Should Celtics lose their last two games?

[nickagneta]

C's are at 50-30 right now with the 22nd pick in the draft in 4th place in the East having to play Milwaukee. As of right now. So if the Celtics like that matchup could it be in their best interest to lose the last two games to try to secure as low a spot in the draft as possible as well as a date with Milwaukee instead of Miami?

Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Portland are all at 49-31 and fighting to see who gets to knock off Denver in the first round. So they are all going to be fighting like crazy to win their last two games because the losers get to face Dallas and Los Angeles, not a very good prospect.

Oklahoma City is @ Portland and has Memphis at home.
Portland has OKC and Golden State at home.
San Antonio has Minnesota at home and is @ Dallas.

So all three teams have what looks to be a pretty easy win on their schedule and a tough game with OKC or Portland guaranteed to finish with at least 32 losses.

So if the Celtics lose both games and SA wins both games and either Portland or OKC wins out while the other is 1-1 then the Celtics would be tied with either Portland or OKC for 19th in the draft and a coin flip would have to determine who got the lower pick.

Now what does 2 losses do to the C's chances of determining who they play in the playoffs? Two losses guarantees them the 4th seed and they would have to face the team that finishes with the better record Milwaukee or Miami. Milwaukee has two tough games left with Atlanta and @ Boston. Miami has a couple of easy games left with games @ Philly and at home versus New Jersey. I see Miami probably winning both games. But Milwaukee could win out as well and I think they hold the tiebreaker.

Atlanta meanwhile plays Milwaukee and Cleveland in their last two games. So tonight's Atlanta-Milwaukee game is big. If Atlanta wins and if Boston wants to face Milwaukee in the first round, they will probably have to hope to win the last two games and hopes Cleveland doesn't lie down for Atlanta in their last game of the year. This would put the Celtics in the third spot in the East with Atlanta, Miami(I'm assuming 2 wins given the competition), and Milwaukee following. Boston then would play Milwaukee in the first round. If Milwaukee wins though, Boston could lose their last two games and almost guarantee them facing Milwaukee in the first round.

The list of scenarios are vast but it comes down to this:

1.) If Boston wins both games they will finish 3rd in the East and pick 23rd in the draft if Atlanta loses a game and finish 4th and pick 22nd if Atlanta doesn't lose a game.

2.) If Boston loses both games they will finish 4th in the East and pick anywhere from 22nd to 19th depending on what happens out West and how coin flips go in cases of ties to determine order of choosing.

3.) A split of their games throws everything up in the air we will probably all have to re-evaluate all this again before their last game.

So it comes down to do you care whether the Celtics finish 3rd or 4th and whether they play Milwaukee or Miami? Do you want them to win both games no matter what because they need some wins going into the playoffs or not? Does it matter to you whether they pick 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, or 23rd?

[Kwhit10]

Personally I just want the Celtics to do what they need to do to best prepare them for the playoffs.  They don't need to concern themselves with matchups or draftpicks IMO.  If they go deep they'll have to play the good teams anyways.

[mmbaby]

I like it, Nick. Personally I want the playoffs to last as long as possible, and of course, to have a chance to win the Championship. Very good analysis. Now I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't get all bummed if we lose the next two games. Maybe the C's will even have that in their plans.

[Cman]

Personally I just want the Celtics to do what they need to do to best prepare them for the playoffs.  They don't need to concern themselves with matchups or draftpicks IMO.  If they go deep they'll have to play the good teams anyways.

Agreed.  And I'd like to see the Celtics on a winning streak, playing with confidence going into the playoffs.  So I would like to see the Cs win the next 2 games.

I guess if they don't, then I'll take solace in everything Nick wrote.

Hey, I just realized it's a win-win situation!

[Roy Hobbs]

No tanking.  If we lose, so be it, but I'm not going to root for losses.  I hope the team plays to win.  More important than draft position and playoff matchups is confidence and momentum, two things this team sorely lacks right now.

[nickagneta]

No tanking.  If we lose, so be it, but I'm not going to root for losses.  I hope the team plays to win.  More important than draft position and playoff matchups is confidence and momentum, two things this team sorely lacks right now.

Question though Roy, after the streak of less than satisfying play the team has had recently, how much momentum is two wins, one against a sub .500 team and another against a team that just lost its best player, really going to give this team heading into the playoffs?

