Schedule Gives Boston Control Down the Stretch

The unimaginably tight four way race for the three seed in the eastern conference has continued to get closer and the closer. The Boston Celtics just handed the Warriors their first home lose since last season but they still find themselves tied for the 5th spot on the East. The Charlotte Hornets currently hold the three seed but are tied with the Atlanta Hawks and are just a half game ahead of the Celtics and the Miami Heat.

These four teams could still end up in any order when the season ends and that makes home court and all potential playoff matchups up in the air. Home court advantage is going to be the number one priority but the Celtics have a schedule where they could have a lot of control over the match ups too.

With six games remaining the Celtics begin against the Lakers, the Pelicans and the Bucks. Then their final three game stretch features the Hawks, the Hornets and the Heat, three of the four teams that are currently separated by half a game for that three seed. The Celtics will have an opportunity to control much of their destiny and gain ground on all three teams that are currently ahead of them in this race.

Even though the Celtics are only half a game behind, they need to gain ground on multiple teams to close the season, and their final three games will give them that opportunity. As long as the Celtics do not throw away any of the next three games they will be in the best position to gain ground, or get some separation for that three seed.

The problem is that these are all going to be incredibly tough games. All these opponents have clinched the playoffs but it is unlikely that any of them will have nothing to play for down the stretch. Each of these teams are going to fight for that home court advantage and that will give the Celtics no breaks in their final three games.

Having this schedule also means that if the Celtics value a particular matchup more than home court, or if home court becomes out of reach for some reason, they can manipulate the standings. It may be an impossible endeavour to expect this Celtics team to want to lose a game but their schedule is set up in a way where they have a lot of control, and potential loses could stand to benefit them if the three seed becomes out of reach. In either case, the Celtics know that they currently hold control over who will finish as the three seed, and a favourable next three games should keep it that way for the final three game stretch.

The timing of the three games also works in the favor of the Celtics. Crowder came back and had an impact in his first game but took himself out against the Warriors because his conditioning was still lagging behind. Crowder felt the additional fatigue but is ready to go against the Lakers tonight. Having these three games before that final stretch will give Crowder a bit of a grace period to make sure everything is back to normal.

The Celtics can now afford to allow Crowder to get himself back into the lineup properly and without forcing anything. The Celtics need Crowder to be 100% and they need him to be functioning properly for the final three games and into the playoffs. The next three games will give Crowder the freedom he needs to make sure there are no set backs.

The Celtics will also have time to fix any potential chemistry issues before that three game stretch. The Celtics have had issues immediately following injuries to key players but they have always adjusted properly. Both the starting and the second unit needed to make significant adjustments without Crowder and now they have an opportunity to recapture the chemistry that existed before he went down with an injury.

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The Celtics avoided a three game losing streak with the biggest victory of the season. Their schedule becomes much more favourable for the final 6 games and they could not have asked for a better set up to have the majority of the control in determining which of the four teams separated by 0.5 games will claim the home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs..