Is the No. 1 seed in the East that important for the Boston Celtics?

Despite a convincing win over the Indiana Pacers, the Boston Celtics are still two and a half games back of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. As the rest of the basketball world is engulfed in the madness that is the NCAA tournament, Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics have returned to the kind of basketball the rest of the NBA is used to seeing.

A roller coaster of a road trip and a poor record since the All-Star break have given the Milwaukee Bucks a sturdy 2.5 game lead atop the Eastern Conference. With just eight games remaining for Boston as of this writing, the margin of error to surpass Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks is quite small.

The return of Robert Williams III has increased Boston’s defensive intensity as the Celtics have taken down two quality teams with the lowly Spurs up next at the TD Garden on Sunday evening. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have combined for 124 points over the last two games as the fluidity of the offense has shifted for arguably the first time since the All-Star break. It was only a matter of time really for a team that was waiting for its energetic center to return to action for the first time since the beginning of the month.

Ranking in the top three in both offensive and defensive rating over the past two contests, Boston is showing the league just how lethal this ball club can be at nearly full-strength. The feeling around Mazzulla’s men has completely shifted since the collapse in Salt Lake City, but as the postseason nears, is it really all that vital to secure home-court advantage through its path to the NBA Finals?

Every team wants to have their fans behind them the most throughout a potential run to the pinnacle of the NBA. This year’s Boston Celtics team is not like the Golden State Warriors who struggle to win consistently away from their home arena. The 17-time NBA champions have recorded the best offensive rating on the road of any team in the league this season while accumulating the third best record away from the parquet floor.

Boston has shown the mental toughness to go away from TD Garden and steal a victory against a talented team. Games 4 and 6 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Those are just examples of what this ball club is capable of traveling away from home in season defining contests. There may be a new coach at the helm, but the personality and core of the team that carved their way out of the East in 2022 is still very much present.

Seeding should not be the focus for the Boston Celtics before the postseason

Derrick White expressed his honesty speaking to the media before Friday’s return to the Garden, stating,

"“If we get the one seed it’s cool, if we don’t then it’s the same,” White said after practice on Thursday. “We didn’t have it last year. We just want to be playing the best basketball going into the playoffs. Whether we’re one, two three, it doesn’t really matter."

In fact, the last four No. 1 seeds in the Eastern Conference have failed make it through the first three rounds of the postseason. The last No. 1 seed to make it out of the East was LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 when they completed the improbable NBA Finals comeback over the Warriors. Only three teams that finished atop the Eastern Conference in the regular season since 2008 found themselves hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy when it was all said and done.

Every year seeding gets overblown. Finishing anywhere in the top-three in your respective conference provides you with a chance at a potential Finals berth. Avoiding that 4-5 first round matchup is critical, and the Boston Celtics are more than likely going to do so. Homecourt helps, especially in the league like the NBA, but recent history shows it is not something this Celtics team should be keen in on as the regular season comes to a close.

White is speaking the truth. All a team can aspire to do late in the season is to be playing the best basketball possible. Mistakes need to be few and far between. Running in transition, and turning quality defense into easy offense throughout the final eight games of the campaign should be the only focus for Mazzulla’s squad. 20 steals over the last two games combined is the kind of activity on the perimeter you want to see late in the season.

Filling those holes that have been issues at points throughout the campaign is necessary. Continue to outrebound the opposition. Force turnovers, and rack up those assists on the offensive end. Control what you can control, and let the rest fall into place. Despite the No. 1 seed being out of reach for now, postseason seeding it not the end all be all, especially with a group that is hungry to prove something.