The Boston Celtics are officially going back to the playoffs for an 11th consecutive season after beating the Miami Heat on Friday night 103-91. That win combined a with a Hawks loss to the Clippers locked up a top-six spot for the Celtics with 15 games remaining in the standings. Boston became the third team in the NBA to secure a spot behind the Cavaliers and Thunder.
Boston currently has qualified for the playoffs now 17 times in the past 18 seasons, with the lone exception coming during Brad Stevens’ rookie year at the coaching helm in Boston during the 2013-14 season.
The aspirations for the Celtics’ are clearly much higher than making the playoffs this postseason but the team has positioned themselves well to prepare for the postseason grind with a 48-19 record through 67 games.
The Celtics sit now in the No. 2 seed where they will remain for the rest of the regular season barring a massive collapse. Boston sits eight games behind the Cavs, who are currently riding a 16-game winning streak. They are also comfortably ahead of the Knicks by five games for the No. 2 seed, who are currently without All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson for weeks due to an ankle injury. Boston also holds the tiebreaker in that matchup.
Those circumstances should allow Boston to cruise and rest starters as needed in the final weeks of the regular season as they gear up for a first round opponent that will be determined by the play-in tournament. The Hawks, Magic, Heat and Bulls are all potential first round opponents for Boston assuming they remain at the No. 2 seed.
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