The Celtics’ path to holding onto the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference got tougher on Friday night despite a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Boston (47-23) maintained its 1.5-game lead over the New York Knicks (46-25) for the No. 2 spot in the East with 12 regular season games remaining. However, the Knicks’ comeback win over the Brooklyn Nets Friday carried some extra meaning beyond just another win in the standings.
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That divisional win over Brooklyn ensured the Knicks will hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Boston even if the Celtics beat the Knicks in the two teams’ final head-to-head matchup on April 9 at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks currently hold a 2-1 lead in the season series with that final matchup looming next month. A Knicks win would obviously clinch the tiebreaker for New York against Boston but a Celtics win in that matchup will no longer matter when it comes to deciding a tiebreaker.
The reason? The next tiebreaker after head-to-head matchups for divisional teams is divisional record. With Friday’s win over the Nets, the Knicks are now 12-3 against the Atlantic Division this season with just one game left (vs. Boston). The Celtics only have a 9-5 record against the Atlantic Division (with two games left) so they will finish with the worse divisional record even if they win out.
This reality will create a very tall task for Boston to hold off a streaking Knicks team in the standings, given their remaining schedules. Boston has 12 games left and has the third toughest schedule left in the NBA (.548 opponent winning percentage). The Knicks have just 11 games left and a far softer schedule (.503 opponent winning percentage).
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There are still some tough matchups ahead for New York (@ Charlotte, @ Oklahoma City, @ Houston, @ Atlanta) but the margin of error now is very thin for the Celtics with nine of their next 10 opponents coming against likely playoff teams.
The challenging road to hold onto No. 2 continues for Boston on Sunday night when they host the Timberwolves at TD Garden.
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