Not sure if voting is done but 23-12 thought we should have tried to win this game. With PHI losing, we are probably now going to end up with the 3 seed. Better first round match up probably (but not certainly) than the 2 seed will get. The downside is that we are now likely to play the Bucks in round two without HCA.
So many things can still change, BKN could lose and not even get in. BKN could end up the 7 seed and beat MIL (giving us HCA in round 2). Or BKN could end up the 8 seed and then we almost certainly would see MIL in the second round.
I hope that they did this because Tatum and Horford really will benefit from the rest. I must say, I am still not sure how much benefit there will be from this rest. Are Horford and Tatum really going to play any differently over a week from now when the playoffs start? Are they going to be any less worn down 3 weeks from now or 6 weeks as the playoffs go on? I can't imagine there is going to be any difference at all.
If you look at scenarios I think we are still favored to get the two seed. Most scenarios IMO lead us to ending up with the two.
How do you figure? Bucks close out the season against the Pistons and Cavs - if they win these games, they get the 2-seed. I guess since it's a b2b, they could lose one, but I'd imagine they are heavily favored to win both.
I posted the chart in the NBA season thread but 3 seed is the most likely landing spot for the Celtics at 53% (if I'm reading it right).
When I look at the playoff odds as presented by Basketball Reference, I see the same. Most likely outcome for the Celtics is 3 seed (53.1%), next is the 4 seed (29.3%), and the least likely is the 2 seed (17.7%). The Bucks are listed as having a 77.6% chance of landing at the 2 seed.
I don't know how they figure this but it certainly seems to make sense with where things stand.
For BKN, they have them at 30.6% chance of being the 7 seed and 24.8% of being the 8 seed. That means a 44.6% chance of getting knocked out and not making it at all.
It is interesting that they still have the Celtics with the best odds of winning the conference (42.0%). Again, not sure how they figure all of this but it is interesting at any rate.
I think BKN is more likely than 53.4% of winning in the play in rounds, They have their odds of winning the conference at 1.4%. I think the real likelihood that the Celtics win the conference is probably less than 42% and for BKN more than 1.4% but we are very much in the hunt for this. Usually there is far more predictability in the playoffs in basketball. Not this season, at least in the East. Any one of 5 teams has a legitimate chance to win and get to the finals.