The Celtics are primed to enter the playoffs with a full and healthy roster for the first time this season.<\/p>\n
The No. 2 seed for the Eastern Conference<\/a> playoffs has been clinched, but the Celtics\u2019 first-round opponent will remain unclear for several days.<\/p>\n Get Starting Point<\/p>\n A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n Boston will face the winner of Tuesday\u2019s play-in tournament game involving the teams that finish seventh and eighth in the standings. The 76ers will most likely play the Magic in that game, but the sixth-place Raptors could still drop.<\/p>\n Toronto will clinch the No. 6 seed if it defeats the Nets<\/a> on Sunday, or the Magic lose to the Celtics and the 76ers fall to the Bucks. That scenario is extremely unlikely, however, considering Brooklyn is just 20-61 and the Bucks are 32-49.<\/p>\n The Celtics, meanwhile, will rest most of their top players Sunday. Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Neemias Queta have been ruled out, and Payton Pritchard, Nikola Vucevic, and Sam Hauser are doubtful.<\/p>\n The Celtics went 2-2 against the 76ers and are 2-1 vs. the Magic. But Philadelphia\u2019s star center, Joel Embiid, is expected to be sidelined for several weeks after undergoing an appendectomy Thursday. The Magic, meanwhile, have won five games in a row and are finally healthy after battling injuries for much of the season.<\/p>\n The Celtics have outscored opponents by 13.2 points per 100 possessions with center Queta on the floor this season, compared to just 3.8 points per 100 possessions when he is on the bench. The big man is averaging career highs of 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, and coach Joe Mazzulla, for one, believes he should be named the NBA\u2019s Most Improved Player<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope he gets it,\u201d Mazzulla said. \u201cHe deserves it. To me, again, obviously as a player, but more what it means to do it for the Celtics, I think, goes a long way. And where he\u2019s been on his journey in the NBA, but also his journey with us in our organization, he should seriously be considered for that because of where he was, and where he is now, and we wouldn\u2019t be in that position without him.\u201d<\/p>\n Queta said winning the honor has been his goal since the start of the season, when he had a conversation about it with his agent.<\/p>\n \u201cI think about it all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like I made a good case for it<\/a>, but like we said, that\u2019s stuff that we can\u2019t control. At the end of the day, I\u2019m just helping the team win. And that\u2019s my main goal. Obviously, that\u2019s secondary, the most improved, but I\u2019m just glad I\u2019m helping my teammates getting to the spot we\u2019re at right now. And whether I win it or don\u2019t win it, it\u2019s not going to change my perspective and the approach I take every night.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach<\/a>.<\/p>\n