The Celtics are at the top.
With around twenty games remaining, the Eastern Conference is made up of three distinct groups: the “which one of you is playing for second place” duo (Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers), four teams to stay in the three remaining spots in the top-6 (New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic) and the play-in caboose (Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks).
At Nos. 2 and 3, two teams play with a ton of size in their frontcourt. A seven-game series against the 7’1 Brook Lopez, 6’11 Giannis Antetokounmpo and 6’7 Khris Middleton or the 6’11 Evan Mobley, 6’9 Jarrett Allen, 6’5 Max Strus should wait until the conference finals . The title here is to avoid the Bucks as long as possible.
However, the real focus here is the second round. Currently, a game and a half separates the fourth-seeded Magic and the 7th-seeded 76ers, with the Knicks and Heat sandwiched in between. For them, there is obviously an incentive to stay away from the chance of a Play-In tournament match. For the Celtics, they will be monitoring the scoreboard throughout the stretch to see who they might face in a potential 1-4 game.
Dealing with numerous injuries to their three best players, the Knicks are 3-7 in their last ten games and don’t have a definitive timetable on the returns of Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and OG Anunoby. The same goes for Philadelphia. Who knows what Joel Embiid’s availability will be and if he returns, what he will look like after knee surgery. Orlando, currently on a 16-3 streak, has been a problem for the Celtics over the past two years and could be a testing second-round matchup.
And then there is Miami. With the second simplest remaining program (behind only Boston), there’s a very good chance they’re in this 4-5 first-round matchup with an eye to knock out the top seed again. Or, the Heat could even slip into the Play-In, lose and win like they did last year, and ultimately place eighth. Wherever Jimmy Butler & Co. lands, the narrative police will be on the lookout.
There’s also the popcorn entertainment value of watching the Celtics’ rivals face off, right? Doc Rivers potentially facing Erik Spoelstra in April? I am here for this. Atlantic Division foes the 76ers and Knicks face off with a first-round exit going to the loser? Perfect. The Bucks and the Cavs are mishandling and wearing each other down? Yes please.
As things stand, the Celtics could ideally be looking at a Pacers-Magic-Bucks path to the NBA Finals. Indiana and Orlando have certainly given Boston competitive matchups this season with their varied playing styles and Milwaukee is Milwaukee, but avoiding Miami, New York and Philadelphia could prove to be a godsend in May.
