Ready to get caught up on the Celtics' playoff scenario?
Boston only has two games left: Thursday's matchup against the Bucks and Sunday's meeting against Memphis. But even with that tough schedule, Boston's road to second or third place got quite a bit easier with Wednesday's win.
The Celtics hold a half game lead over the Bucks and 76ers, who are third and fourth in the East, respectively. A loss in Milwaukee would likely remove any chance of the Celtics becoming the second-place team in the conference because a Bucks win on Thursday would give them the tiebreaker over Boston.
But that might not necessarily be the worst thing.
The 76ers have three games left, the Celtics have two. If Philly goes 2-1, Boston just needs to go 1-1 to finish ahead of the Sixers in the standings. Whether that's No. 2 or 3 in the standings depends on Thursday and what the Bucks do with their other two games left on their schedule.
But right now, resting Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford seems like the best move for Thursday. Let the chips fall where they may in Milwaukee on the second leg of a back-to-back while the Bucks have fresh legs, and play for the win on Sunday against a Ja Morant-less Grizzlies. Because the third-place team in the East is on a collision course with Chicago.
The Bulls have the tiebreaker over Toronto, but the Raptors have a 1.5-game advantage over Chicago. Moreover, after the 76ers, the Raptors have the Rockets and Knicks left on their schedule. The Bulls don't have the toughest schedule left, but either the Hornets and Timberwolves could knock them off in the coming days.
And if it wasn't already clear, the Bulls are a great first-round matchup for the Cetlics, Brown and company made sure there was no room for doubt Wednesday. The Bulls are one of the best home teams in the NBA, and they're one of the best against the spread at home, too. (Needless to say, Chicago didn't cover on Wednesday.)
While I've soured on the Nets throughout Boston's wild run, they're still the team outside of the top four in the standings that could give anyone a tough series. (But, if Boston faces them with Robert Williams back, the advantage is absolutely in the Celtics' favor.) The Raptors have become a wild card, so it seems like it's best to avoid them for as long as possible. That leaves Chicago — because I assume anyone between Atlanta, Charlotte and Cleveland will be the No. 2 team coming out of the play-in tourney and face Miami.
As the Celtics have risen through the rankings, the concept of playing for seeding has popped up quite a bit — especially since Time Lord's injury. For a while, that seemed like too much to juggle. Whether or not the Celtics had a plan mapped out beyond this week is unclear, but they are now in position to get themselves into the ideal spot to start the postseason.
