The Celtics didn’t even play on Friday night, and yet it was an extremely lucrative night for the team and their chances of advancing in the NBA Cup. There was action elsewhere in Boston’s Group C, and there was a stunning result as the only other unbeaten team in the group, the Hawks, fell in overtime to the hapless Bulls, 125-117.
With that result, the Celtics now lead the group at 2-0, while the Hawks, Bulls, and Wizards are all 1-1 in group play, and the Hornets are 0-2. Not only that, but Boston has a ridiculous +53 point differential. The only other team in Group C with a positive differential is the Wizards at +9.
There are still two more games to be played in the group stage, as the Celtics will take on the Hawks and Wizards later this month. If they sweep both of those, they’ll win the group and likely be the top seed in the East, with their whopping point differential. However, since the first tiebreaker is head-to-head, they could still risk losing the group if they fall to either Washington or Atlanta, and that team wins out.
But if the Celtics win one of their remaining two games, their point differential should carry them through to the next round, as it’s the first tiebreaker for the wild card spots. Their +53 mark is by far the best in the Eastern Conference, with the Heat in second at +32 and nobody else better than +16.
Celtics have a stranglehold on Group C
Obviously, the Celtics still need to take care of their business, and if they drop both games, they’re not going to advance, even if they have the best point differential in the league. But now that everyone has played two games, it’s hard to imagine they could possibly be in better shape to advance to the knockout round.
The Hawks appeared to be the biggest competitive threat within the group, and they may still be, but losing to the Bulls was a bit of a stunner, as Chicago came in at just 1-9 so far this season and was missing their young stud, Caleb Wilson, while Atlanta was 7-5.
The Celtics will play in Washington on November 24th and then host Atlanta on November 27th to wrap up group play. They should be favored to win both games, and if they do so, they’ll be primed to host the quarterfinals and semifinals in TD Garden, with a potential championship game at Brad Stevens’ old stomping ground, Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University. Everything is setting up for a storybook ending; now the Celtics just have to handle their business.
Add us as a preferred source on Google