Settling for the #4 Seed (As of 4/14)

[Donoghus]

Alright, here we go.  Both BOS & ATL are 49-29 with 4 games remaining and our beloved Celtics holding the all-important tiebreaker.

Here's the remaining schedules.

BOS- WSH, @MIL, @CHI, MIL

ATL- TOR, @WSH, @MIL, CLE

Thoughts, predictions?

[Fafnir]

Equally easy schedules (assuming Cleveland rests everyone).

I'd have to give the Celtics the advantage to hold onto the third seed, say 66% chance.

[Mr October]

Both teams finish 2-2, Celtics earn the 3rd seed

[Donoghus]

Never thought Tuesday's game at United Center would be that important when the regular season schedule came out. 2nd to last game of the year? 

[BballTim]

Never thought Tuesday's game at United Center would be that important when the regular season schedule came out. 2nd to last game of the year? 

  I'm not sure 3rd or 4th really is that important. If we can beat Cleveland and then Orlando, it's likely we can beat Orlando and then Cleveland.

[jdpapa3]

I see Charlotte won again. I wouldn't be as excited to get the 3 seed if they were waiting at 6th. Ideal 2nd round opponent is Milwaukee.

[Fafnir]

Never thought Tuesday's game at United Center would be that important when the regular season schedule came out. 2nd to last game of the year? 

  I'm not sure 3rd or 4th really is that important. If we can beat Cleveland and then Orlando, it's likely we can beat Orlando and then Cleveland.

I'd rather play the Bucks or Bobcats though.

[Donoghus]

Never thought Tuesday's game at United Center would be that important when the regular season schedule came out. 2nd to last game of the year? 

  I'm not sure 3rd or 4th really is that important. If we can beat Cleveland and then Orlando, it's likely we can beat Orlando and then Cleveland.

Well, first round opponent could be important.  Do you want Miami with D-Wade in Round 1 or a reeling Miwaukee team?  It's almost a no-brainer to me.

MIL might get lapped so it could be moot and its between MIA & CHA.

[Donoghus]

BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe CHA holds the tiebreaker over MIL via head to head (2-1). It's wrong

That MIL-BOS game the last day of the regular season could be very interesting.  CHA is playing CHI that same day.

[BballTim]

Never thought Tuesday's game at United Center would be that important when the regular season schedule came out. 2nd to last game of the year? 

  I'm not sure 3rd or 4th really is that important. If we can beat Cleveland and then Orlando, it's likely we can beat Orlando and then Cleveland.

Well, first round opponent could be important.  Do you want Miami with D-Wade in Round 1 or a reeling Miwaukee team?  It's almost a no-brainer to me.

MIL might get lapped so it could be moot and its between MIA & CHA.

  If we can't get by Miami then it doesn't matter because we aren't going far anyways.

[jdpapa3]

BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe CHA holds the tiebreaker over MIL via head to head (2-1).

That MIL-BOS game the last day of the regular season could be very interesting.  CHA is playing CHI that same day.

I just checked it out and it looks like they split the season series 2-2 and Milwaukee has and will have a better conference record. Is that the next tiebreaker? If so, nice.

And I disagree with the whole "if you can't beat this team, then this won't happen" premise. Matchups do matter and can help you or hurt you. I just think we would've killed the Sixers last year, but had trouble with the Bulls.

[Donoghus]

Never thought Tuesday's game at United Center would be that important when the regular season schedule came out. 2nd to last game of the year? 

  I'm not sure 3rd or 4th really is that important. If we can beat Cleveland and then Orlando, it's likely we can beat Orlando and then Cleveland.

Well, first round opponent could be important.  Do you want Miami with D-Wade in Round 1 or a reeling Miwaukee team?  It's almost a no-brainer to me.

MIL might get lapped so it could be moot and its between MIA & CHA.

  If we can't get by Miami then it doesn't matter because we aren't going far anyways.

Well, I'm feeling a little bit better heading into a 2nd round series if we're coming off a 4 game sweep of Milwaukee than coming off a 6 or 7 game series against Miami.  

[Donoghus]

BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe CHA holds the tiebreaker over MIL via head to head (2-1).

That MIL-BOS game the last day of the regular season could be very interesting.  CHA is playing CHI that same day.

I just checked it out and it looks like they split the season series 2-2 and Milwaukee has and will have a better conference record. Is that the next tiebreaker? If so, nice.

And I disagree with the whole "if you can't beat this team, then this won't happen" premise. Matchups do matter and can help you or hurt you. I just think we would've killed the Sixers last year, but had trouble with the Bulls.

Yeah, I think you're right that its 2-2.  I had just quick glanced at the CHA schedule but think I missed that first MIL win. 

[Witch-King]

Another interesting scenario is if the Bulls manage to beat the Cavs, NJ Nets and then the Raptors they will be in firm grasp of the 8th seed currently held by the Raptors. Chris Bosh broke a bone in his face Tuesday night against the Cavs and may be iffy for the rest of the season, and maybe even the first round if the Raptors can hold on to the eighth seed (they are currently a half-game ahead of the Bulls).

If the Bulls don’t manage to make the playoffs this season, then tomorrow night’s game may be the last time LeBron James plays the Bulls wearing the infamous # 23 jersey (he plans on changing his number next season). I’m hoping the Bulls win tommorow night, sneek into the playoffs and give LeBron James and the Cavs another ’playoff series from hell’ in the first round just like they did to us last season.

The Celtics play the Bulls as well in the second-last game of our regular season, however even if we lost this game it may not jeopardize our shot at clinching the 3rd seed, or the Bulls chances of getting into the playoffs, however this may be a very physical game if the Bulls haven't leapfrogged the Raptors by this point in the season, and the last thing we want is to have one of our starters injured in this game before we likely rest them during our last game of the season.

See, the end of the season is still worth watching, just look at the 2nd through 8th seeds in the West, Kenyon Martin questionable Tony Parker just came back, Thunder are looking scary, etc. The Celtics could find themselves in a quite favorable position by the end of the season...

[FatjohnReturns]

Good topic tp.
I think we need the 3 slot. We need to play Orlando before Cleveland because it will be easier to beat Orlando 4 times and we want our confidence high when we play the Cavs.

Predictions I think both Boston and Atlanta go 3-1 or 2-2 and finish with the tie. Postseason I think we take Miami in 5/ Orlando in 6 and go 7 with the Cavs. Not sure that we can beat the Cavs but if we do we probably need all seven games.