The Boston Celtics will host the Brooklyn Nets for their third Emirates NBA Cup group-stage game on Friday night. Heading into the matchup, Boston sits at third place in the Eastern Conference’s Group B, after going 1-1 in their meetings with the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic.
Here’s a quick look at the standings through two games, with each team’s point differential in parentheses:
- Detroit Pistons 2-0 (+27)
- Orlando Magic 2-0 (+20)
- Boston Celtics 1-1 (-12)
- Philadelphia 76ers 0-2 (-10)
- Brooklyn Nets 0-2 (-25)
The Celtics’ cup hopes aren’t dead by any means, but they’ve got their work cut out for them over their final two matchups.
Of course, step one in Boston’s path to the knockout stage is to win both of their remaining games against the Nets and Pistons. Not only do they have to win, but, ideally, they need to win by a lot.
Remember, besides head-to-head results, point differential is the most important stat for tiebreakers. As of now, the Celtics sitting at -12 isn’t great for their chance at advancement.
Even if the Cs sweep their final Group B games, they’ll still need some help to move on.
Here’s what they should be rooting for in NBA Cup Week 4:
Boston vs. Brooklyn is the only Group B game being played on Friday night this week, but the Magic and 76ers will see each other on Tuesday night in Philly. Considering that Philly is 0-2 and Orlando is not only undefeated, but also has the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cs, a Sixers win is undoubtedly in Boston’s best interest.
Not only would it bring them level with the Magic (assuming the Celtics beat the Nets), it would put a dent into their +20 point differential, and bring Group B one step closer to ending in a three-or-more team tie.
The three-team tie is important because Boston would automatically fall to Orlando if it came down to the two of them, because of the Celtics' earlier loss to the Magic. Once a third team is involved, only point differential matters.
What should Celtics fans look for in other NBA Cup groups?
As far as the results outside of Group B go, the desire remains chaos. Celtics fans should want every other team in the East to finish 2-2 in group play. Though unrealistic, the premise still applies.
If teams who already have wins lose, and those with losses win, then the point differentials for the wild card race will become far more tame.
For example, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 1-1 through two games, the same as Boston, but have a point differential of +22. If it came down to it today, the Cavs would take the East’s lone Wild Card bid to the knockout stage.
So, anyone who wants to see a Celtics cup run should be hoping that the 2-13 Indiana Pacers can beat Cleveland handily. The same applies to any other team that’s comfortably won one or more cup games so far.
Boston’s path to the knockout stage will become far clearer next week when the Group Stage approaches its final slate of games. We’ll all know exactly how many points the Cs need to make up to win their group or sneak into the Wild Card.