figured out a way to win.

“They go into that Minnesota series, and it took a (baseball) bat. They lost the first two at home. You could see [in Games 3 and 4] that [Nikola Jokic] and these guys played their best basketball. They had to turn that switch on. Right now, Boston has not turned that switch on.”

"They haven't been battle tested. … I don't know if you want to be battle tested in the finals." 🤔 @ThisIsUD on the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/18YncoGDz1

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 14, 2024

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Boston sputtered in both Game 2s of the first- and second-round, but outside of that, they have taken care of business pretty seamlessly.

In their seven wins, they have outscored Miami and Cleveland by a combined 21.1 points per 100 possessions. Not all of them have come smoothly, but in Boston’s defense, all you need to do is find a way to get four wins against the teams in front of you.

The Cavaliers, who have been without starting center Jarrett Allen for the entirety of the series, are also expected to be without star guard Donovan Mitchell for the second straight game due to a calf strain. Boston will also be without Kristaps Porzingis–one of their most important players–for the sixth consecutive game Wednesday, also due to a calf strain.

The playoffs aren’t just about who has the best team, but the team who’s the healthiest. The New York Knicks–who are up 3-2 against the Indiana Pacers–give Boston the best chance in the Eastern Conference. Though they are also down multiple rotation players, namely Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, who underwent his second ankle surgery this season this week.

Boston has a clear path to the NBA Finals and should make it, barring a collapse. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been through myriad battles together, and all it can do is play the teams in front of them. But the Nuggets are a machine and have already shown how to overcome adversity. Boston hasn’t.

Is Udonis Haslem right? Let us know in the comments!

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