The Celtics realized that they could not catch up with Milwaukee in the fight for the first line in the Eastern Conference, so they calmed down and advanced to the playoffs from third place. In the first round Boston dealt with Philadelphia in four games. The team acted as a whole and did not leave any chances to the opponent at all, therefore, one might say, it reached the quarterfinals quite easily. Of course, it is worth noting the coaching instinct of Brad Stevens, who was always one step ahead of his opponent, which, in principle, we saw in the last series against Toronto. The reigning NBA champion lost twice in a row and the Celts had an excellent opportunity to put the squeeze on their opponents, but the reptiles went all-in and kept comparing the score. Everything was decided in the seventh match, when Jason Tatum and company played very competently and coped with the Raptors (92-87). That evening the leader of Boston even issued a double-double and, one might say, brought his club to the East Final.
AZ practically imposed the fight for the championship on Ajax last season, but in the end, the Dutch championship was ended ahead of schedule due to the coronavirus. As a result, the farmers remained in the 2-nd position and will now play in the Champions League starting from the 3-rd qualifying round. Remarkably, AZ will play in the Champions League only for the 2-nd time in its history. The last time this happened was in 2009. Then the team did not manage to go beyond the group stage. Last season Arne Slot’s wards played in the Europa League. Starting from the qualifying round. As a result, they reached the group stage, overcame it and made their way to the 1/16 finals, where they lost to LASK. Unlike Dynamo, AZ has not yet started in the championship of its country. This could be bad for the Dutch. Quite possibly, they will have problems with playing conditions. About frames. Jeremy Helmer and Pantelis Hatzidiakos are in the infirmary.
