#4 seed might be good for Celtics?

[bigwill_1234]

1. We're terrible at home this season
2. we suck against Orlando and Atlanta.
3. We beat Cleveland in their place and we held our own until our 4th q meltdown at home.

So ideally, considering that we probably can't get #1 seed, I would think that #2 or #3 would be bad, only because we would have to face Orlando or Atlanta in the 2nd round, which we would probably lose.  If we were to get #4, we would probably be able to handle Toronto, and then we would face Cleveland, who we seem to play better against than we do against ORL or ATL.  Plus we're better on the road, so with all that - it would probably be the best case scenario for the C's to reach the finals?

[maxw318]

We would still have to play the winner of the Atlanta/Orlando series even if we got past Cleveland, which definitely wouldn't be easy.  Both Atlanta and Orlando are much younger and after battling with Cleveland it would be hard to see a team like Atlanta with their athleticism without home court.

[ducksawce]

It's an interesting scenario.  I've been thinking about this since the Christmas Orlando game. 

For some reason this team has the Raptors' number.  I have absolutely no reason why....and it's even weirder that, of all people, Sheed plays the best against them.  Assuming that this team would be able to play Toronto like they did earlier in the season, this would be a great first round matchup for the C's.

After this though, things get interesting.  Now that the Hawks are a legitimate threat on par with the Cavs and Magic, it really wouldn't matter whether me met any 2 out of 3 of them in the later two rounds.  There' really no advantage to being the 1 seed, at least matchup-wise.  Even the Cavs would have to go through 2 good teams (Hawks and C's/Magic) just like the Celtics would have to.

Whether the C's meet the Cavs, or the Magic in the 2nd round really shouldn't matter.  One can even look back to the 2008 playoff run when the Cavs gave the Celtics their greatest matchup of...well, actually the most challenging matchup of the entire playoffs AND finals!  That 7 game series was the toughest of that whole championship stretch.

This year, I think the strongest team in the league IS the Cavs, and whether we meet them in the 2nd or 3rd round is kind of a moot point. 

The ONLY thing I think these C's should avoid is having to play the Hawks.  I think there is a very real possibility that they could knock off not only us, but also the CAVS!  For some reason they play inconsistently during the season, but against slow offensive teams such as the C's and Cavs, wins are much easier to obtain for them.

Let the Cavs have the first seed!  Let them go up against their version of the 2009 Chicago Bulls (who nearly upset the C's last year)...the Bobcats!  That could actually field a miraculous upset, or at least just wear the Cavs down. 

As for the C's, I would rather have them be the 2nd or 3rd seed.  Orlando still does not really scare me for some reason.  If Perk plays Howard well, the series will automatically favor the C's.

This scenario would also allow the Cavs to knock off the Hawks.  No more dreaded C's Hawks matchup.  Of course, this assumes that the Hawks will be in 4th place.  I truly hope that'll be the case.  In fact, amidst these Celtic troubles, I take a lot of strategic joy in seeing the Hawks lose and land in 4th (just so that they won't play the Celtics...and might even beat the Cavs in the 2nd round)

The only problem this year is this Cavs team.  They will be tough.  That's why I would rather have a matchup with them occur in the conference finals.

Anyways, I wouldn't see a 4th seed as a bad thing.  The C's would have to go through the Cavs anyways...and playing Toronto (despite having a better record than the Bulls/Bucks/Heat) is just ideal matchup-wise.

[liam]

One thing I like about that is that Orlando owns the Hawks so we would not be seeing them one way or the other.

[tb727]

They won't be able to get the 4th seed if they win the division.  Even if Atlanta finishes with a better record, the winner of the Atlantic will automatically get the 3rd seed.  The only way it would come into effect is if they then met the Hawks in the conf finals- then they'd start the series on the road.

Of course the way they're playing, perhaps Toronto will catch them and slide them to 5...

[incoherent]

It's an interesting scenario.  I've been thinking about this since the Christmas Orlando game. 

For some reason this team has the Raptors' number.  I have absolutely no reason why....and it's even weirder that, of all people, Sheed plays the best against them.  Assuming that this team would be able to play Toronto like they did earlier in the season, this would be a great first round matchup for the C's.

After this though, things get interesting.  Now that the Hawks are a legitimate threat on par with the Cavs and Magic, it really wouldn't matter whether me met any 2 out of 3 of them in the later two rounds.  There' really no advantage to being the 1 seed, at least matchup-wise.  Even the Cavs would have to go through 2 good teams (Hawks and C's/Magic) just like the Celtics would have to.

Whether the C's meet the Cavs, or the Magic in the 2nd round really shouldn't matter.  One can even look back to the 2008 playoff run when the Cavs gave the Celtics their greatest matchup of...well, actually the most challenging matchup of the entire playoffs AND finals!  That 7 game series was the toughest of that whole championship stretch.

This year, I think the strongest team in the league IS the Cavs, and whether we meet them in the 2nd or 3rd round is kind of a moot point. 

The ONLY thing I think these C's should avoid is having to play the Hawks.  I think there is a very real possibility that they could knock off not only us, but also the CAVS!  For some reason they play inconsistently during the season, but against slow offensive teams such as the C's and Cavs, wins are much easier to obtain for them.

Let the Cavs have the first seed!  Let them go up against their version of the 2009 Chicago Bulls (who nearly upset the C's last year)...the Bobcats!  That could actually field a miraculous upset, or at least just wear the Cavs down. 

As for the C's, I would rather have them be the 2nd or 3rd seed.  Orlando still does not really scare me for some reason.  If Perk plays Howard well, the series will automatically favor the C's.

