The race for the No1 seed

[ozgod]

I think there has been a lot of unnecessary handwringing over the 1 seed.  The Celtics can clearly win the East without it.

It would be a luxury, not a necessity.

This is what Smartacus had to say about it after the Wizards' loss.

“I don’t think nobody worries about where they place,” said guard Marcus Smart. “The playoffs are what matters. You’ve still got to go out there and play and win. So wherever we place, that’s where we’re at, and we’ll deal with it.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/28/sports/streaky-celtics-go-cold-again-blowout-loss-struggling-shorthanded-wizards/

[bdm860]

I think there has been a lot of unnecessary handwringing over the 1 seed.  The Celtics can clearly win the East without it.

It would be a luxury, not a necessity.

This is what Smartacus had to say about it after the Wizards' loss.

“I don’t think nobody worries about where they place,” said guard Marcus Smart. “The playoffs are what matters. You’ve still got to go out there and play and win. So wherever we place, that’s where we’re at, and we’ll deal with it.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/28/sports/streaky-celtics-go-cold-again-blowout-loss-struggling-shorthanded-wizards/

Dissension in the locker room!

“I think we’re getting more and more locked in,” Brogdon said. “I think it’s apparent when Milwaukee took the No. 1 seed from us after the break, it was sort of a shock to us that we had dropped because we had created some separation between us and them. That’s something we want, we want the No. 1 seed. I think this team understands the importance of having homecourt advantage in the playoffs so that’s something we are going after.”

[Donoghus]

I think there has been a lot of unnecessary handwringing over the 1 seed.  The Celtics can clearly win the East without it.

It would be a luxury, not a necessity.

This is what Smartacus had to say about it after the Wizards' loss.

“I don’t think nobody worries about where they place,” said guard Marcus Smart. “The playoffs are what matters. You’ve still got to go out there and play and win. So wherever we place, that’s where we’re at, and we’ll deal with it.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/28/sports/streaky-celtics-go-cold-again-blowout-loss-struggling-shorthanded-wizards/

He's right.  This team is well-seasoned when it comes to the playoffs.  They're still relatively young but the experience is well there.  For the core, there really isn't an unknown at this point.  They know what they're doing.

I've been in the "flip the switch" camp with this team during the struggles.  I really think its a motivation thing and dealing with the dog days of the season plus being a vet team who has been there before. There is some coasting involved.  It's frustrating at times to watch but I still think that no one can really beat them but themselves.  We'll see if that's correct over the next three months.

[JohnBoy65]

All of the above is right. At the end of the day, you've got to win a basketball game. Where it's played shouldn't matter. Does Grant make all those 3s in a game 7 in Milwaukee? Who knows. The one seed gives us the best chance at an advantage, but ultimately determines nothing.

[Vermont Green]

I think there has been a lot of unnecessary handwringing over the 1 seed.  The Celtics can clearly win the East without it.

It would be a luxury, not a necessity.

This is what Smartacus had to say about it after the Wizards' loss.

“I don’t think nobody worries about where they place,” said guard Marcus Smart. “The playoffs are what matters. You’ve still got to go out there and play and win. So wherever we place, that’s where we’re at, and we’ll deal with it.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/28/sports/streaky-celtics-go-cold-again-blowout-loss-struggling-shorthanded-wizards/

Dissension in the locker room!

“I think we’re getting more and more locked in,” Brogdon said. “I think it’s apparent when Milwaukee took the No. 1 seed from us after the break, it was sort of a shock to us that we had dropped because we had created some separation between us and them. That’s something we want, we want the No. 1 seed. I think this team understands the importance of having homecourt advantage in the playoffs so that’s something we are going after.”

I don't see these as contradictory.  The Celtics lost the number 1 seed.  That was a missed opportunity.  Brogdon is conceding that they thought they had this but then let is slip away.  It is not nothing but it also isn't the end of the world.  Smart is picking up the second part of this.  What is done is done and the entire focus is the playoffs.  The seeding may not even matter.  Maybe someone beats the Bucks.  Maybe we beat them in 6.  Or maybe because we got a little lazy after the all star break, we end up having to win a game 7 in MIL.

Last season, GSW had home court for the finals but I am not sure how much it mattered.  This year, we should have home court for the finals, if we can get there.

[Kuberski33]

Like a lot of NBA teams. The problem they've had is that Joe shortened his rotation way too soon relying on this key players night in night out. There are going to be nights when they don't show up. It has been happening in this league for decades - Larry Bird being the exception - and we saw what happened at the end of his career. If he played like Tatum he'd have probably had a couple more productive seasons.

