If we told you at the beginning of the NHL and NBA seasons that the Boston Celtics would hold a playoff spot with only a handful of games remaining and the Boston Bruins wouldn’t, would you believe us?
Chances are the answer to that question is no, yet as of Tuesday, that’s exactly how things stand. But there still are games to be played, and each team is involved in a tight race for the final playoff spots in their respective Eastern Conferences.
In the NBA’s East, the No. 6 through 8 seeds are a mess. The sixth-place Milwaukee Bucks are in the midst of a total meltdown, while the seventh-place Miami Heat only lead the Celtics by a game and a half. But Boston, the Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets are only separated by a half game each.
Yikes.
The Celtics have probably the easiest schedule of the five teams from here on out, and they should be getting Isaiah Thomas back any day now. However, it’s hard to say that the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings isn’t a total toss-up and that it’ll really depend on how these teams decide to finish out their last 12 to 13 games.
As for the Bruins, they might want to start focusing on taking out the Washington Capitals, who hold the first wild-card spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. The Ottawa Senators knocked the B’s out of the final spot Monday, but they seem to have no plans of slowing down and could overtake Washington soon. The Florida Panthers also are creeping behind the Bruins, but Boston could change that, as they still have two games left to play against them.
So which team do you think has a better shot at the playoffs?
Bergeron photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
Turner photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
