The Celtics closed out their West Coast trip on a high note Tuesday, cruising to a 123-107 win over the Utah Jazz after a game-changing 20-0 run to start the fourth quarter. Boston’s win came without three rotation players and capped a 3-2 trip with three straight wins away from TD Garden.
With just 17 games remaining in the regular season, the Celtics are inching closer to officially securing a playoff berth and far more than that in all likelihood before April even hits. Boston currently holds a 51-14 record and has a 9.5-game lead over the Bucks for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They also lead the Nuggets and Thunder by six games in the race for homecourt advantage throughout the NBA playoffs.
Boston can officially earn a playoff berth as soon as Thursday night as outlined by Celtics radio play-by-play man Sean Grande. A combination of two of the following scenarios will officially seal a top-6 spot for Boston in the East playoffs: A Celtics win over the Suns on Thursday night, a Pacers loss to the Bulls or Sixers loss to the Bucks.
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Incredibly, Boston’s magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the East is already down to eight games, a number which will be further reduced by any Celtics wins or Bucks losses in the coming weeks. Boston could also secure homecourt advantage in the first round as soon as this week with any three wins or Magic losses locking them into a top-four seed.
Boston’s ability to clinch these spots with several weeks remaining in the regular season should do wonders for the team’s health heading into April. In past years, the Celtics have been fighting tooth and nail for seeding into the last week of the regular season. Now, look for the team to take a cautious approach with their veterans in the coming weeks. Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Jaylen Brown all good the night off Tuesday in the team’s win over the Jazz.
Who exactly the Celtics could face in a potential first round matchup remains quite a mystery with one month left in the regular season. While the Bulls (31-34) and Hawks (29-35) look like safe bets for the play-in tournament in the No. 9 and No. 10 slots in some order, theres’s a incredibly tight race in the No. 4-8 slots. Just 2.5 games separate the No. 4 Knicks and the No. 8 Heat in the standings with 17 games left to play in the regular season. That race should create plenty of drama in the final weeks of the regular season while the Celtics are resting up in their perch from atop the Eastern Conference.
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