The Celtics have multiple options to advance to the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, despite the complexity of the scenarios.
Before playing the Bulls in the final group play match of the tournament on Tuesday at TD Garden, the Celtics had a 2-1 record in Group C. The two wild card teams (one from each conference) and the winners of the six groups will move on to the quarterfinals the following week.
The C’s could move on as the Group C winner or the Eastern Conference wild card team, depending on the league’s overall results. These are all of the current scenarios:
With 3-1 records, the Celtics, Magic, and Nets would be tied for first place in Group C under this scenario. Head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker, and all three teams have a 1-1 record against one another. The points differential serves as the second tiebreaker. The C’s would need to defeat the Bulls by a minimum of 23 points as the Magic have a plus-22 differential going into Tuesday, the Nets have a plus-8 differential, and the Celtics have a zero.
Celtics triumph, place second in Group C, and defeat any other team in second place from another group with a 3-1 record in the tiebreaker.
– Cavs loss + Knicks loss + Heat loss + Nets loss + Celtics win in a tiebreaker against any other group’s second-place team.
The NBA will set up two regular-season games for the Celtics against opponents to be announced on Wednesday and Friday if they fail to make it to the quarterfinals.
Despite the high stakes in the tournament, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla appears to be approaching Tuesday’s game in the same manner. Although he appreciates the concept of the competition, his team’s long-term strategy has continued to be his top priority
Mazzulla stated on Monday, “I haven’t given it much thought, but it’s not that it’s not important.” “I believe that no matter the game—in-season, preseason, postseason, or anything else—if we can’t rebound the ball on both ends of the court and turn it over, we won’t win. Let’s go back to the Orlando game as an example. So, regardless of the kind of game, we’re just doing our best to adhere to the winning process and what that entails.