Wouldn't it be better to rest most of the starters, make sure they are healthy and invigorated going into the playoffs than it would be to run them out there on back to back nights for 35-40 minutes trying to win games that are only going to possibly make their future more difficult?

[jdpapa3]

I think we might want to win out. I don't care if the Bulls are under 500 because it would feel very positive to beat a team fighting for their playoff life in their building with a lively atmosphere.

I also think 3rd is still a possibility and that Cleveland even without Lebron is still dangerous at home because of their solid depth. I'd say there's also the possibility that Lebron got a little bit of playing time to ensure his rhythm. And Atlanta is very weak on the road.

I think we'll still be facing this same question before Wednesday's game because I fully expect Atlanta to beat Milwaukee tonight.

[Witch-King]

Personally, I'd much rather see this team play Milwaukee than Miami, especially since 'The Deer' will be missing one of their best players in Andrew Bogut. I think the Celtics have the horses to beat both teams and we know that Brandon Jennings is no push-over so whomever we play we will have to compete with every game in order to beat them. I think our best approach is to just rest our guys these last two games and try rotations that maximize our likelihood of having a deep supporting cast (almost like the cast on Bogut's right arm) during the playoffs because the Big 3 will surely need all of the help that they can get.

[Kiorrik]

No tanking.  If we lose, so be it, but I'm not going to root for losses.  I hope the team plays to win.  More important than draft position and playoff matchups is confidence and momentum, two things this team sorely lacks right now.

Question though Roy, after the streak of less than satisfying play the team has had recently, how much momentum is two wins, one against a sub .500 team and another against a team that just lost its best player, really going to give this team heading into the playoffs?

Wouldn't it be better to rest most of the starters, make sure they are healthy and invigorated going into the playoffs than it would be to run them out there on back to back nights for 35-40 minutes trying to win games that are only going to possibly make their future more difficult?

What happened to Celtic pride?

Play to win, or don't play at all.

Did you guys hear what Tiger said after he came in 4th in that last thingymajingy tournament? (yeh sorry, you know I'm not a golf fan )

When they asked if he could put his fourth place in perspective, he smiled and chuckled, saying that people put way too much value in all of that; he entered to win.

If I were coaching, I wouldn't throw a single game. Just can't.

[ManUp]

Should we? yes probably.

Barring a miracle this team isn't making it far past the second round. If we face Miami there's a good chance we might not make it out the first. We need to start getting some legitimate young talent, no more pruitts and giddens type players.

[PosImpos]

This team needs to learn how to win games.  They've "tanked" plenty of games during the regular season already.

[heyvik]

dude,
you get a TP just for figuring those scenarios out!

[Roy Hobbs]

No tanking.  If we lose, so be it, but I'm not going to root for losses.  I hope the team plays to win.  More important than draft position and playoff matchups is confidence and momentum, two things this team sorely lacks right now.

Question though Roy, after the streak of less than satisfying play the team has had recently, how much momentum is two wins, one against a sub .500 team and another against a team that just lost its best player, really going to give this team heading into the playoffs?

Wouldn't it be better to rest most of the starters, make sure they are healthy and invigorated going into the playoffs than it would be to run them out there on back to back nights for 35-40 minutes trying to win games that are only going to possibly make their future more difficult?

What happened to Celtic pride?

Play to win, or don't play at all.

Did you guys hear what Tiger said after he came in 4th in that last thingymajingy tournament? (yeh sorry, you know I'm not a golf fan )

When they asked if he could put his fourth place in perspective, he smiled and chuckled, saying that people put way too much value in all of that; he entered to win.

If I were coaching, I wouldn't throw a single game. Just can't.

I agree with Kiorrik.  Also, we can still win without necessarily having to play the starters 40 minutes.  I mean, against Milwaukee, KG sat out, and the only reason Pierce played as much as he did (apparently) was to work on his shot.

[P2]

I would love to get the 20th draft pick. But I would rather avoid Cleveland, but maybe they're the better matchup for us over Orlando, after all.

[PosImpos]

I would love to get the 20th draft pick. But I would rather avoid Cleveland, but maybe they're the better matchup for us over Orlando, after all.

Honestly I think they're about the same either way.  The Celtics will have to beat both of them to reach the Finals anyway.