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That time of year again. Celtics basically have no shot at the 1 seed, so I've just included the Celtics/Knicks and potential playoff opponents.

Magic numbers to clinch:

Play-In: 4 (Wins+Bulls losses)
Playoffs: 10/11 (Wins+Magic losses)
Top 3 seed: 17 (Wins+Pacers losses)
Top 2 seed: 20 (Wins+Knicks losses)

Celtics (42-17):
CLE
DEN
POR
PHI (B2B)
LAL
UTA
OKC
@MIA
@BKN (B2B)
BKN
@UTA
@POR
@SAC (B2B)
@PHX
@SA
@MEM
MIA
PHX
WSH
@NY
@ORL (B2B)
CHA
CHA

Knicks (38-20, 3.5 GB)
@MEM
@MIA
GS
@LAL
@LAC (B2B)
@SAC
@POR
@GS
MIA
@SA
@CHA (B2B)
WAS
DAL
LAC (B2B)
@MIL
POR
PHI
@CLE (B2B)
@ATL
PHX (B2B)
BOS
@DET
CLE (B2B)
@BKN

Possible Playoff Opponents:
6. DET (33-26, +4.5)
7. ORL (29-31)
8. MIA (27-30)
9. ATL (27-32, 1 GB)
10. CHI (23-36, 5 GB)

Have had a gut feeling for a while now it's going to be Orlando in Round 1, btw

Maybe they threw the game against DET to help them lock up the 6th-or-better seed:)

Celtics path is likely ORL-ATL-MIA in round 1, then NYK or DET in round 2, then CLE in ECF, then OKC or DEN in the Finals.

If healthy, they can do it.
I am not going to invest energy in caring which exact opponents they have. Whoever it is, they can beat.

31to6 wrote:Maybe they threw the game against DET to help them lock up the 6th-or-better seed:)

Celtics path is likely ORL-ATL-MIA in round 1, then NYK or DET in round 2, then CLE in ECF, then OKC or DEN in the Finals.

If healthy, they can do it.
I am not going to invest energy in caring which exact opponents they have. Whoever it is, they can beat.

Yep, just mostly want that #2 seed and then we'll go from there

GoCeltics123 wrote:Have had a gut feeling for a while now it's going to be Orlando in Round 1, btw

I feel like they are easily the toughest first round opponent out of all of them 7-10. Or have the highest ceiling by far anyway.

Celtics lose. Grizz choke vs the Knicks. Lol. **** me

According to BBall Reference, Celtics still have a 98% chance to get the #2 seed, Playoffstatus.com has them at 93%.

Doing some quick math, if the Celtics go 14-8 in their last 22, the Knicks would have to go 18-5 to pass us. So the Cs should aim for at least 14, 15 or 16 almost certainly gets you there

Cs better on the road this season.

So seeding is really not a big deal.

Fierce1 wrote:Cs better on the road this season.

So seeding is really not a big deal.

If you have faith in Hauser and Pritchard on the road in the playoffs.

Green89 wrote:

Fierce1 wrote:Cs better on the road this season.

So seeding is really not a big deal.

If you have faith in Hauser and Pritchard on the road in the playoffs.

Sam and PP will not be playing a lot in the playoffs.

Get ready for a lot of double bigs in the playoffs.

Cs start and end the game with the starters, but everything in between will be filled with double bigs.

Reason why the Cs need the double big is because of their switch everything defense.

When White is switched on a big, it's 2 points for the opposing team.

Having a double big lineup minimizes the chance of White or PP end up defending the opposing big.

Celtics and Knicks win. Thanks a lot Heat for blowing that. 2 seed lead remains at 2.5

Knicks are the 22-23 Sixers 2.0, they play like **** all game and then Brunson just bails them out every time. Except against elite comp like us obviously

Forgot to post last night, but the Knicks loss means that the Celtics are 3 games up (with tiebreak) and the magic number to clinch is a top 2 seed is now 18

The East is fairly clear for being so far out from the playoffs. Barring something extraordinary:

The Cavs, Celtics and Knicks will be seeds 1, 2 and 3. The Celtics have the second easiest remaining schedule in the league, plus that tiebreaker for the second position.

Miami could be the first round opponent for Boston, with Orlando and Atlanta slightly lesser possibles.
The Cavs will get one of those teams, or probably not Chicago.

The interesting part is the 4-5-6 battle between Indy, Milwaukee and Detroit. Any of them could land in any of those spots, with the Pistons leaning towards the 6th position. NY might get a real first round battle depending on the match up and health situation.

There is no one that can beat a healthy Celtics team at all.

SO I really dont care.

Not too concerned this year - we'll have to beat likely two of CLE, NYK, and MIL to get to the finals regardless.

Unlike some prior years where there were some good teams with health issues that got pushed into the lower seeds (KD/KI Nets, etc.), the current 7-10 teams are pretty consistently mediocre. Orlando probably the best of the group but they just lost Suggs for the year too. Butler is finally gone from the Heat (for now until finals...)

#2 seed should be the goal obviously to get home court vs. Knicks. Maybe Bucks catch fire and knock off the Cavs early

Nightmare scenario for me is seeing the Warriors in the finals...Butler and Curry are just our kryptonite. Let's see how we play vs. Lakers this week but I think they lack depth despite the high end talent. Thunder would be a very hard fought series. Nuggets I think we are a level above.

4.5 ahead of the Knicks.

Are the Bucks catching them for 3rd?

ConstableGeneva wrote:4.5 ahead of the Knicks.

Are the Bucks catching them for 3rd?

With Brunson out, yes!

Toughest road to repeating might be:
R1: (Healthy) Magic
R2: Pistons
CF: Cavaliers
Finals: OKC

ConstableGeneva wrote:Toughest road to repeating might be:
R1: (Healthy) Magic
R2: Pistons
CF: Cavaliers
Finals: OKC

I'd love round 2 to be against NY though. Not based on difficulty, just to keep putting them in their place.

I think this year Denver surprises everyone and makes it back to the finals and the Jay's can get that Joker finally off their back when it counts.

Next season OKC can try again

phincsfan wrote:

ConstableGeneva wrote:Toughest road to repeating might be:
R1: (Healthy) Magic
R2: Pistons
CF: Cavaliers
Finals: OKC

I'd love round 2 to be against NY though. Not based on difficulty, just to keep putting them in their place.

I think this year Denver surprises everyone and makes it back to the finals and the Jay's can get that Joker finally off their back when it counts.

Next season OKC can try again

Would love to beat the Nuggets and Jokic in the Finals. Another demon we need to exorcise is Curry/Draymond (and Jimmy). But the best team in the West with the MVP would be a good consolation prize.

C's would have to be a couple levels better than what they've shown in the regular season to accomplish all this. We can talk the talk but our players still need to execute. Also a bit worried about Joe's rigidity and in-game ability, despite the title.