Celtics clinch No. 2 seed
Boston has already secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, leaving only the identity of their first‑round opponent—one of three possible teams—to be finalized on the season’s last day. That clinch simplifies Boston’s preparation but keeps opponent scouting active. (bostonherald.com)
Boston locked up the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed Friday night, so the Celtics now know only one thing about Round 1: it will start in Boston on April 18. (nba.com) The clincher came in a 144-118 win over New Orleans on April 10, when Boston tied the National Basketball Association single-game record with 29 made 3-pointers. Sam Hauser scored 24 points, and Payton Pritchard added 21 points and 10 assists. (espn.com) Boston entered Sunday at 54-25, 3.5 games behind Detroit and 2.5 games ahead of New York, which is why the Celtics could not move off the No. 2 line on the final day. The National Basketball Association listed Boston as one of four Eastern teams with a locked seed before Sunday’s games. (basketball-reference.com) (nba.com) The uncertainty is below them in the bracket. Boston will face the East’s No. 7 seed, and that spot will be decided through the play-in tournament that runs April 14-17. (nba.com) As of Saturday, only three teams could land in Boston’s first-round series: Orlando, Philadelphia or Toronto. Charlotte and Miami were locked into the No. 9 and No. 10 spots, and Atlanta could not fall into the play-in field. (985thesportshub.com) The cleanest path had Orlando and Philadelphia meeting in the 7-versus-8 play-in game, with the winner becoming the No. 7 seed and opening against Boston. Toronto could still slide into that mix if the Raptors lost to Brooklyn and Philadelphia beat Milwaukee on Sunday. (985thesportshub.com) That setup lets Joe Mazzulla plan around dates and home court, but not around one scouting report. Boston was 2-1 against Orlando entering Sunday’s regular-season finale, split its four games with Philadelphia, and swept Toronto in the regular season. (985thesportshub.com) Boston’s last regular-season game was scheduled for 6 p.m. Eastern on Sunday against Orlando at TD Garden, a matchup that could still affect Orlando’s path even though Boston’s seed was already fixed. The first-round bracket will become clearer once Sunday’s standings are final and the East play-in opens Tuesday night. (nba.com)
