The Boston Celtics will want to avoid playing the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks as long as they can to maximize their odds of reaching the NBA Finals, and one of the best ways they can do that is by seizing the second overall seed in the East.
To do that, however, they’ll have to earn it.
With the Miami Heat 3.5 games behind them in fourth place and the Toronto Raptors just 1.5 games ahead in the coveted second slot, it’s certainly not out of the question the team could still rise or sink in the standings by season’s end.
The Heat will have a rough time making up that much ground before the second week of April ends, though it might be worth revisiting that math if Boston stumbles a bit coming out of the All-Star break.
The Celtics may have one of the toughest remaining schedules left in the league, but the Raptors have risen to their current heights at least partially due to the easy schedule they’ve had in recent weeks, and will face much tougher opponents going forward.
Just how hard of a schedule does each of those two teams have to close out the season?
Boston has 13 games remaining against teams with winning records, including six contenders if we are using the term generously — The Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz twice, a rematch with the Houston Rockets, and a potentially critical rematch with said Raptors on March 20th.
Toronto on the other hand has 14 such matchups with winning-record teams remaining, and an arguably even more-daunting gauntlet to run to close out the season.
They’ll face the Celtics in March as noted, but also face the Bucks, Grizzlies, and Denver Nuggets two more times, as well as the Jazz, Rockets, Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers among franchises that could realistically compete for a championship.
With ten such high-difficulty games ahead of them not even counting that Boston contest, it’s very possible the Celtics could overtake the Raptors by season’s end.
But they’ll need to play like they expect to lose without their “A” game in every contest left on the schedule — early season stumbles from not respecting their opponents would sink such an endeavor easily.
Boston seems to have the momentum and attitude needed to do the job, though — all we can do for the moment is wait and see how it translates to the win column.
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