John Hollinger, The Athletic's senior NBA analyst and the former vice-president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies, said Wednesday on TSN's Toronto 1050 radio that he thinks a potential second-round matchup between the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics would be the best series of the NBA postseason.

"Conference semis, you're looking at a 2 vs. 3 series against Boston that, for my money, would probably be the best series of the playoffs," Hollinger said. "I just think that is a fascinating matchup on so many levels and I would really be hard-pressed to pick a winner with much confidence in that."

The Raptors are currently 46-18, three games ahead of the Celtics in the standings. However, Boston has won two of the three matchups between the teams this year. Their fourth and final meeting will come on March 20 in Toronto.

"I'm really looking forward to that matchup," Hollinger added. "I hope that's what we get as the 2 vs. 3 in the East. I just think that would be fantastic."

When asked about the Raptors' ceiling, Hollinger said that the team surely hopes to repeat as champions, but it will be tough if they meet the dominant Milwaukee Bucks in a potential conference finals.

"I think [the Raptors are] coming into this with the idea that they're going to defend their title," Hollinger said. "Now, there's a juggernaut in Milwaukee this year that's going to have something to say about that, and the Raptors don't have Kawhi Leonard this time around to deal with them. So, I think they would definitely be a pretty large underdog in a conference finals series."

At 53-12, the Bucks currently hold the league's best record. Milwaukee beat Toronto in the teams' last meeting on Feb. 25.