Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“We laid an eight-minute egg at the end of the second quarter, and just couldn’t overcome,” Stevens said. “We were up 38-32 and then I think they went on a 31-3 run, offense was bad, defense was bad, everything was poor, but that’s what it boiled down to. I mean, it was an eight minute – we laid an eight-minute egg. That’s the way I look at it. That’s enough against those guys when they’re shooting it like that, to really hurt you.”
Celtics as the fourth seed: Assuming Miami wins on Tuesday and Atlanta wins on Wednesday, the Celtics can secure the No. 4 seed with a win over the Heat. Boston has the benefit of head-to-head and three-way tiebreakers over Miami and Charlotte, which might help Boston salvage this rocky stretch by simply closing the regular season on a high note.
Celtics as the fifth seed: Celtics fans are Hawks fans at the moment because one of the only ways that Boston slides to the No. 5 seed — even with a win on Wednesday night — would be if there’s a four-way tie in the final standings. In that scenario, all four teams would finish at 48-34. Miami would be the No. 3 seed based on winning the Southeast Division — Atlanta would get the No. 4 seed and Boston would be fifth based on tiebreakers. The Celtics could also finish fifth with a loss to Miami if Charlotte also loses its final game.
Celtics as the sixth seed: If Miami wins out and Atlanta and Charlotte post victories on Wednesday night, the Celtics will slide all the way to No. 6. While some might find a silver lining in the potential to dodge the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals from that spot, the more immediate concern would be opening a best-of-seven series on the road against a team Boston had recently lost to.
I was fortunate enough to be tending to my children last night and missed the laying of that 8 minute egg but I can’t imagine a worse stretch of Celtics basketball over the last 8 years. Not even the UCONN women slap around teams like that.
I’m not going to worry too much about the previous 2 losses. It’s all moot come playoffs.
Even if Miami loses tonight, I’m pretty sure the Hawks will go all out to win their final game and secure the 3rd seed (and avoid Cleveland in Round 2). That leaves the Celtics with a simple mission – Beat the Heat and secure home court.
How important is home-court advantage for the Heat? Miami is 12-2 at AmericanAirlines Arena since the All-Star break and 6-7 on the road in that time.
“We’re a different team at home, that’s for sure,” Heat rookie Justise Winslow said. “Just look at our stats — shooting percentage on defense and offense. We want to get home court, but we also understand how important it is to win on the road.”
Miami is averaging 103.2 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting at home compared to 97 points per game on 45.8 percent shooting on the road. The Heat’s last road win against a playoff-bound team came almost two months ago in Atlanta on Feb. 19.
In case you didn’t know, Wednesday night’s game is in Boston.
On Page 2, at least our lottery situation is improving.
The Boston Celtics will enter the final night of the NBA regular season with a chance to land sole possession of the third-best draft lottery odds.
All Boston needs is a Brooklyn Nets loss (to the Toronto Raptors) or a Phoenix Suns win (against the Los Angeles Clippers) Wednesday night. If either of those outcomes occurs, the Celtics will own the third-best lottery odds thanks to controlling the Nets first-round pick. That finish would leave the Celtics with a 46.9-percent chance to land a top-three pick, including a 15.6-percent chance to win the No. 1 overall selection.
Boston could still slide into a tie for third in the lottery standings, but can slip no lower than that.
Hey Doc Rivers, be sure to rest your entire starting 5 on Wednesday night. Thanks.
Oh, the Mavericks clinched a playoff spot last night so forget about their 1st round pick slipping into the 10-12 range.
The rest of the links
Herald – Celtics run out of town | Clifford happy to hold down Thomas | ESPN – John Holland back in Boston | CSNNE – Bad loss raises questions | Globe – Celtics look far from playoff ready
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