The NBA’s playoff seeding is beginning to take shape.
Of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have essentially owned the No. 1 seed without question from the get-go with an NBA-best record of 55-15. But now, we know where the Boston Celtics will stand.
After the super hot Phoenix Suns took down the Miami Heat on Saturday night, it was determined Boston would fall no lower than the third place in the standings through the rest of the seeding games. Toronto Raptors locked up the No. 2 seed with a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, leaving the C’s in third.
So with the top three seeds determined, here’s what we know about the rest of the Celtics’ playoff picture:
The Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers, with identical 43-27 records, hold the four and five seeds, respectively. At No. 6 are the Philadelphia 76ers (42-28), who still have the Suns, Raptors and Houston Rockets on their slate of seeding games.
That’s a tough road ahead, especially with Ben Simmons slated for surgery and enter Joel Embiid leaving Sunday’s game against Portland early after an ankle injury.
Joel Embiid suffered a left ankle injury and will not return to the Blazers/Sixers game tonight, the team says. Embiid played six minutes in the game.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) August 9, 2020
Philadelphia’s All-Star F Ben Simmons will undergo surgery to remove a loose body in his left knee, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 8, 2020
All of a sudden, a first-round matchup against Philadelphia, who’s beaten Boston in three of four matchups so far this season, doesn’t seem so bad.
