The Celtics are in prime position to improve their playoff standing as the season comes to a close. Of course, that's assuming they actually win the games they're supposed to.
Please, hold your laughter.
With six games remaining, the 35-31 Celtics are the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference — tied with the Hawks in the loss column and one game behind them overall. It will be tantamount for the C's to stay out of the play-in game, which again, they can avoid by beating the lousy teams left on their schedule.
Their biggest contest coming up is a Sunday matinée against the Heat, with whom they're tied in the standings.
Any chance at the No. 4 seed?
The road to the No. 4 seed, and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, begins Friday against the Bulls. The Celtics have three games left against clubs with losing records — Chicago, Cleveland and Minnesota.
They're 2-3 against those opponents, and Jayson Tatum needed to score 53 points to lift them over the Timberwolves in overtime. That's not exactly confidence inducing.
In addition, the Celtics have two games remaining against the Heat, and a potentially huge regular season finale against the Knicks. New York will endure a brutal stretch to close out the season, embarking on a West Coast trip where they'll play the Suns, Clippers and Lakers.
With that in mind, the Celtics would appear to be in prime position to leapfrog the Knicks at No. 4, especially considering they're just two games. But the Hawks, who hold the tiebreaker, get to play the Wizards twice and one each against the Rockets and Magic. Maybe Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal will go off in one of those affairs, but overall, those look like easy victories.
The Celtics blew numerous chances to secure the No. 4 seed for themselves. Now, they'll have to hope the Hawks get upset, and the Knicks falter out west.
How about moving up to No. 5?
This is the most realistic scenario of upward playoff mobility, since it's easier to leapfrog one team than two. While Atlanta's tiebreaker remains tough to overcome, the Celtics could jump past the Knicks.
With only 25 percent of fans expected to be permitted at the Garden this month, losing out on home court advantage isn't as big of a sting as usual. Most importantly, moving up to No. 5 would allow the Celtics to avoid the Bucks, Sixers and Nets in the first round.
Staying at No. 6 should be bare minimum:
At a minimum, the Celtics should be able to maintain their status as the No. 6 team in the East. The Heat have two games left against the woeful Pistons and Timberwolves, but also play Philadelphia and Milwaukee down the stretch — in addition to two against Boston.
Let's say the Heat beat up on Detroit and Minnesota and split with the Celtics and Bucks and Sixers. That would put them at 4-2. Under this scenario, Boston would own the tiebreaker over Miami.
To capitalize, the Celtics would just have to win against the dregs of the league. Again, hold your laughter!
Celtics still in jeopardy of falling into play-in game:
With a win Sunday against Miami, the Celtics could effectively clinch the No. 6 spot, because they would own the tiebreaker. But if the Celtics drop both games to the Heat, they could fall to No. 7, putting them in a play-in game against either the Hornets, Wizards or Pacers.
They've lost to all three opponents.
So what's it gonna be?
The Celtics are 12-6 since April 2 and have been more consistent this spring — brutal losses to the Hornets and Thunder notwithstanding. With Tatum averaging 31.2 points per game since early April, they should be able to take care of business, and perhaps even sweep the Heat.
Let the push for the fifth seed commence!
