Odds Favor The Celtics Finishing As Two-Seed In Eastern Conference
BOSTON (CBS) -- The final week of the NBA regular season is upon us, with the Boston Celtics currently sitting as the two-seed in the Eastern Conference. That is where they will likely finish when the regular season concludes, according to the odds on Pro Basketball Reference.
That is Boston's highest seeding probability on Monday morning, with the Celtics given a 52.1 percent chance to finish as the East's two-seed. The C's have a 27.7 percent chance of finishing third in the conference, a 14.5 percent chance of finishing fourth, and a 1.1 percent chances of falling to the five-seed. Boston has just a 4.6 percent chance of claiming the top spot in the East, with the Miami Heat (94.5 percent chance for the one-seed) owning a two-game lead over Boston at the moment.
The Celtics are just a half-game up on the Bucks in the race for the two-seed, and will visit Milwaukee on Thursday night following a road game against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Boston concludes its regular season Sunday night with a 7 p.m. game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Bucks have four games remaining, with road matches against the Bulls on Tuesday, the Pistons on Friday and the Cavaliers on Sunday, in addition to their home tilt against Boston. There is going to be plenty of scoreboard watching over the next seven days.
Should the Celtics finish as the two-seed in the East, they'd match up with whomever claims the seven-seed following the Play-In tournament. The Cleveland Cavaliers currently sit in seventh place and have a 47.3 percent chance of earning that spot, according to Pro Basketball Reference. The Cavs are followed by the Atlanta Hawks (27.1 percent), the Brooklyn Nets (12.5 percent) and the Charlotte Hornets (10.6 percent) in the race for the seven-seed.
The Nets, who were at one point the most feared team in the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, have lost two straight to fall into 10th place in the conference. Brooklyn has four games remaining on the season: at home against the Rockets, Cavaliers and Pacers, and a road match against the New York Knicks.
Stretching the odds out a little further, the Celtics have the best percentage to win the Eastern Conference at 42.4 percent. With a 22.9 percent chance at winning the NBA Finals, the Celtics trail only the Phoenix Suns, who are given a 26.7 percent chance at winning a title.
Nothing with the Eastern Conference playoff picture will likely be decided until the weekend. But heading into the final week, the Celtics are in a great position to finish as the two-seed, which would give them home-court advantage for at least two rounds of the playoffs.
