NBA Playoffs: What Celtics Know About First-Round Matchup

The Boston Celtics defeated the Charlotte Hornets in their regular-season finale, which didn’t mean much for the reigning NBA champions.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the rest of Boston’s go-to starting lineup sat out while Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and rookie Baylor Scheierman broke a sweat Sunday afternoon at TD Garden. The mix of Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s stay-ready crew and the rest of the reserves ensured that, although no stakes were involved, the team would still close the door shut on a high note with a 61-21 record.

“For me, it’s just another opportunity to grow,” Pritchard, who scored a game-high 34 points in Boston’s 93-86 win over Charlotte, told reporters, per CLNS Media. “Being in different situations that I’m not necessarily always in, with the ball being in my hands more. So, it’s always a growth step in learning how you can affect the games in different ways and stuff like that. So I take advantage of every one of these opportunities because I’m gonna use it to grow and keep expanding my game.”

While Pritchard, Hauser, Scheierman, Torrey Craig and Jordan Walsh each had valuable opportunities to make a final impression, the biggest question had nothing to do with the game. Instead, it was more big picture-centric: Who will the Celtics face in the first round of the playoffs? With the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference locked, Boston was glancing at the bottom half — also known as the underwhelming end — of the conference, with the play-in tournament next up for the league.

Boston is slated to face the No. 7 seed in the East, which will be determined by Tuesday night’s play-in matchup between the Orlando Magic (41-41) and the Atlanta Hawks (40-42). In other words, the biggest concern for the Celtics will either be Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner or Trae Young.

Both Orlando and Atlanta succeeded in edging out Boston in the regular-season series with 2-1 records against the Celtics. The Hawks took their last two consecutively, and the Magic most recently blew out the title defenders with a 96-76 win last Wednesday. Then again, there’s context to consider for both potential Round 1 opponents.

When the Celtics fell twice consecutively to the Hawks, it was before the team traded away forward De’Andre Hunter to the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers — and became one of the biggest losers of February’s trade deadline. When the Magic recorded its blowout victory this past week, it wasn’t anything to feel good about. Boston didn’t play any of its starters and even the undermanned crew managed to cut the scoring deficit to eight points by halftime before running out of gas in the second half.

It was a note-taking four quarters for Boston’s coaching staff more than anything else.

Mazzulla’s Celtics finished the year as the NBA’s leader in 3-pointers made (17.8), second in offensive rating (119.5) and second in net rating (9.4) and fourth in defensive rating (110.1). Their 61-win total also marked the most from a reigning champion since the record-setting 73-win Golden State Warriors in 2015-16.

Boston was without a fully healthy starting lineup 13 fewer times than last season’s team, yet only lost three more games than its championship squad.

“It just shows the competitive nature of the guys,” Mazzulla said Sunday, per CLNS Media. “And you have to be grateful for what’s going on right now, at the same time, what’s going on in December and January, because it’s all a part of the journey. All those things add up in trying to put experiences together to get ready for something bigger. It really is just a testament to the locker room, to the guys. They’re the ones that have to play every night. They’re the ones that compete. They’re the ones that deliver night in and night out, put their bodies and minds on the line. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be in that situation.”

Game 1 of the first round for the Celtics remains to be determined, however, the series will either begin Saturday or next Sunday at TD Garden. Tip-off time also remains undetermined so for the time being, all eyes can be directed to the Magic and Hawks.