Celtics
The Celtics will likely need to significantly improve their point differential to advance to the knockout stage of the in-season tournament.
MIAMI (AP) — Say this for the NBA: It will have some drama for the final night of group play in the inaugural in-season tournament.
There are eight games left — all potentially having implications on who will advance.
All teams play four games in the group stage; 14 teams are already done and the other 16 teams wrap up their group slates on Tuesday. Every group winner will reach the quarterfinals, and the best second-place team from each conference will earn a wild-card spot.
There’s a really good chance that tiebreakers to separate teams with 3-1 (or maybe even 2-2) records will come into play. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head, and the second is point differential — which certainly raises the possibility that a team with a lead as time is running out in an already-decided game might look for more points in the final seconds.
“I know Tuesday is complicated,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. “There’s a million different things that can happen. So, that (stuff) is a little tricky. But I think it’s been great. It gives guys something to look forward to early in the season.”
The Celtics are one of the teams that could see their tournament fate decided by the point differential tiebreaker. Tatum likes the tournament in general; the tiebreaker, not so much.
“It’s all about respecting the game and respecting your opponents,” Tatum said. “So, that part, I’m not a fan of.”
In order to advance to the quarterfinal stage of the in-season tournament, the Celtics must defeat the Bulls first. From there, their fate would likely be determined by point differential. In order to win Eastern Conference Group C, they must beat the Bulls by at least 23 points. They’ll also need the Nets to beat the Raptors, but Brooklyn’s margin of victory would have to be at least eight points worse than Boston’s.
The Celtics’ chances of advancing to the knockout stage through the wild card are a lot trickier. They’ll either need to win and have a bunch of other teams lose or they’ll have to beat the Bulls by a lot and hope the other 2-1 teams in tournament play win by very, very few points.
Indiana and the Los Angeles Lakers are the only two teams that have secured quarterfinal spots. Both went 4-0 in group play and are assured of having a home game for the start of the knockout round next week — either Dec. 4 or Dec. 5.
From there, 16 teams remain alive for the remaining six quarterfinal spots. The easiest things to figure out are these: if Milwaukee beats Miami and if Sacramento beats Golden State, then the Bucks and Kings will be the other two quarterfinal hosts.
Other than that, good luck figuring out all the possible tiebreakers.
“We’ll just focus on trying to get a win tomorrow,” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team plays host to Milwaukee on Tuesday. “That’s the most important thing. We know what the differential has to be. You can’t go into a game thinking that. That’s not how you win games against good teams.”
This one is easy: the Pacers and Lakers are in, and the other six quarterfinal spots will go to some combination of these teams: Cleveland, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Milwaukee, New York, Miami, Charlotte, Orlando, Boston, Brooklyn, Phoenix, New Orleans, Houston, Sacramento, Minnesota and Golden State.
Detroit, Washington, Toronto, Chicago, Utah, Portland, Memphis, Denver, Dallas, the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City and San Antonio have been eliminated.
Here’s a look at each group entering the final day of preliminary play of the in-season tournament.
Eastern Conference Group A
Standings: Indiana 4-0, Cleveland 2-1, Philadelphia 2-2, Atlanta 1-2, Detroit 0-4.
Tuesday game: Atlanta at Cleveland.
Outlook: Must-win for Atlanta, and the Hawks would still need a lot of help to advance. Cleveland eliminates Philadelphia and Atlanta with a win, but it probably needs to be by a sizable margin to give the Cavs much hope of advancing.
Eastern Conference Group B
Standings: Milwaukee 3-0, New York 2-1, Miami 2-1, Charlotte 1-2, Washington 0-4.
Tuesday games: Charlotte at New York, Milwaukee at Miami.
Outlook: The Bucks, Knicks and Heat could all still win the group. Charlotte can advance if the Cavs, Knicks, Heat, Boston and Brooklyn all lose, and even then the Hornets would have to beat the Knicks by a lot. Like, a whole lot.
Eastern Conference Group C
Standings: Orlando 3-1, Boston 2-1, Brooklyn 2-1, Toronto 1-2, Chicago 0-3.
Tuesday games: Chicago at Boston, Toronto at Brooklyn.
Outlook: The Bulls and Raptors can play spoilers. If Brooklyn loses, Orlando wins the group (and the Magic could win it other ways, too). Boston must win to have a chance.
Western Conference Group A
Standings: Los Angeles Lakers 4-0, Phoenix 3-1, Utah 2-2, Portland 1-3, Memphis 0-4.
Tuesday games: None.
Outlook: The Suns will sit around to find out their fate. They would advance with a Minnesota loss to Oklahoma City. Otherwise, tiebreakers come into play.
Western Conference Group B
Standings: New Orleans 3-1, Houston 2-1, Denver 2-2, Dallas 1-2, Los Angeles Clippers 1-3.
Tuesday: Houston at Dallas.
Outlook: Finally, an easy one. If Houston beats Dallas, the Rockets win Group B. If Dallas beats Houston, New Orleans wins Group B.
Western Conference Group C
Standings: Sacramento 3-0, Minnesota 2-1, Golden State 2-1, Oklahoma City 1-2, San Antonio 0-4.
Tuesday: Golden State at Sacramento, Oklahoma City at Minnesota.
Outlook: The Kings win the group with a win. The Warriors need a win to have a chance to advance as a wild-card or the group winner. Minnesota also needs a win to have any chance.
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