The Celtics’ magic number to secure the No. 1 seed in the East is down to just one. It’s been virtually guaranteed the C’s secure home-court advantage through the East playoffs for weeks, but they can make that official as early as Sunday night. With the magic number at one, either a C’s victory or Bucks loss would secure the top seed in the East.
After the Celtics beat the Bulls on Saturday, they improved to a stellar 57-14 on the season after their ninth straight victory. That’s an 11.5-game lead over the second-place Bucks, who are 45-25, with only 11 games left in the Celtics’ season.
Now, some might wonder why the Celtics don’t automatically get the top seed because they have a 2-1 edge in the tiebreaker over the Bucks. But the two teams meet again in Milwaukee on April 9, so there’s a chance the Bucks could tie up the head-to-head. That’s why the C’s haven’t quite clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
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But the Celtics have a chance to clinch that top spot the next time they play, which is at 7:30 p.m. Monday against the Hawks in Atlanta. But the C’s could already clinch ahead of then if the Bucks lose to the Thunder on Sunday with that game set in Milwaukee.
Now, Celtics fans shouldn’t be quite done watching the standings yet. The C’s have yet to clinch the top seed in the entire league, which would give them home-court advantage in the NBA Finals. So while the Bucks losing to the Thunder would clinch them the No. 1 seed, Oklahoma City is the closest team in the standings to Boston.
The Thunder are currently 49-20 as they’re atop the West standings. The Celtics’ magic number to get the top seed in the NBA is at six. So any combination of Celtics wins and Thunders losses that total six get them the best record in the league. Of course, there are other teams in the West race, so the top squad in the other conference could change in the coming weeks. Regardless, the C’s have a strong lead there, as well.
The Celtics have continued to be professional throughout the regular season. They’ve left little doubt as they’ve dominated the competition. There have been some hiccups and doubts, but those happen over the course of a long 82-game season. At least for the regular season, the C’s have been near-perfect as they’ve continued to improve as a team.
Of course, the Celtics will be judged in how they perform in the playoffs — they know that. But for now, they can rest their starters like they did in the back-to-back games in Detroit and Chicago. The stakes are about to get lower for the final games of the regular season, and that’s natural. The C’s have earned this well-deserved break because of their record. That should have them fresh and ready for the playoffs. But first, there’s a little bit of work to do as the C’s look to secure home-court advantage.
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