The Boston Celtics did a good job of avoiding the upset and getting past the Miami Heat in the first round. The Heat made things interesting early as they stole game two on the road, but the Celtics won the next three games to win the series in five. Now, they are headed to the next round to take on either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Orlando Magic. One issue for Boston moving forward, however, is that Kristaps Porzingis is currently batting an injury.

Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with a calf strain right now and he is expected to miss several games as he needs to get healthy again. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, two former Celtics, discussed the injury on their podcast, Ticket & The Truth, and Garnett thinks that Boston could be in trouble without Porzingis.

“Porzingis is a big part of why we view the Celtics as damn near unstoppable or we got them on this higher tier just because of what he brings,” Garnett said on the podcast. “I think that if he’s not indefinitely out, I think that the Celtics are good enough to still keep going. … The Celtics are not the same team without him.”

Getting past the Heat, the eight seed, is one thing, but the road is going to get a lot more difficult now that they are into the next round. No matter who they play next, the Cavaliers or the Magic, is going to put up a good fight. Both of those teams have a lot of talent and can hang with a shorthanded Celtics team. Once they get into the conference finals, if they can get past the second round, things will get even tougher.

“I think they can … maybe … get through round two,” Paul Pierce said. “But once you start getting to the Conference Finals, it’s a different ball game. You need him.”

Potential path to the finals for Celtics without Kristaps Porzingis

The Celtics were far and away the best team in the NBA during the regular season record-wise, but with Porzingis out, they could be in the trouble. Boston has been known for their playoff shortcomings in recent years, and it’s going to be much more difficult to put an end to that trend because of this injury. Something always seems to go wrong in the postseason for this team, and this injury to Porzingis could be the thing that plagues them this season.

Boston will take on either the Cavaliers or the Magic in the second round, and the books are expecting it to be the Cavaliers and they are favored by 3.5 points. Game seven of that series will take place on Sunday at 1:00 ET.

If the Celtics get past that series, they would take on either the New York Knicks or the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals. A healthy Boston team shouldn’t have much trouble getting to the finals going up against any of these remaining teams, but it’s a different ballgame without Kristaps Porzingis. It’s all going to come down to how long he is out and if he’s really playing at 100% when he does return.