This scenario would also allow the Cavs to knock off the Hawks.  No more dreaded C's Hawks matchup.  Of course, this assumes that the Hawks will be in 4th place.  I truly hope that'll be the case.  In fact, amidst these Celtic troubles, I take a lot of strategic joy in seeing the Hawks lose and land in 4th (just so that they won't play the Celtics...and might even beat the Cavs in the 2nd round)

The only problem this year is this Cavs team.  They will be tough.  That's why I would rather have a matchup with them occur in the conference finals.

Anyways, I wouldn't see a 4th seed as a bad thing.  The C's would have to go through the Cavs anyways...and playing Toronto (despite having a better record than the Bulls/Bucks/Heat) is just ideal matchup-wise.

TP

[bopna]

The problem is..the way the C's are playing lately they won't even sniff the second round...

Its bad enough that this team is losing to sub 500 teams. This team just can't seem to get it right. Me thinks they pray they get the Raptors for the first round but don't count out the surging Bucks who just gave the Hawks fits last night..If the C's get the Bucks in the first round we are doomed as they seemed to be playing with utmost confidence like one of the topseed team in the East, they Have Bogut back and the Salmons trade seemed to have made them a better playoff team ( Oh Danny why did you not pull the trigger on a Salmons/Thomas deal for Ray).... plus the fact that history seems to be unforgiving to 4th seeds as in the history of the playoffs seedings, the 4th and 5th seed seem to be a toss coin whereby the 5th seed can upset the 4th seed no matter the HC advantage.

I don't want to think badly of our C's but to be honest, this team has shown me nothing since Christmas to even say we are getting out of the first round...Its as if we are destined to be this yr's version of a 4th seed being upsetted by a 5th seed which if my recollection is correct seem to happen every sort of 2 yrs. I hope Im wrong and God I wish I can just see this team play a complete week when everyone is 100% healthy, then we could easily gauge if this team still has it.

[Who]

I disagree, I want to avoid the Cavs for as a long as possible.

They're the best team in the East and I think they're team Boston is least likely to beat.

I want the Celtics to finish with the #2 or #3 seed so that they can play against Orlando or Atlanta in the second round.

[slamtheking]

call me crazy (or worse) but neither the Magic or Cavs seem overwhelming at this point.  yes the C's are playing like crap and they didn't beat either of those teams recently but I just didn't see anything from ORL or CLE that looked insurmountable for the C's provided they come to play a full 48 minutes.  The only team that seems to consistantly provide a major obstacle no matter what the C's do is Atlanta.

If the C's can get their act together for the playoffs (HUGE, HUGE HUGE optimistic dreaming at this point), they just might squeak through to the finals if they catch a beatable 1st round opponent, face ORL in the second round while CLE knocks off the Hawks and then they play CLE in the ECF.  If Shaq and Z are back for CLE, even better for the C's because they clog the middle and make CLE slower.  The less court time for Varejao, the better for the C's.

[Celticsbloke]

call me crazy (or worse) but neither the Magic or Cavs seem overwhelming at this point.  yes the C's are playing like crap and they didn't beat either of those teams recently but I just didn't see anything from ORL or CLE that looked insurmountable for the C's provided they come to play a full 48 minutes.  The only team that seems to consistantly provide a major obstacle no matter what the C's do is Atlanta.

If the C's can get their act together for the playoffs (HUGE, HUGE HUGE optimistic dreaming at this point), they just might squeak through to the finals if they catch a beatable 1st round opponent, face ORL in the second round while CLE knocks off the Hawks and then they play CLE in the ECF.  If Shaq and Z are back for CLE, even better for the C's because they clog the middle and make CLE slower.  The less court time for Varejao, the better for the C's.

Totally agree with you. As bad as this team is right now, the matchups against Orlando and Cleveland suit us much better than the Hawks.

I still hold out some small hope for this reason, but in the end I know that if we are relying on getting the right matchups, the odds are strongly against success.   

[CbrewEra]

Maybe they wanna get a better executing team like the Cavs or Magic out of their way in an earlier round, so that they don't get tired out by a 7 game series with an athletic team in an early round.  Maybe thats why they're trying to do bad??

[vinnie]

They won't be able to get the 4th seed if they win the division.  Even if Atlanta finishes with a better record, the winner of the Atlantic will automatically get the 3rd seed.  The only way it would come into effect is if they then met the Hawks in the conf finals- then they'd start the series on the road.

Of course the way they're playing, perhaps Toronto will catch them and slide them to 5...

This is incorrect. Even if they win the division, they can end up with the 4th seed if Atlanta has a better record. The NBA changed how they seed a year or so back.

[slamtheking]

They won't be able to get the 4th seed if they win the division.  Even if Atlanta finishes with a better record, the winner of the Atlantic will automatically get the 3rd seed.  The only way it would come into effect is if they then met the Hawks in the conf finals- then they'd start the series on the road.

Of course the way they're playing, perhaps Toronto will catch them and slide them to 5...

This is incorrect. Even if they win the division, they can end up with the 4th seed if Atlanta has a better record. The NBA changed how they seed a year or so back.

I wasn't aware of that change.  good to know!!

[housecall]

Personally i still feel this team can beat the Hawks and Magic in a 7ga.series..the cavs are a different animal at this time but who knows,by the end of the seaon the cavs may not be on a role as they are now.


And don't underestimate the new look Raptors...they are without Bosh at the moment but they were rolling prior to his injury.

[Chris]

As far as I am concerned, the seeding is irrevelent.  If they are completely healthy and hitting on all cylinders, they can beat absolutely anyone.  If they are not, they will likely not stand a chance against the Cavs, Magic, or Hawks, and could very easily be knocked off by the Bobcats as well.