Celtics vs. Knicks March 26th, 7:00 PM (Home)
Knicks vs. Celtics March 31th, 7:30 PM (Away)
Celtics vs. Nets April 10th, 8:00 PM (Home)

Of course, winning all three would be great.

I voted for Brooklyn, but think the Celtics absolutely have a reasonable chance as well.

The Knicks are still currently in the driver's seat, being the current division leader, as well as having games in hand on both teams.  That being said, I think the Knicks are the least likely to win the division.  Too many injuries on top of playing some pretty terrible ball right now.

Basically, it's wide open in my eyes.

The Nets have an 8-game road trip looming and 15 total roadies our of their 24 remaining. As they have done a couple times this season, they are gonna hit a stretch where they are brutal.

The Knicks have a couple games in hand on both, but we are both close in wins already, meaning the impetus is on them to stay ahead in the W column. Those games in hand can become a problem for them (besides the fact that they have more games to play in a shorter time frame for a team dealing with a bunch of injuries).

The C's need to keep playing how they have been. Beat the teams they are supposed to, protect home court, and definitely win those remaining 3 against the NY teams.

Neither team really scares me in the playoffs (only Miami and Charlotte do), but would like to keep our division streak alive and get a favorable top 3 seed. But health is the most important thing, so wherever we land, we land. We are not going to the Finals without going through Miami, so it doesn't really matter to me when we face them in all honesty.

Just so that people are aware, winning the division does not guarantee a top 3 seed in the playoffs, nor home court advantage.  It only guarantees a top 4 seed.

Just so that people are aware, winning the division does not guarantee a top 3 seed in the playoffs, nor home court advantage.  It only guarantees a top 4 seed.

It essentially guarantees a 3rd seed.

1st - Miami (Southeast Division)
2nd/3rd - Indiana (Central Division)

Those two are set in stone basically, so the other two spots in the top 4 would be up for grabs with:

New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta

New York, Boston, Brooklyn - Atlantic
Chicago - Central
Atlanta - Southeast

So, I'm not seeing Chicago or Atlanta having a better record than all four other teams on the list. Very high chance that whoever wins the Atlantic is a 3rd seed (home court and inferior opponent).

It's highly unlikely the winner of the Atlantic Division is a 4th seed.

how bad is Tyson's injury? if he's out for the year, I think we can take the Atlantic division. Not to mention NY is now plagued with injuries with Melo and Amar'e

Quote from: CelticConcourse on March 14, 2013, 07:46:21 PM

Quote from: KGs Knee on March 14, 2013, 06:06:05 PM

Just so that people are aware, winning the division does not guarantee a top 3 seed in the playoffs, nor home court advantage.  It only guarantees a top 4 seed.

It essentially guarantees a 3rd seed.

1st - Miami (Southeast Division)
2nd/3rd - Indiana (Central Division)

Those two are set in stone basically, so the other two spots in the top 4 would be up for grabs with:

New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta

New York, Boston, Brooklyn - Atlantic
Chicago - Central
Atlanta - Southeast

So, I'm not seeing Chicago or Atlanta having a better record than all four other teams on the list. Very high chance that whoever wins the Atlantic is a 3rd seed (home court and inferior opponent).

It's highly unlikely the winner of the Atlantic Division is a 4th seed.

I never said anything about likelihood, I simply said there is no guarantee.

However, I think it depends on who wins the Atlantic.  If it's NYK/BKN, sure, the winner likely gets the 3rd seed.  If it's Boston, all bets are off.

In order for Boson to win, both NYK/BKN have to fall back to us.  Chicago, Atlanta and Boston are all tied in the standings right now, so if Boston can catch both, there's no reason one of the other two can't also do so.

So are you saying you don't think the Celtics are likely to win the division?

I really don't know. If we beat teams we should (Charlotte), we probably can but there are no guarantees anywhere. I'd rather be a sixth seed than fourth or fifth so if we're not sixth, we better be third :~| but yea, valid points on your side, though ATL is faltering and nobody knows if Rose is returning

Quote from: KGs Knee on March 14, 2013, 06:06:05 PM

Just so that people are aware, winning the division does not guarantee a top 3 seed in the playoffs, nor home court advantage.  It only guarantees a top 4 seed.

if i'm top 4, that's homecourt advantage in at least the first round, correct?

Not necessarily