Where Joe screwed up was he got away from playing 10 guys a game way too soon.  With a team like this, you coach one way for the regular season and another way for the playoffs.  Playoff mode should have started maybe a week or two ago.

Joe went into it in early February. Hopefully it doesn't come back and bite him in the you know what. To a degree it has with Rob's injury situation.

I guess we shall see on this.  The Celtics have 3 players that have played more than 2,000 minutes this season, Tatum (2,639), Brown (2,332), and White (2,177).  In the league overall, there are 83 players with more than 2,000 minutes (about 2.8 per team).  There are only 12 players with more than 2,500 minutes so Tatum definitely has a lot of minutes on him.

I am just not sure that this is going to be a problem.  Tatum has played 71 games (out of 77 games).  So should he have played 2 min less per game?  Or sat out entire games?  Is that really going to make a difference in June?  I don't know but my sense is that these 3 players are going to be just fine.

I am trying to remember but didn't Tatum play on Team USA in the summer 2021?  So going into the 2021/22 season, he had less off season rest?  But he didn't do that this summer (2022)?  That to me (if correct) seems like a much bigger impact that a few less minutes per game or a few less games.

I just think if you cut his minutes down, we might see a more consistency in his play. I think he zones out at times and it's mainly due to the grind of the season. You also see it in his shooting, which may be a function of fatigue.  On the other hand he is young.

But my point was more that if Joe plays his bench - those guys tend to make the effort, especially defensively, most nights. Not doing it over the past several weeks likely cost them the # 1 seed. 

Is it the end of the world?  Not at all. Home court advantage isn't what it used to be because of video review among other factors.

[Phantom255x]

So to get the 1 seed, we have to win out (5-0), and MIL has to go 3-2

I only give it like a 5% chance of happening lol.

Funny enough, I actually think there's a better chance MIL goes 3-2 or worse than I do Boston winning out. I'd be more surprised if we won out tbh. We have some tricky games ahead, I think we'll drop 1, maybe even another if we pick a game to rest a bunch of guys before the playoffs.

Actually we may already be doing it lol

Jaylen Brown (low back pain) - QUESTIONABLE
Danilo Gallinari (left knee ACL repair) - OUT
Al Horford (low back stiffness) - QUESTIONABLE
Payton Pritchard (left heel pain) - QUESTIONABLE
Jayson Tatum (left hip contusion) - QUESTIONABLE
Robert Williams (left knee injury management) - DOUBTFUL

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1641843969473511427

[Celtics2021]

So to get the 1 seed, we have to win out (5-0), and MIL has to go 3-2

I only give it like a 5% chance of happening lol.

Funny enough, I actually think there's a better chance MIL goes 3-2 or worse than I do Boston winning out. I'd be more surprised if we won out tbh. We have some tricky games ahead, I think we'll drop 1, maybe even another if we pick a game to rest a bunch of guys before the playoffs.

Actually we may already be doing it lol

Jaylen Brown (low back pain) - QUESTIONABLE
Danilo Gallinari (left knee ACL repair) - OUT
Al Horford (low back stiffness) - QUESTIONABLE
Payton Pritchard (left heel pain) - QUESTIONABLE
Jayson Tatum (left hip contusion) - QUESTIONABLE
Robert Williams (left knee injury management) - DOUBTFUL

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1641843969473511427

Question is will the Jazz also rest players for draft position.

Our next game also isn’t until Tuesday, and most everyone played under 30 minutes last night, so it would be nice to play some of those guys.

[Phantom255x]

So to get the 1 seed, we have to win out (5-0), and MIL has to go 3-2

I only give it like a 5% chance of happening lol.

Funny enough, I actually think there's a better chance MIL goes 3-2 or worse than I do Boston winning out. I'd be more surprised if we won out tbh. We have some tricky games ahead, I think we'll drop 1, maybe even another if we pick a game to rest a bunch of guys before the playoffs.

Actually we may already be doing it lol

Jaylen Brown (low back pain) - QUESTIONABLE
Danilo Gallinari (left knee ACL repair) - OUT
Al Horford (low back stiffness) - QUESTIONABLE
Payton Pritchard (left heel pain) - QUESTIONABLE
Jayson Tatum (left hip contusion) - QUESTIONABLE
Robert Williams (left knee injury management) - DOUBTFUL

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1641843969473511427

Question is will the Jazz also rest players for draft position.

Our next game also isn’t until Tuesday, and most everyone played under 30 minutes last night, so it would be nice to play some of those guys.

