When the Celtics' bench led the Hornets to a 131-98 victory Friday, it felt like fun but meaningless basketball for a team that had clinched the top seed not long before.
However, on the eastern fringes, some serious battles were taking place. Boston being in first place was the only thing that was certain going into the night. As the NBA prepares for Sunday's final game of the regular season, a lot is still up in the air.
Boston's playoff berth is still uncertain, so let's analyze the current situation.
The play-in tournament will provide a little more suspense for the Celtics this season. They were the No. 2 seed a year ago, so they faced Atlanta when the Hawks defeated the Heat in the first round of the play-ins. But since the Celtics are in first place in the standings, they will have to wait for the final round of play-ins, where the loser of the 7-8 matchup will face the winner of the 9-10 matchup.
On Friday, the Sixers defeated Orlando 125-113 after Joel Embiid was briefly sidelined, keeping Philadelphia's hopes of moving up to the No. 6 seed alive. This means the Magic must beat the Bucks on Sunday to avoid the play-in. On Friday, Milwaukee lost to Oklahoma City, and the Knicks came back to beat the Nets. That means Milwaukee needs a win to keep its No. 2 seed.
However, it only determines home court advantage in the second round, so the Bucks could rest players, resulting in Orlando winning to stay in fifth place while tied with Philadelphia and Indiana. Opportunities may increase.
Even with a win, Philadelphia would remain the No. 7 seed due to tiebreaker rules. If the Pacers lose and the other two teams win, Philadelphia will move up to fifth place, Orlando to sixth place, and Indiana to seventh place.
That affects Boston's path in two ways. First, Indiana joins the Celtics as a first-round opponent, a team Boston knows well, having played five times this year. Miami's postseason transformation is an annual occurrence, but the Heat won the first play-in game last season, earned the No. 8 seed, and ultimately defeated the Celtics in the conference finals.
Also, a Pacers loss on Sunday would put Philadelphia back in the path of the Celtics in the second round, as the Sixers will be a strong opponent against Cleveland in the first round. Boston could theoretically face Atlanta, Philadelphia and Miami in Year 2.
However, with the Hawks languishing in 10th place, he is unlikely to start against Indiana on Sunday. The East could be in for a Bucks vs. Magic game, as the Sixers and Pacers are playing teams with nothing to lose.
With the Knicks defeating the Nets, Milwaukee's loss to OKC moved them into a tie with the Bucks for the No. 2 seed. Even with losses to Milwaukee and New York on Sunday, Cleveland could still move into second place.
So what does this mean?
Unless the Bucks don't mind home-court advantage in the second round, Orlando could fight with its bench to escape the play-in. The Hawks have no reason to use a starter against Indiana, so the Sixers will likely remain the No. 7 seed.
If that happens, Philadelphia and Miami will be the favorites to win the playoffs, and Boston will have a familiar foe standing in its way.
Miami has had a tough battle with Boston this year, and if the Heat are shaky again, it's Miami. I do Heat every year. Jimmy Butler has reached a new level and coach Erik Spoelstra has been running around the league pulling off upsets.
Last season, the Heat played with Giannis Antetokounmpo injured and acquired the Bucks at the right time. Well, we'll see, it happened again, as the Heat could grab the No. 7 seed and set up a rematch with Milwaukee. It remains unclear whether the former MVP will recover from his calf injury in time for the series.
If that happens, the Sixers, who have improved since Embiid's return, would be the favorite to face the Celtics over Atlanta and Chicago. Last year, Boston was able to outrun Philadelphia thanks to James Harden's defense. The Sixers don't have a huge variety of high-end offensive players this time around, but they also don't have a player who can win games on their own like Harden did in last year's series.
Things could turn in the Celtics' favor on the final day of the regular season, but it looks like they could face a tough opponent in the first round.
Miami and Philadelphia have the potential to play like contenders. Milwaukee has the tools to do that, but it was all over the place this year. Cleveland looked like a championship favorite for much of this season, but has lost a lot of momentum since its win over Boston after the All-Star break.
The best team the Celtics will encounter could come in any round. It's up to Boston to make that irrelevant.
(Photo of Peyton Pritchard and Tre Mann of Charlotte: David Butler II/USA Today)
