The Boston Celtics made the right decision to push for the No. 2 seed during Sunday night’s regular season finale in Memphis.
Boston has been the best team in basketball for the past three months, and there was no need to play the system in hopes of clinching a potentially prickly first-round matchup against a 20th-defending Brooklyn Nets team in the NBA avoid.
Defying the basketball gods can deliver the kind of bad mojo that even Kyrie Irving’s sage can’t eradicate. It’s the rest of the NBA that should have made an effort to dodge the Celtics because of their second-half play.
Here’s what second place in the East means for Celtics in the postseason
The Celtics have gone 28-7 in their last 35 games. They had the best offensive, defensive and net ratings in the league during that span. Boston outscored their opponents by 525 points in that span. They created an even bigger rift between their closest rivals with Sunday’s batting of the Grizzlies, who have been second in plus-minus since Jan. 23 at plus-295.
Look, we understand the dismay. No. 2-seeded players usually don’t have to worry about not having the best player on the pitch in a first-round series. Kevin Durant will make this series tougher than most quarterfinals. And the presence of Irving adds an entire Nutha logo-stomping sidebar to the celebrations. There would have been a lot less headache playing sixth-place Chicago and maybe even fifth-place Toronto.
But we’re overtaking each other. The Nets have yet to win a play-in matchup against the Cavaliers Tuesday night to set up that first-round showdown. Cleveland suffered an injury-related nosedive in the second half of the season, but they’re still alert enough to push the Nets in a one-game fight.
The pain points of a potential Brooklyn matchup are still greatly outweighed by the positives of navigating past a Bucks team that downshifted at the finish line. The Celtics would have home advantage in a possible second-round series against Milwaukee.
Yes, a potential Brooklyn-Milwaukee-Miami route to the NBA Finals is far from ideal. But all of those teams will be less than thrilled to see Boston on the other side as well.
The Celtics could certainly have downshifted on Sunday, but it would have left some of the team’s key figures with limited game action over a 10-day period. A matchup between the Celtics and Nets looks set to take the Easter Sunday spotlight on April 17.
But rather than leave their fate to how the Sixers (minus Joel Embiid and James Harden) fared against the Detroit Pistons, Boston just hit the gas in Memphis and drove to the finish line of the season.
Jayson Tatum was fantastic, delivering a final case for All-NBA First Team consideration with 31 points on 14 shots over 26 minutes. Al Horford has found his shot since Valentine’s Day, Derrick White – acquired around the same time – might find his as well.
The Celtics would likely feel better if Robert Williams was healthy and on the court to start the postseason. The team is optimistic about his potential to return early in his 4-6 week timeline and maybe even open the door to a late return in the first round if the team struggles without him.
The networks have talent but have rarely proven themselves a legitimate contender. The Celtics should still be the better team based on their play over the past 12 weeks while moving up from 11th place in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics showed confidence in this team by trying on Sunday. The basketball gods should be paying attention and we’ll see if they get their reward when the playoffs tip over.
And remember, the Celtics have rarely taken the easy route this season.