Clarkson, Gay, Markkanen and Sexton are out for them so far.

[ozgod]

So to get the 1 seed, we have to win out (5-0), and MIL has to go 3-2

I only give it like a 5% chance of happening lol.

Funny enough, I actually think there's a better chance MIL goes 3-2 or worse than I do Boston winning out. I'd be more surprised if we won out tbh. We have some tricky games ahead, I think we'll drop 1, maybe even another if we pick a game to rest a bunch of guys before the playoffs.

Actually we may already be doing it lol

Jaylen Brown (low back pain) - QUESTIONABLE
Danilo Gallinari (left knee ACL repair) - OUT
Al Horford (low back stiffness) - QUESTIONABLE
Payton Pritchard (left heel pain) - QUESTIONABLE
Jayson Tatum (left hip contusion) - QUESTIONABLE
Robert Williams (left knee injury management) - DOUBTFUL

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1641843969473511427

Question is will the Jazz also rest players for draft position.

Our next game also isn’t until Tuesday, and most everyone played under 30 minutes last night, so it would be nice to play some of those guys.

Hopefully a chance for those bench guys to get some reps heading into the playoffs, because when the playoffs start those outside the 8 man rotation will be glued to the bench for the most part (unless there's an injury or we are being blown out or are blowing someone out).

[Phantom255x]

I think if MIL wins tomorrow, it's officially over. If they lose, C's could still have a small shot assuming they beat PHI on Tuesday. Then it sets up where with 3-4 games left, if BOS wins out and MIL loses 1 more before the end of season, we get the 1 seed

[Celtics2021]

I think if MIL wins tomorrow, it's officially over. If they lose, C's could still have a small shot assuming they beat PHI on Tuesday. Then it sets up where with 3-4 games left, if BOS wins out and MIL loses 1 more before the end of season, we get the 1 seed

Really depends how much Milwaukee rests their guys over the last week, as well as the C’s.  They’ve got a back-to back Tuesday and Wednesday, with the second game being against a Chicago team that could clinch a play-in spot that night with a win. That’s very losable.  Then they also play at Toronto the last game of the season, when they’ll probably rest players as well, whereas Toronto could be playing for 8th instead of 9th.  Our schedule is very similar too, of course, but the Bucks definitely have multiple losable games if they start resting people.

[Phantom255x]

I think if MIL wins tomorrow, it's officially over. If they lose, C's could still have a small shot assuming they beat PHI on Tuesday. Then it sets up where with 3-4 games left, if BOS wins out and MIL loses 1 more before the end of season, we get the 1 seed

Really depends how much Milwaukee rests their guys over the last week, as well as the C’s.  They’ve got a back-to back Tuesday and Wednesday, with the second game being against a Chicago team that could clinch a play-in spot that night with a win. That’s very losable.  Then they also play at Toronto the last game of the season, when they’ll probably rest players as well, whereas Toronto could be playing for 8th instead of 9th.  Our schedule is very similar too, of course, but the Bucks definitely have multiple losable games if they start resting people.

I don't think they will. MIL has talked almost all season about how they want the 1 seed and felt that playing a road Game 7 last year is what cost them at the end. I think they want it badly. Now if BOS drops a game or two, MIL can rest a bunch of guys knowing they are locked into 1 anyways

[Celtics2021]

I think if MIL wins tomorrow, it's officially over. If they lose, C's could still have a small shot assuming they beat PHI on Tuesday. Then it sets up where with 3-4 games left, if BOS wins out and MIL loses 1 more before the end of season, we get the 1 seed

Really depends how much Milwaukee rests their guys over the last week, as well as the C’s.  They’ve got a back-to back Tuesday and Wednesday, with the second game being against a Chicago team that could clinch a play-in spot that night with a win. That’s very losable.  Then they also play at Toronto the last game of the season, when they’ll probably rest players as well, whereas Toronto could be playing for 8th instead of 9th.  Our schedule is very similar too, of course, but the Bucks definitely have multiple losable games if they start resting people.

I don't think they will. MIL has talked almost all season about how they want the 1 seed and felt that playing a road Game 7 last year is what cost them at the end. I think they want it badly. Now if BOS drops a game or two, MIL can rest a bunch of guys knowing they are locked into 1 anyways

We’ll see I suppose.  If they keep playing all their guys until they clinch, power to them.

[Big333223]

The Celtics can definitely win it all from the 2 seed but if they wind up finishing the season 1 game behind Milwaukee, that Washington loss is going to start stinging all over again.