After dropping three straight, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers sit at 55-23, suddenly just a half-game ahead of Boston (54-23), and the Celtics (even if they're not saying it publicly) should smell blood in the water.
Not to say, of course, that the Green (or their fans) should jump the gun and assume a third Finals matchup with the Lakers in four years. After all, much of Celtics Nation spent last week griping about the team's complete lack of intensity after an atrocious 5-6 run.
But it'd also be naive to think the C's don't have a constant, keen eye on their archrivals. And the Lakers' recent slip-up has opened a door, even if that door lies beyond the Eastern Conference playoffs.
It's a dramatic turn of events from last season, where the Celtics limped into the postseason as the fourth seed in the East. For the crime of a 27-27 slump to end the regular season, they were punished with exhausting road series against Cleveland and Orlando, leaving the Green with tired legs against the archrival Lakers in the Finals. Boston managed to take that series to seven, but lost in a fourth-quarter Los Angeles comeback, no doubt propelled by the SoCal home crowd.
When the C's beat L.A. for the title two years before that, home-court advantage rested with Boston.
It's more than a coincidence, and if both storied franchises yet again advance to the promised land, Boston fans better hope the battle plays out on home hardwood.
Doc Rivers certainly does. After a particularly embarrassing loss on March 25 to the Charlotte Bobcats, the head coach made no excuses in his postgame news conference, noting, "They're not injured now. Now they're just not playing well."
When asked if last year's team was bored, Doc agreed and then interjected, "and last year, we lost Game 7 on the road."
Home-court advantage, even if it's a premature concern, is on Doc's mind — and this club is going to fight for it.
It's why the media/public's focus has been on the C's race with Chicago (57-20) and Miami (54-24). Boston, no doubt, would welcome the top spot, a guarantee that it primarily faces the conference gauntlet in the comfort of TD Garden.
But what's that old adage "Aim small, miss small?" (Or is that from The Patriot?) Either way, the takeaway is that the C's might be better off setting their sights on the more-achievable and potentially more motivating goal of catching Los Angeles.
Even if they fall short, maybe Boston can keep itself ahead of Miami and regain some of the chemistry it's lost since the Kendrick Perkins trade. That, in and of itself, would make the club better suited to face Chicago, Miami and/or L.A.
Here's how it breaks down. The Lakers, with just four games remaining, faces two on the road (Portland, Sacramento) and two at the Staples Center (Oklahoma City, San Antonio).
Boston has five games left on the slate, playing three away (Chicago, Miami, Washington) and two at home (Washington, New York).
The schedule moderately favors L.A., which will play its tough remaining outings at home. But perhaps momentum sides with the C's, who seem to be emerging from a slump just as the Lakers fall into one.
And whereas in seasons past, Boston took the Gregg Popovich "don't care about seed" approach, it seems to be in the fighting mood this April.
"[Seeding] always matters," Kevin Garnett told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "It always matters. If it didn't matter, then it wouldn't be a one, two, three, four or five. It wouldn't be a sequence.
"Everybody wants to be No. 1. Wherever we're at is going to be wherever we're at."
Wherever they're at likely won't be the No. 1 seed in the East. Catching Chicago, while it would be valuable, is almost out of reach.
But topping LA? That's both attainable and the ace in the hole.
