The NBA playoffs are here, and the Boston Celtics enter as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. As the No. 2 seed, they carry the weight of expectation and the second-best championship odds in the league. With their first-round series set to tip off at TD Garden, the conversation is already shifting to their potential path through a loaded East.

Adding fuel to that fire, sports media personality Colin Cowherd recently made a pair of bold predictions for the Celtics' 2026 playoff run on his show, "The Herd." Despite a regular-season record that suggests otherwise, Cowherd is backing Boston to overcome a significant hurdle: the New York Knicks.

He specifically forecasts a Celtics victory over the Knicks in a potential Eastern Conference Semifinals rematch, pointing to a critical matchup edge. "The other thing is they don't defend threes," Cowherd said of New York. "The Celtics are great offensively, and they shoot a lot of threes and hit a lot." The stats back him up; Boston finished the season ranked third in threes made and eighth in three-point percentage, a potent formula for postseason success.

But Cowherd didn't stop there. His second prediction sees the Celtics advancing past all Eastern challengers—mentioning the Pistons, Knicks, and Cavaliers by name—to reach the NBA Finals for the third time in five years. "I think the Celtics are gonna get into the Finals," he stated, aligning with the current betting markets that favor Boston's deep roster and championship pedigree.

As the playoffs begin, the Celtics' quest is clear: validate their status as favorites and turn these bold predictions into reality, one series at a time.