"Now that the trade deadline has passed I'd expect the Celtics to do the bare minimum to make the playoffs". The Celtics are nine games up on the 9th seed Philadelphia 76ers with 12 games to play. They could lose every game for the rest of the season and the 76ers would still have to win 9 of 12 down the stretch to overtake them(even then they would need to win the right games to win the tiebreaker, they split the season series 2-2 so the next tiebreaker is conference win%). It's not impossible yet, but it's improbable enough that I'm not even remotely worried. Even if it gets close down the stretch they can bring KG back and flip the switch a little earlier. This is just the coast where they overreact to KGs "Knee Inflammation" and rest him up until the playoffs. I wouldn't be shocked to see Paul Pierce take some time off to tend to a vague injury either.
This is a pretty good example of the problem I have with the NBA playoffs. There are too many games and playoff seeding isn't relevant enough. Home Court in a deciding game is nice, getting a cupcake round 1 is nice, but it's nothing compared to being rested and healthy. I still don't think that the Celtics can beat Miami, but for them to have a chance they'll need to be fresh and healthy. I think this win streak is starting to take it's toll on Miami. They have the top seed wrapped up already, but they're still putting in 100% every night to keep this streak going. I think they might be able to catch a weary, overconfident Miami team off guard in the first round.
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